Fairy Garden
Materials: Small boxes; Tempera paint; Glue; Scissors; Rocks; Large aluminum tray or other container; Grass seeds and dry beans; Dirt or potting soil; Odds and ends to make furniture from
Stack up the small boxes to make a fairy house. Glue the boxes together. Cut out windows and doorways if you want. Paint your house. Use all the things youve found to make the furniture for the fairies. Fill the aluminum tray with potting soil. Press rocks into the dirt in the middle. Put your house on the rocks so it wont get wet when you water your plants. Sprinkle grass seeds or beans on the dirt around the house. Water the seeds. Place in a sunny spot and watch as plants grow up around your fairy house. Look for tiny footprints.
Seed and Pasta Pictures
Materials: Pie tins; Glue; Paintbrush; Heavy paper; Different kinds of dry beans, rice, lentils, seeds, and small pasta; Black permanent marker
Put your various beans and seeds in separate pie tins or boxes. Draw a picture on blank paper and outline it with black permanent marker. Using a paintbrush, paint all the areas you would like covered with one kind of seed with glue. Sprinkle that seed onto the page and tilt it back and forth until the areas painted with glue are completely covered. Pour excess seeds back into the pie tin. Repeat with a different seed or bean until you have used all the different kinds and covered all the areas in your picture. If you forget a spot, you can always repeat a kind of seed.
Silly Endings
Materials: Favorite storybook; Paper and pen
To play silly endings, read through half of your favorite (short) story aloud and then take turns making up the ending. You can also play this with everybody, writing down endings and then reading them aloud.
Stage a Story
Materials: Good story; Old clothes for costumes; Tablecloth or old shower curtain; Old boxes
This is a great project for a small group of kids. Decide on a favorite story and whos going to be what. Pull together as much scenery and as many costumes as possible from old stuff around the house. Old boxes make great stage props. Hanging a tablecloth or shower curtain helps to set the dramatic stage. If theres time, make a program for your show explaining who everyone is and crediting your stage help. Invite others to be part of your opening night audience.
Terrific Trading Cards
Materials: Index cards; Markers; Scissors; Foil; Glue; Pencil
Make trading cards and play a game. On the top half of each index card, draw a character (a monster, animal, person). Glue a foil square in a corner. Use a pencil to etch a star, sun, or other symbol on the foil. On the bottom half of the card, write the characters name and a number. When you have many cards, play the game with a friend. Each player throws one of their cards in the air. See how they land. Both cards face up: The player who threw the card with the higher number wins the cards. One card face up: The player who threw it takes both cards. Both face down: The cards stay there. Both go to the next player to win a throw.
Paper-Mch Animals
Materials: 1 cup water; 1 cup flour; Pie tin; Newspapers; Balloons; Tempera paint; Scissors
Mix one cup water with one cup flour in a pie tin. Add a little more water if needed to make a thin paste. Use an inflated balloon as a form on which strips of newspaper (about one inch wide) are draped after being dipped into the flour and water mixture. After dipping each strip, run it between two fingersthat way it wont get too soggy. After the balloon is covered with several layers of newspaper, ears, tails, and feet can be added by cutting more newspaper into the appropriate shapes, dipping the ends into the mixture, and securing them to the balloon. Put your animal near a heater or warm oven to speed up drying time. When it has completely dried, you can paint your creature.
House of Cards
Materials: Deck or two of playing cards or 3 x 5 index cards; Crayons, markers, or colored pencils
You can make card houses from regular playing cards, but they can be slippery. Theyre more stable if there is a one-inch cut on each side of the cards. Or, instead of cutting into playing cards, use index cards. Cut them in half, then cut slits in the middle of all four sides. You can draw pictures on the cards before you begin to build your houses or tall skyscrapers. With enough cards, you can make a whole city of buildings.
Wonderful Wings
Materials: Paper grocery bags with handles; Scissors; Tempera paint
Make wings to flap! Turn yourself into a butterfly, bird, or dragon. Cut the sides of the bag into an upside-down T shape like this:
- Cut down the fold on the short sides of the bag to the bottom.
- Cut along the bottom from the cut-out to the corners. The bag should lie flat, as in the picture on the back of this card. Paint one half of the bag using a lot of paint. Fold the blank half of the bag onto the painted half and press firmly together to make a print. Peel apart and let dry. Now grasp one of the bag handles and wrap the bag around your back with the paint side out. Grab the other handle with your other hand. Flap your wings!
Costume Party
Materials: Old clothes; Your imagination
Make costumes to go with a theme like pirates and princesses, or for characters from a favorite story. Or everybody could decide on their costume alone and then you could all guess what each others costumes are. You could plan a costume party. Make invitations and mail or hand them out (if it is a family party). Be sure to say what the theme is. You can request that your guests stay in character throughout the meal. Plan the food and decorations. Think up some games that go with your theme.
Paper Chains
Materials: Scissors; Glue or staples; Magazines; Construction paper; Markers
Cut magazines and paper into 1-inch-by-8-inch strips. Start your chain by making a loop with one strip and stapling or gluing it closed. Then loop your next strip through the first one and continue on to see how long a chain you can make. Design your own chain by drawing patterns on paper and then cutting the drawings into strips. String them up around the house. Or make a chain to count down to a special day: one loop for each day until your birthday or Mothers Day. You can make a gift chain with a quotation or secret message written on the inside of each loop. Each day the recipient can wake up and tear off a loop and get a happy message from you.
Play Dough
Materials: cup salt; 1 cup flour; 2 tsps food coloring; tsp vanilla, mint, or orange extract; 1 cup water; 1 Tbsp vegetable oil (optional)
Mix the salt and flour. Combine the food coloring, scent, and water and add them to the flour a little at a time until you have a thick dough (it may take a little less or more water). Add the vegetable oil and mix it in with your hands. There are a zillion things you can do with play dough. To make holiday ornaments, with an adult helper, you can roll it out, cut out shapes with cookie cutters, make a hole in the top, and bake at 350 for 8 to 10 minutes. You can make dough jewelry beads, animals, a dough alphabet, and many more things.
Potato People
Materials: Raw unpeeled potatoes; Round toothpicks; Pipe cleaners; Construction paper; Raisins and other little edibles
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