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Potato Friend

Breakfast bird feeders

Easy Here's what you'll need...
•Stale bread or toast •Cheerios, or any round shaped cereal •Yarn •Scissors •Pen or Pencil

Here's how you make it...
1. With a pen or pencil punch holes into your bread slices and if not toasted, leave out until stale (overnight).
2. Using your yarn, string together the bread crusts and cereal and find a great place to hang it in your favorite tree! Soon you will have some little friends in your yard!

Bubble Stamping

Here's what you'll need...
• Toilet paper roll(s)• Tempera paint• Paper plate or shallow dish• Paper

Here's how you make it...
1. Pour some paint into a paper plate or shallow dish. Your paint blob should be big enough to submerge the end of the TP roll. Dip your TP roll into the paint and you'll notice a 'bubble film' form on your roll. 2. Stamp your "bubble" onto a sheet of paper and repeat. You'll need 1 TP roll for each color of paint (unless you want your colors to mix).
You can do a lot of stamping with 1 TP roll, but if you are doing this craft with a group of kids keep in mind that the TP roll will get soggy after a while, so have some extras on hand!

Bug House

Here's what you'll need...
•Empty 2L plastic bottle with lid •Knife or sharp kitchen scissors •Dirt (plants optional) •Netting (bridal tulle was used in the picture, but any netting will do, as long as the bugs can’t get through it)•Glue, tape will work too, unless your planning to collect some really big, strong bugs!

Here's how to make it...
1.With a craft knife or sharp scissors cut an air hole into your plastic bottle.
2. Add dirt, and plants if you wish, into the bottom of the bottle. You will need the dirt in the bottom to weigh the bottle down, and the bugs will like it too!
3. Securly glue on the netting around the air hole.
Now add bugs! Guide your bugs into the jug through the open top and then seal it up with the lid, and observe!

Cheerio Necklaces

CHEERIO NECKLACES

String Cheerios or Fruit loops onto a piece of yarn or string. Tie ends together so that they slip easily around a child’s head. Children can munch on them while playing. (For an extra treat-they can also be strung on very long and thin red licorice candy.)

Cheese Hammers

CHEESE HAMMERS & TOWERS

1. Cut a variety of cheese into small squares.

2. For a hammer, poke a pretzel into each one.

3. Children can connect their cubed cheese with the pretzel sticks to make cheese towers.

Heat from the sun craft!

Materials Needed:
Construction paper
Crayon Shavings
Heat from the sun


Draw an outline of a flower or what ever you want on a piece of construction paper. Place the crayon shavings within the lines of the flower shape to make a colorful design. Carefully place the picture outside in the sun. Place a rock or some other heavy object, on the paper to keep it still. Allow the shavings to melt. For best results, leave the paper outside overnight to allow the shavings to harden completely.

Sea Shell Easy Craft

Materials Needed:
Sea shells
Paints
Paintbrushes
Ribbon
Hot Glue Gun

Paint the grooves and lines of the shells using different colors. Glue a loop of ribbon to the top of each shell so you can hang it up. For a larger decoration, hot glue multiple shells together.

Sand Picture

What You Need
Construction paper
Glue
Sand
What You Do
1. Give each child a piece of construction paper, and allow them to draw a picture or write words with the glue. Make sure that they do not put globs of glue in any one spot.
2. Before the glue dries, pour dry sand over the construction paper by hand.
3. Let it sit for a few minutes, and then shake off the excess sand.
4. Let it dry flat for about a half an hour or depending on how much glue was used.
Helpful Hints
* This can also be done with colored sand, but, for those on a budget, regular sand works just as well. I did this project with my after school children and they loved it!

Science Project or Craft Project

Here's a science project that doubles as a fun craft. Create your very own ocean waves in a plastic soda bottle.



What you need
Empty two liter plastic bottle with lid
Clear vegetable oil or mineral oil
Water
Funnel
Blue food coloring
Small star fish, shells and other sea creatures
One tsp glitter
White craft glue
Hot glue


What you do
1. Wash and dry two-liter bottle and remove all labels.
2. Fill bottle halfway with tap water.
3. Add a few drops of blue food coloring and swirl around to mix.
4. Add glitter.
5. Add sea creatures.
6. Fill bottle the rest of the way with vegetable oil using a funnel.
7. Be sure that rim and cap are dry, then apply white craft glue around the rim. Seal cap.
8. Use a layer of hot glue around the outer edge of the cap for added protection from leakage.
9. Turn bottle on its side and gently rock the bottle to create a "wave" inside your ocean habitat!
Helpful hints
* Use lightweight starfish, shells and other sea creature toys that can float. Test them first in a bowl or glass of water. Find these at your local craft supply store or discount department store.
* Make the ocean any color you choose! Blue is standard of course, but if your child's room is decorated with red and yellow, go with red food coloring. There's no rule that says your ocean must be blue.
* Small children will be mesmerized by this creation. They can help make this every step. Let them insert the sea creatures, hold the funnel and help add the tap water. In the steps that may be more difficult for little fingers, have them hold the bottle steady for you while you add the glitter.

Paper plate jelly fish

Here's what you'll need...
• Paper plate Yarn• Glue• Paint and brush• Google eyes (optional)

Here's how to make it...
1. Paint your paper plate. I only painted the bottom of the plate. The "eating" side of the plate usually has a waxy coating that makes it difficult to paint, so paint only the bottom, or the "non-eating" side of the plate. 2. Cut many lengths of yarn, how ever long you'd like your jelly fish's tentacles to be. When the paint is dry, turn the plate over and glue each of the tentacles around the plate.
3. I glued google eyes on our jelly fish to make him look friendly. Jelly fish don't have eyes, so it's up to you if you want to add them or not.

Learning: Read a book on jelly fish to your child!

Fish Baggies

Here's what you'll need...
• Zip-lock baggie (either sandwich or gallon size)• Scotch tape• Construction paper• Rubber band or string• Google eyes (or white paper circles)

Here's how you make it...
1. Cut the extra part of the baggie that is above the zipper (don't cut off the zipper). 2. Fold both corners of the baggie in (the non-zipper end) and secure with scotch tape. 3. Cut construction paper in squares. Scrunch up you paper into balls and fill up your baggie about ⅔ full.

Popsicle Paints

Here's what you'll need...
•A container to make your paints in like an ice cube tray or a real Popsicle container.•Water•Food coloring•Popsicle sticks•Cling rap (optional)

Here's how to make them...
1.Fill your container with water and add 5 drops of food coloring in each section. Make as many colors as you wish. 2.Insert the popsicle sticks into each section. They don't need to be straight. If you are using an ice cube tray you can cover with cling wrap and insert the sticks through the wrap to keep them straight. 3. Freeze until solid and then you're ready to bring them outside..paint on paper, paint the side walk or fence, make some wonderful creations!

The Bubble Factory

The Bubble Factory
The Bubble Factory is a homemade bubble blower, kids love this craft! All you need is an old margarine tub, straw, hole punch and dish soap and you've got instant summer fun! You will need to make sure the child doing this craft knows how to blow into a straw and will not drink the soapy water (yuk!).

Here's how you make it...
1. With your hole punch, punch a hole in the lid of the magarine container. Punch it any where, as long as the hole is past the lip of lid it will work. 2. With your hole punch, punch a hole in the magarine container. The hole needs to be punched near the top, otherwise your "bubble juice" will leak out when you fill it. 3. Now you're ready to blow some bubbles! Pour in some dish soap and water into your tub. Insert the straw, flexible end first, into the hole on the side of the tub. Aim the straw down to the bottom of the tub. Put the lid on the container, with the hole in the lid opposite the hole in the tub.

Homemade sidewalk chalk/paint!

Here's what you'll need...
• ¼ cup corn starch• ¼ cup water• 8 drops of food coloring in different colors• Small containers (one for each color)• Paint brush(es) Here's how you make it...

In a small container mix the cornstarch and water. Add food coloring. Repeat to make as many colors as you can. If you want white paint don't add any food coloring!
You'll notice when you paint it looks a little watery, but when it dries the colors will be vibrant.
If you are using this paint outside on a warm sunny day it will dry almost immediately. Hose it off, or just use a wet rag. Since this paint is made with natural ingredients it will not harm your plants, grass, or any of your outdoor drains. Happy Painting!

SUN!!

Supplies needed:
A paper plate
Yellow construction paper
Scissors
Glue (or a stapler)
Crayons, paint or markers
Googly eyes (optional)

Paint the back side of a paper plate yellow.
Trace a child's hand on yellow construction paper about 7 times.
Cut out the tracings.
Glue or staple the hand print tracings to the paper plate - the fingers are the sun's rays.
Color in the sun, drawing a mouth and a nose. Either draw the eyes or glue on googly eyes