Science Experiments Galore

http://www.kids-science-experiments.com/cat_reaction.html

I recently saw this great idea on how to make a science experiment kit for kids. My nephew will be 6 in April and is a little mad scientist in the making. I know what I'm doing for his b-day present now!  LOVE it!!

Pop-Up Puppets

SOURCE: http://mommymeatloaf.blogspot.com/2010/03/peek-boo-puppets.html

Start off with a wooden dowel. Take a styrofoam ball and stick it on the end of the dowel to form a head (I guess it would really be the skull since it will be covered, but anyway...) Then, take a plastic cup, cut out the bottom, and slide it up onto the stick.


Next, take a sock (I used an old one because its cheaper than buying one) and slide it over the ball, down the dowel, and up over the cup. The sock needs to be hot-glued to the cup. Before you glue it, make sure the cup is all the way at the end of the dowel; this is so you have room to move the puppet up and down when its finished. If the sock is longer than the cup, just cut the sock.

Now you want to take fabric, felt, or whatever and cover the cup.

Ok, so on to the fun part. You can use felt cut-outs, wiggly eyes, pom-poms, pipe cleaners,or whatever else you want to make a face and decorate your puppet. This is a part thats fun for the kids. Now of coarse, they can't use the hot glue gun, but you can give them Elmer's and let them go crazy. The Elmer's doesn't stick so well, but when they aren't looking you can use your hot glue gun and re-secure their pieces. For mine, I made curly hair by wrapping yarn around a dowel, wetting it, and microwaving until dry. Make sure to microwave at small increments (20 seconds or so) or you will burn the dowel and yarn. Trust me, I know!!

Plastic Easter Egg Snakes

SOURCE:  http://mommymeatloaf.blogspot.com/


Grab some line and some plastic egg halves
String the eggs onto the line.
Turn the very last egg backwards to give it a "finished" look and tie a knot.
Paint a face on it and glue on a piece of ribbon to make a mouth.

Crayon Iron-Ons

SOURCE: http://mommymeatloaf.blogspot.com/2010/04/crayon-iron-ons.html

Crayon Iron-Ons


Take a piece of coarse sandpaper and color your design on the rough side. I free-handed some hearts and flowers. Since my son isn't old enough to really draw designs yet, I cut out some shapes and letters for him to color. Remember: When cutting out letters or when coloring words, you must make them backwards so when they are transfered, they face the right way.

Now for the adult portion! Take your material (shirt, bag, whatever) and put it on your ironing board. Be sure to put a piece of white paper or aluminum foil under the layer of fabric you are putting your iron-on on. If you don't, the crayon will bleed through. Place your picture on the fabric, crayon side down. Now iron it on. Be sure to move the iron very slowly and iron for 10-20 seconds (don't burn your shirt though).
Now, carefully peel off the sandpaper while its still hot and ALL done!!

Wait until your child sees their masterpiece on a piece of clothing. They'll love it!
BE SURE TO READ THIS: While handwashing is best, you can wash your project in the machine on cold. DO NOT DRY YOUR PROJECT IN THE DRYER! Not only will the crayon melt all over your project, it will probably ruin all the clothes in the dryer. I know this from experiences with crayons left in pockets.

super letter hunt

ages 2-6 

supplies

Paper and pen

activity detail

Play a hidden alphabet game with your child. Write each letter of your child's name on a separate piece of paper. Then hide the letters throughout your house and send your child on a letter treasure hunt. When she has found them, help her put the letters in order to spell her name. When she has mastered this, try it with other words. Another variation would be to write the whole alphabet on 26 pieces of paper and then have your child place them in order after finding them all.

Source: http://www.savvysource.com/activities/activity_a2-3i601_SuperLetterHunt

paper bag pinatas

ages 3-6 

supplies

Small brown paper bags, candy, yarn, crayons, decorative materials of parent's choice

activity detail

Give your child a small brown paper bag and let them decorate it how they want. This can be elaborately, with sequins and glitter, or simply, with crayons. Put a few pieces of candy in the bag and close by folding over the top. Punch two holes at the top and run enough yarn through the holes to be able to hang it from a high place and still be at children's height to swing at.

Source: http://www.savvysource.com/activities/activity_a2-3i129_PaperBagPinatas

Terra Cotta Pot Bird Feeders

Source: http://www.inspiremecrafts.com/inspireme_crafts/gotta-make-itwith-the-kids/page/2/

MATERIALS:
large terra cotta pot bottom
medium terra cotta pot
paint
2 medium sized wooden balls with holes
wire
paint brush
strong adhesive, glue gun

OPTIONAL: beads, paper, decoupage

HOW-TO:
1. Start by painting your terra cotta pots and the wooden balls. Allow to dry.
2. If you are a talented painter, or would like your children to do it, you can decorate your pots with designs. If you are like me and can't draw or paint, you may choose to decoupage some paper onto it. If you decide to take this route, I suggest cutting the paper into triangles or squares and overlapping them. Put the decoupage on both sides and keep overlapping until you have your desired look. Allow to dry.
3. Take your wire ( I used about 1 yard and cut off the excess after I was done with the whole process) and stick one end through the wooden ball. String the wooden ball all the way to the middle of the wire. Then take both ends of the wire and insert them into the large opening of the pot and through the little hole on the bottom of the terra cotta pot until the ball is up against the pot. (see picture for clarification). Then take the two wires and insert into the second ball. Bring ball down until it is at the bottom of the terra cotta pot. There should now be one ball in the inside of the pot and one on the other side all connected with the same wire.
4. Take your extra strong adhesive, or glue gun, and apply to the large open rim of the terra cotta pot. Quickly stick it to the center of the large terra cotta pot bottom. Let dry.
5. If you choose, add some beads to the wire and tie a knot at the top.
6. Add some bird seed and hang! Let the birds enjoy and start your bird watching.

Plastic Spoon Flowers

Source: http://www.cool-kids-craft-ideas.com/plastic-spoon-flowers.html#lily

Water Lily
This one looks great sitting on your table. Place it on a blue mat or paper to simulate the look of water.



Supplies
14 Plastic Spoons
Decorative Button or Paper
Green Felt
Sturdy Scissors or Diagonal Cutters
Hot Glue
Thin Cardboard

How to Make a Plastic Spoon Water Lily
Cut the stem portion of the spoon off leaving about 1/4" for gluing.
Cut a piece of cardboard into a circle shape 3 inches in diameter.
Using the hot glue, glue 5 spoon bowls on the outer edge of the circle cardboard spacing evenly around the circle.
Take five more spoon bowls and glue these in between the first 5 spoons slightly in closer to the middle of the circle. For this layer, angle the spoons slightly upwards.
Glue the last four spoons onto the cardboard. Again angling the spoons higher and in closer to the middle.
Glue on a decorative button for the middle of the flower.
Tip: You can also use card stock or craft foam and decorate it anyway you want.
Lastly, cut out two leaf shapes with green felt. Glue these to the bottom of the cardboard.
Another flower craft idea for this one is to use colored spoons. You can alternate with white and your choosen color and make your water lily all one color.

Tulips

This one is fairly simple and the younger kids can give it a try. You will need an adult to help with the hot glue gun.

Supplies
1 Plastic Spoon per tulip
Permanent Marker or Paint
Green Pipe Cleaners

How to Make Plastic Spoon Tulips
Paint the back bowl side of the spoon the desired color for your tulip. Let this dry completely.
Using a complementing color, paint a triangle starting from the edge of the top of the spoon and come down to a point for the triangle. This will create the look of a tulip.
Paint the handle green to create the stem.
Fold a pipe cleaner into leaf shapes and wrap it around the stem.
Just stick your tulip in a styrofoam ball to display this cute flower. You can make a vase as well and use floral foam or clay to hold in place.

Roses
The directions below are for the roses with a "slumped" petal which requires working with a candle and is intended for older kids with supervision. If your younger child wants to try this craft, you can do this without using a candle.

Supplies
8 Plastic Spoons
Permanent Marker or Paint
Sturdy Scissors or Diagonal Cutters
Hot Glue
Candle
Green Tissue Paper
Ribbon

How to Make Plastic Spoon Roses
To create a petal look (called slumping the spoon), light a candle and hold a spoon about 2" above the flame. The spoon should be bowl side down facing the flame.
Hold the spoon to where the tip of the spoon is receiving the heat. Hold in place until you see the spoon "slump".
Remove the spoon from the flame and press the tip against a hard surface (like the the table) to bend the tip back to create the petal.
Tip: For the first two spoons, bend back only slightly. These will be the center of the rose.
Paint your spoons the color you want (if using white spoons). Color the folded part of the petal (where you bent it back) a slightly darker matching color.
Hot glue your first 2 spoons together keeping the handle on the spoon.
Slump your next two spoons creating a slightly larger fold in the petal. Paint the spoons. Cut off the handle of the spoon leaving about 1/2" for gluing to the first two spoons.
Glue these two spoons to the first two spoons but place these so they are on each edge of the first two spoons (meaning facing each other but in the opposite direction of the first two spoons.
Repeat steps 6 and 7 for the remaining spoons creating a larger slump with each row of petals. Be sure to glue these on the opposite side of the last set of spoons.
Lastly, wrap the tissue paper around the stem and part way up the rose to cover all the edges of the cut spoons. Tie it off with a bow and give this to mom for Mother's Day or Valentine's Day.

If you want to do this rose craft without the candle and slumping of the petals, simply follow all the steps above skipping the slumping. You will still get a beautiful rose but it will be more of a rose bud without the petals opening. We placed a small pine cone in the center of ours to give it a different look.