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.

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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.

Visit Family Fun Magazine Online for more great ideas for crafts, games, recipes and more!

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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.

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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.

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School’s out, so to feed kids’ hunger for knowledge and keep math and reading skills from getting too rusty, try these fun ideas for snack time.

This is No. 10 of Family Fun’s 10 Ways to Make Summer More Fun. Be sure to check out the others!

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
EDIBLE HANGMAN:
Crackers 
Squirtable cheese or similar condiment 
Celery 
Cherry tomatoes 
Carrots 
Bell peppers

 
MAKE-A-SHAPE: 
Mini marshmallows or raisins 
Toothpicks 
1. Edible Hangman: Make this classic game delicious by having kids write their letter guesses on crackers using squirtable cheese or a similar condiment. Veggies make up the hangman — a celery body, cherry tomato head, carrot arms, and bell-pepper legs. After each round, players eat their words — and their veggies.

2. Make-a-Shape: Turn mini marshmallows or raisins into building materials. Using toothpicks as connectors, kids can create shapes such as hexagons and pyramids before they gobble their snack.

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Once again, FamilyFun.com has easy and creative activities for kids

Button Blossoms

CRAFT MATERIALS:
	20-inch lengths of ribbon (we used 5/8-inch-wide grosgrain)
	Needle and thread
	Buttons
	T-shirt or tank
Time needed: About 1 Hour

1. To make each flower, form six 1 1/2-inch loops in the ribbon as shown.

2. Sew a few stitches through the flower’s center to secure the loops.

3. Place the flower on the T-shirt. Attach it by sewing a button in the center of the flower, running the thread through both the flower and the shirt. Repeat the process to add more flowers.

Glow-in-the-Dark Comet

While you wait for the stars to appear on a summer night, play catch with this homemade Glow-in-the-Dark Comet.

CRAFT MATERIALS:
	Tennis ball
	Plastic shopping bag
	Scissors
	Clear tape
	Glow-in-the-dark plastic lacing
	Ribbons
Time needed: Under 1 Hour

1. Lay a plastic shopping bag flat, then trim off the handles and slit up the sides. Place a tennis ball in the middle of the bottom of the bag. Gather the plastic around the ball; secure the gathered neck with clear tape. Cut the loose part of the bag into 1-inch-wide strips and trim them, if desired.

2. Lay one end of a 7-foot length of glow-in-the-dark plastic lacing along the length of the strips and wrap the lacing around the neck a couple of times. Wrap the remaining lacing around the ball three times in one direction, turn the ball 90 degrees, then wrap it three more times so that the lacing crosses itself. Tie the lacing around the neck to secure it and trim the excess to the length of the strips.

3. Run a strip of clear tape around the ball perpendicular to the wrapped lacing to keep it from sliding. Tie a few thin ribbons and more strands of lacing around the neck of the ball.

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Family Fun (familyfun.com)has great ideas for Fathers Day, For more gift ideas, sign up for FamilyFun’s free ARTS & CRAFTS NEWSLETTER, delivered to your in-box twice a month!

A Pad for Dad

Even if Dad’s not the absent-minded-professor type, he’ll surely appreciate getting this rustic, pocket-size notebook for Father’s Day. (First to-do item: Thank kids by taking them out for ice cream!)
CRAFT MATERIALS:
 Three sheets of plain letter-size paper 
 Hole punch 
 Thin 

Time needed: Under 1 Hour
1. Cut three sheets of plain letter-size paper in half lengthwise. Fold the two sets of three sheets in half. Working on one set at a time, punch two holes 3/4-inch in from the fold and the side.

 2. Cut two pieces of thin cardboard the same size as the folded white paper, then trim about 1/8-inch from the short ends. Cut a 4 1/4- by 11-inch piece from a brown paper bag, then use glue stick to adhere it to the two cardboard pieces, leaving a small gap between them, as shown. Punch four holes 3/4-inch in from the gap and the side.

 3. Fold the brown paper cover around the two sets of white paper. Feed a loop of a 3 1/2-inch rubber band through each hole, and slide a small stick through the loops. Attach newspaper letters to the cover with glue stick.

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“Watermelon – it’s a good fruit. You eat, you drink, you wash your face.” – Enrico Caruso

Hot afternoons are perfect for fun, healthy after-school snacks made with watermelon, a nutrient dense, fat-free food that is a natural hydrator and an excellent source of vitamins A, B6 and C. And because watermelon has a higher water content and lower calorie content than many other fruits, it delivers more nutrients per calorie. A two-cup serving contains only 80 calories.

The children in your after-school program may enjoy making watermelon sno-cones, a recipe from the National Watermelon Promotion Board (www.watermelon.org).

You will need seedless watermelon, vanilla yogurt, shredded coconut, sprinkles and paper sno-cone cups.

Using an ice cream scoop, make balls of watermelon and place them in the freezer on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper for no more than 1 hour. Remove from freezer and roll in vanilla yogurt and then coconut, and top with sprinkles. Place in a sno-cone cup and enjoy.

For proven and practical resources, please visit our Web site at www.schoolagenotes.com.

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