March of the Nutcrackers

Oh my goodness, are these not the cutest? I left them up for quite a while, because they made me happy every time I walked by.  It also worked well because the music teacher was showing them The Nutcracker in his class.  We talked about why in the world a kid would even want a nutcracker, and we discussed how a long time ago, kids didn't get all the stuff for Christmas that they do now.  Fruit, candy, and some nuts was a big deal! They just couldn't believe it.  I had a nutcracker to show them for an example and they all wanted to crack nuts with it...but it was just for decorative purposes ;).
I gave the students basic step by step instructions and then let them loose to give them their own personalities. They were allowed to use crayons, markers, and colored pencils to add the details.  Quite a successful project!