Arts & Crafts

Recycling Box Crafts

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Recycling in itself is a great activity for children, it teaches them how to take care of the environment and how to sort objects into different materials (plastic, metal, paper). As long as all the items are clean and free from sharp edges children should be able to make use of any and all items in the family recycling bin.

As any parent knows, younger children are more fascinated by cardboard boxes than what came in them. This isn’t as true for older children, but they still love to play with and create things out of cardboard.

Some other items that children can use that you may not readily associate with recycling are:

* Birthday or Christmas cards – if you do not keep them year after year kids can cut them up and use the images for pictures or as puppets by gluing a popsicle stick to the back.

* Old newspaper and magazines. The newspaper can be shredded for paper maché or children can cut out individual letters to create a secret message. The magazines can be used to cut out letters too or cut out pictures to make a collage.

* Old clothing such as orphaned socks or jeans that are beyond repair. Use the socks to make sock puppets and put on a puppet show. You can use other recycled materials to decorate the sock puppet. A popular craft made with blue jeans is to cut off the back pockets and sew onto a purse or use both pockets to create a smaller purse.

* Old compact discs that don’t work anymore can be decorated and re-used as
coasters.

Children have great imaginations, let them pick their own materials from the recycling and see what they come up with. Just be careful with glass and other items that could cut or otherwise hurt younger children.

Homemade Play Dough

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Store bought play dough is fun to play with, but you can make your own at home for less and part of the fun is making it with the kids. Here is a easy to follow recipe that can be made on the stove or in the microwave:

* 1 cup of flour
* 1 cup of water
* 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar
* ½ cup of salt
* 1 tablespoon of oil
* Food coloring (optional)

Combine all the ingredients in a pot or microwave safe dish and mix until it is lump-free. Then on the stove stir over low heat until the mixture starts to thicken being careful that it doesn’t burn or stick to the bottom. Stop when it is the consistency you want for the play dough. When making the play dough in the microwave cook it in small increments on a lower power setting. Take it out and stir at least every 45
seconds. Again, you are done when the play dough has reached the desired consistency.

Let the children play and build whatever they want. If they don’t already have toys designated for play dough let them use some kitchen utensils such as cookie cutters and a rolling pin. It is food safe and easy to clean-up afterwards.

If something is sculpted or made that the child is particularly proud of, set it in the sun for a day or two and let it dry out. It should harden nicely, and they will be able to keep it for some time.

Charge the children to use the dough to find different textures around the house or outside. Gently press the play dough into the textured surface and see if the children can guess what it came from (like the bottom of a shoe or a cheese grater).

Rock Pets and Other Rock Crafts

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Kids love to paint especially when it is something other than paper. Rock crafts can be made into many things from pet rocks to steppingstones and even garden markers. Materials needed for this activity are rocks of various shapes and sizes, tempura paint, paint brushes. Optional materials include glue, permanent markers, and googely eyes.

If you have access to rocks outside, let the children pick their own. You can tell them to find rocks that they think have a special shape or would look good as a certain animal or bug (lady bugs and frogs are popular choices). If you are going to be making something larger like a steppingstone, garden stone, or vegetable marker, you can go to your local gardening or landscaping supply store.

Older children may like the added challenge of finding many small rocks and piecing them together them together to make a creature or object. If you do not have glue that is strong enough to hold rocks together clay will work as an adhesive too. With various shaped rocks you can build a car using an oblong rock for the body and four round rocks for the wheels.

Let the children paint their creations and let dry thoroughly. You should put the children’s name on the bottom of the rock for future identification. When the rocks are completely dry you can hand them over to their new charges if they are not meant to go outside. But if they are going to be going into the garden as a marker for a row of carrots or just decoration, they should be treated first so the paint does not wash away.

If you cannot find a child-safe sealant for the paint, finish the last step when they have gone to bed or are occupied with something else. Once the sealant is dry it can be put outside in its new home.

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