Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Outdoor and Household Crafts

Let's visit the zoo at the park and find out about the different animals.  The animals are from different parts of the world and from different biomes! There are monkeys, sloths, penguins, polar bears, butterflies, giraffes, dolphins, etc.

Earth Shaped Biome Books

 

Supplies Needed:  Construction paper of different colors, printed out pictures of animals or animal shape cut outs (animals from different biomes), cut outs or print outs of different types of trees, crayons/markers, glue/tape, cotton, fake grass, stapler and scissors. 
*(It is encouraged that the parents use the stapler themselves if a stapler is needed.  You may want to just use heavy tape instead). 

Instructions:

1.  Cut out big ovals or circles out of construction paper of different colors. 

2.  Download and cut out a picture of the planet Earth and make the picture the same size as all of the circles/ovals. 

3.  Staple or tape all of the circles/ovals together so that a paper book is assembled and make sure the picture of earth is on the top cover.  (See the first picture of this project posted above).

4.  Color and paste the different animals and trees onto each page of the book according to the biome they are in.  For example, a giraffe, lion and zebra should be on a page representing a savannah.  A tree frog, monkey, toucan, blue butterfly and sloth should be on a page representing a tropical rain forest, a penguin and polar bear should be on a page resembling the tundra, etc.

5. Embellish the pages to resemble the scenery of the tundra.  For example, cotton can be used to create snow and ice on the tundra, the fake grass can be used for the grasslands or a rainforest.  A cactus can be used for a dessert, etc. Feel free to color in anything else for the biomes as you wish. 

6. All of the pages together should make up a "Biome Book".  Children study biomes in school, so this craft will be fun and educational as well. 










After walking around the zoo, it's time to take a ride on the horse carousel.  The Spring and Summer seasons are great times to do that! Let's go for a ride!

 Horse Carousel


Supplies: Card stock, 4 ice cream sticks, glue/tape, crayons/markers, stickers, a ribbon, scissors and one hole puncher.  

Instructions:
1.  Take a piece of cardstock paper and roll the ends over and then tape the ends together to make a cylinder. 

2.  Cut out horse shapes from pieces of card stock paper.  Decorate the horses with stickers and markers.  Glue or tape them on popsicle sticks

3.  Glue or tape the horses on the popsicle sticks around the paper cylinder. 

4.  If you want, you can punch 2 holes at the top of the cylinder and pull a ribbon through the holes, tie it and then twirl the carousel around. 

5.  Enjoy decorating the carousel. 





Riding up and down on a seesaw sounds like fun too!  Here we go!  Up and down!  

Paper Seesaw


Supplies:  One half of a toilet paper tube, cardstock, wrapping paper, scissors, glue/tape, crayons/markers and stickers. 

Instructions:

1.  Cut a toilet paper tube in half.  Use one half for the bottom lever of the seesaw.  Wrap the half of toilet paper tube in wrapping paper if you wish to make it more attractive than the plain cardboard shade. 

2. Cut out a piece of cardstock (in any color of your choice) into the shape of a rectangle.  It should be about 6-8 inches long and an inch and a half to 2 inches wide. 

3. Feel free to adorn the seesaw board with wrapping paper, stickers and any other decorative materials of your choosing.   

4. Cut out 2 paper dolls out of pieces of card stock. You may draw the paper dolls or trace them from a picture. 

5. Color and decorate the paper dolls to make them appear like children.  Use crayons/markers to draw a face on each of them, clothes, hair and accessories.

6. Glue/tape the rectangle on top of the piece of toilet paper tube.  Make sure that the tube is under the very center of the rectangle and that one is horizontal and one is vertical to simulate a real seesaw. 

7. Glue/tape each paper doll onto each end of the seesaw to make it look like children playing on the seesaw. 

8.  Try to make the seesaw go up and down.  Have fun!



Oh, how nice and colorful!  There is a mermaid parade on the boardwalk!  Their tops and tails shine like a rainbow of colors!

  

 

Supplies: White construction paper, crayons/markers, scissors and a hole puncher.

Instructions:

1.  Cut out a picture of a mermaid or draw an outline of a mermaid and cut out the outline. 

2.  Cut a letter sized piece of white construction paper in half horizontally. 

3.  Take one of the halves of the white paper and fold it zigzag in an accordian style. 

4.  Trace the outline of the mermaid shape onto the top of one end of the accordian folded paper. 

5.  With the accordian paper folds all pressed together, cut out the shape of the mermaid and make certain that the mermaids arm on one side is not cut at all. 

6.  After you are done cutting, unfold the paper and there should be a chain of paper mermaid dolls attached by an arm.

7.  Color and decorate the paper mermaid dolls as you wish. 

8.  You may use a hole puncher to punch holes on the insides of the arms to make the arm features more distinguished.  Or, you may just draw outlines to emphasize the arms and upper body features. 

The children colored and decorated paper doll mermaid chains to resemble the "Mermaid Parade" that takes place in June on Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY, USA.


 

I hear them announcing on the microphone the finalists and winner of the mermaid parade contest!  That's a colorful, sparkly microphone that the DJ is using for the announcements!

Paper Microphone



Supplies:  One toilet paper tube, construction paper, tin foil, glitter foam sheet stickers, scissors and glue/tape.  

Directions:

1.  Wrap a toilet paper tube in a construction sheet of paper in any color of choice.  This will be the handle of the microphone.

2.  Scrunch a sheet (or a few sheets) of tin foil in a ball and then attach the tin foil ball on top of one end of the tube using glue or tape. (The more tin foil sheets you use, the bigger the microphone ball will be.)

3.  Decorate the handle with stickers, foam shapes or anything else you like.  Have fun!  Let's rock!


After a long day at the parade, it's time to stroll in the sand and bounce a beach ball around!

Stuffed Paper Bag Beach Ball



 

Supplies: One paper lunch bag, tissue paper, small pieces of scrap paper, scissors and tape.

Directions:

1.  Stuff the paper lunch bag with pieces or shreds of scrap paper. 

2.  Mold the bag with your hands to create a round shape or as close to a round shape as possible.  Use tape to hold the bag in shape if you have to. 

4  Wrap the stuffed paper bag ball with tissue paper or wrapping paper in any design or pattern you wish. You may cut out shapes from tissue paper of different colors to create the design of your choice. Secure the tissue paper coverings with tape. 

5.  Feel free to decorate the ball with stickers or little tissue paper balls.  Enjoy tossing the new paper beach ball.  Have fun!


After a long day of playing outside, it is time to go home and do some laundry!  Clothes can get dirty after spending all day outdoors in warm weather!  

Stand-Up Paper Laundry Room



Supplies: One letter-sized piece of card stock, smaller pieces of card stock, fabric, string, clothespins, stickers, crayons/markers, scissors, hole puncher and glue/tape.

Instructions:

1.  Fold a letter-sized sheet of card stock in half.  Stand it up so that one side is standing horizontally and the vertical part is flat on the table.

2.  Cut shapes of clothing out of felt or cloth. 

3.  Cut out shapes of a washing machine, detergent, basket, hamper and other laundry room materials from card stock.  (You can use your own shapes or download images from the Internet. )

4.  Using a hole puncher, punch one hole on one end of the top horizonal part of the laundry room and another hole at the other end.  Lace a piece of string through the holes so that the string looks like a hanging dryer line.  Tie the string up so that it stays .

5.  Decorate your clothes and laundry room using stickers, markers, crayons, the cut out shapes, etc.

6.  You can hang the fabric clothes shapes on the string using either paper clips or wooden clips. 

7.  Have fun in your own paper laundry room. 

8.  Wash and dry your clothes so that you have clean clothes for the next day!
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