Innovative Learning Solutions

Create wacky foam snakes by blowing air through this simple, homemade bubble-making device.

Another gem from Family Fun that you can extend the science learning by asking the kids some follow up questions – and no, you don’t have to know the answers – you can suggest where to look to find the answers – whether it’s a google search, a science book or someone you know!

CRAFT MATERIALS:
Scissors 
Plastic water bottle 
Used towel 
Rubber band 
Shallow bowl 
Dish soap 

Time needed: 30 Minutes or Less

1. Cut the bottom off a plastic water bottle.

2. Cover the open end with a circular piece of towel that’s a few inches wider than the bottle. Secure the towel with a rubber band.

3. Dampen the towel with water, then dip it into a shallow bowl of dish soap. Blow gently through the mouth of the bottle to create snakes of tiny bubbles.
Supervise younger children to make sure they do not suck in any soap bubbles.

Yarn Sunflowers

Can’t wait for your plants to bloom? Make a bouquet of big, bold sunflowers out of yarn and paper plates.

CRAFT MATERIALS:
 Yellow paper plate 
 Yellow yarn 
 Brown yarn 
 Green paint 
 Stick 

Time needed: Afternoon

1. To make a yarn sunflower, first cut an odd number of petals around the edge of a yellow paper plate. Tape the end of a length of yellow yarn (we used 16 feet for the dinner plates) to the back. Wrap the yarn around the plate, going from one notch to its match across the plate. Tie the two ends together at the back.

2. Next, to make the weaving easier, wind up a bobbin. Start by anchoring the end of a 5- or 6-yard length of brown yarn by winding it around your forefinger a couple of times. Then wrap the rest of the yarn around your whole hand. When you have about a foot left, carefully pull the wound yarn from your hand. Wrap the loose end around the center of this yarn a few times and tie it to secure.

 3. Find the end of the yarn inside the bobbin and tie it around the intersection of the yellow yarn on the plate’s front. Weave the brown yarn around the spokes of yellow yarn, as shown. The yarn should pull neatly from the inside of the bobbin. If you run out of yarn, make and tie on a new bobbin.

4. When your blossom is done, tuck the end of the yarn under the woven section. For a stem, paint a stick green, and tuck it into the yarn on the back of the plate.

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From Family Fun Magazine

A scrapbook that contains the memories of your exciting summer adventures deserves a cover with true grit — such as this castle made of sandpaper.

CRAFT MATERIALS:
 Pencil 
 Sandpaper (we used 60 grit for a coarse, sandy look) 
 Scissors 
 Toothpick 
 Tape 
 Card stock 
 Marker 
 Scrapbook 
 Double-sided foam tape 
Time needed: Under 1 Hour

 1. Download the castle template or draw your own castle elements. Trace the castle shapes on the smooth side of a sheet or two of sandpaper and cut them out.

2. Tape a toothpick to the back of the triangular tower top. Cut out a pennant from card stock and write a message on it, if desired.

3. Adhere the shapes to the cover of a scrapbook using double-sided foam tape.

Woven Tie-Dye Wall

CRAFT MATERIALS:
	Tie-dyeing kit
	Cotton bedsheet (we used a queen-size)
	Ball of sturdy twine or thin rope
	Fabric scraps (optional)
Time needed: Several days

1. Tie-dye a bedsheet, following the tie-dye kit instructions. After the sheet has been rinsed and dried, tear or cut it into long strips about 3 inches wide.

2. Survey your yard for a good spot for the wall. Between two trees 5 or 6 feet apart is ideal, but you can also anchor your wall to fence posts, bird-feeder poles, or even hardwood garden stakes hammered into the ground and kept upright with additional ropes and tent stakes.

3. Tie one end of a ball of twine about 4 feet up one of the trunks. Loop it around the other tree, keeping the twine as taut as possible. (It’s easiest to do this with two people, one at each trunk.) Continue looping the twine around both trunks as shown, passing it back and forth and moving down the trunks as you go. At the bottom, tie off the twine.

4. Weave the fabric strips into the twine, working from the bottom up. Weave any excess fabric back down the twine.

5. For added embellishment, weave in fabric scraps or other materials.