What a sweet family portrait of our junk model robots. Inspired by a book B is reading at school Saturday morning turned into robot making time.
Perfect peg dolls
Want an activity that promotes creativity, environmental awareness and maths skills and combines imaginative play with a boost of literacy? Peg dolls are where it’s at!
How to make a peg doll
Take some wooden pegs, add recycled materials from your making box and let the kids get to work, making whatever characters are in their imaginations. [Read more…]
How to make a jungle
After the great pocket money debate, over the summer holiday the girls have started to earn a little money. A very exciting new thing for them, which meant on our recent trip to the zoo they had some of their own money to spend on a treat. So, we now have a family of wild animals in need of a home. On our return we transformed a humble cardboard box into not just a jungle, but a savanna and watering hole too. The hippo is very happy in her new home – and the play scene is giving the girls the chance for lots of imaginary play and chat.
How to make a jungle from a cardboard box [Read more…]
Glorious Junk! download your free ebook
My latest free ebook is packed with ideas for junk modelling.
Junk modelling is just perfect for free, creative fun – with lots of opportunities for developing maths and literacy skills as you play.
Download your free copy [Read more…]
The Very Hungry Caterpillar craft ideas: butterflies
Following on from yesterday’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar craft ideas for caterpillars, today we have a selection of butterfly crafts.
The designs are all very simple again, making them easy for very young children to try.
Working with the idea of butterflies gives the opportunity to talk about symmetry and with older children you might want to encourage them to focus on creating matching patterns, as part of a more mathematical activity.
With young children though I think the main purpose behind these crafts is to invite them to enjoy the colours and see what patterns they can make – so I wouldn’t worry about strict directions about making sure both sides match.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar craft ideas: butterfly printing
This idea is a childhood classic – painting on one side of a piece of paper, folding and squishing the paint, and then opening it up to reveal your butterfly.
I particularly love this technique because it’s open to all children – even babies. Everyone can join in: finger painting, smearing colour around, making hand prints, using brushes or sponges to apply the paint. And my kids really love the surprise reveal when the final pattern is peeled open and revealed.
Two tips I’d share:
1. It might be hard for the children to understand the idea of painting at first on one side of the paper only, and you won’t want to pester them all through the activity to stop painting on the other side. If you fold the paper over so the side to be kept clear is underneath and only the side that needs painting is presented to them (see above), then they can go for it, applying the paint wherever they like, without any restrictions. When they’ve finished you can fold it the other way to make your print.
2. I’d do a demonstration of the folding and squishing first before using their own art work – some children can be very upset if they think you’re spoiling their design, so best for them to be happy with the plan before you try it.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar craft ideas: butterfly mobiles
These twirling butterflies were inspired by an idea Amanda created for Make and Takes. Amanda’s children made ladybirds, but I think they’re also beautiful with a butterfly design, and the kids can paint, pattern or collage any design they choose.
Make and Takes has a step-by-step guide to assembling them.
A tip I’d add: if you laminate the pieces of card before assembling them they’ll withstand a little rain so you can have them twirling in the garden.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar craft ideas: peg butterflies
We used a wooden clothes peg to make a butterfly mobile: here’s our step-by-step guide showing how we made it.
Junk modelling giraffe
Taking my own advice for turning this half term holiday staycation into a fun filled PLAYcation, our making box is well stocked with packets and boxes and old wrapping paper this week. My eight-year-old especially loves junk modelling and it amazes me how she can delve into a box of junk, select a few boxes and re-appear an hour later with a creation.
I love encouraging junk modelling because of course it’s a fabulous free activity, and it challenges children to be creative, think about sizes and dimensions and problem-solve as they create their masterpiece.
Today B made a junk model giraffe. I asked her if she set out to make a giraffe or if the boxes she found suggested it to her and it seems this time she was fulfilling a brief requested by her little sister, who wanted a new animal to live in her safari park.
You can see she’s used sticky tape to fasten the body parts together, which is the girls’ favourite method for sticking as they never want to wait for glue to dry before they start playing. I’d recommend getting a weighted tape dispenser which makes it much easier for kids to use the tape by themselves, so they can grab some when they get a creative urge. The giraffe is stuck to a platform with a ribbon attached so it can be pulled along and go for a walk.
What might your kids junk model this week? If they’re in need of inspiration our archive has dragons, snakes, castles, double decker buses, houses and a city to spark some ideas.
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happily shared with child centred art party mini masterpieces and kids get crafty
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