Egg Carton Pumpkins

Recycle your cardboard or paper egg cartons to make these bright and cheerful pumpkins.

What You Need:

cardboard egg carton
orange craft paint (or orange marker)
black or yellow craft paint (or black marker)
green twist tie or piece of chenille stem
newspaper
scissors
craft glue
rice, beans, or candy to place inside the pumpkin

optional: green silk sleeves, or leaves cut from felt or construction paper

Craft Project Instructions:

1. Cut two cups from the bottom of an egg carton, then trim around the top edge of each cup to make it even and tidy.

2. Spread newspaper on your work surface, then turn the two cups upside down on the newspaper. Paint the cups orange and let dry.

3. Turn the cups over and partially fill one with a little rice, beans or something similar to add weight and stability to the pumpkin.

4. Apply glue to the rim of the bottom cup and put the top cup in place. If necessary, touch up the orange paint around the center line.

5. Use the tip of the scissors, or a pencil point, to poke a small hole in the top of the pumpkin.

6. Cut a length of chenille stem, or a twist tie, to use as the pumpkin's stem. Dip the end of the stem in a little glue, then insert into the hole at the top of the pumpkin.

7. Paint a face on the pumpkin to look like a Halloween jack o'lantern.

Variation:

If you wish, replace the rice or beans with a few candies to use the pumpkin as a party favor, place setting, or Halloween treat

Idea from: www.allfreecrafts.com

Fall is here!

Make HOMEMADE Applesauce!

Peel and dice apples...

cover in water in saucepan and boil until soft...

add some sugar and cinnamon...

mash...

enjoy!

Stained Glass

Materials needed: yellow, green & red tissue paper cut in 1" squares; clear contact paper; an apple pattern ran off on construction paper; green construction paper;

Procedure: Cut out the middle of an apple from red, yellow or green construction paper and lay it on a piece of clear contact paper. Have your child lay down pieces of the red, yellow and/or green tissue paper squares on to the contact paper. Magically it sticks! :) Add a stem and a leaf from green construction paper if you wish. Hang in your window.

P.S. Back in my teaching days, it was a fun idea to celebrate Johnny Appleseed's bday (Sep 26th) and have an apple party. It was the perfect way to kick-off fall! :) Due to our lack of storage, my teaching files are tucked away in my SIL's crawl space, but I do remember some fun apple activities involving math, science, art, music etc. If you are interested feel free to send me an email at kellygirl562@gmail.com

Glurch, Glop, Goop

This is a classic concoction from the play dough family. It is neither a solid nor a liquid...but a colloid.

You just mix one cup cornstarch with 1/2 cup of water. You mess with the ratio until the glop feels just right.

I did this with my 4 year old son. Before playing with the glop, we talked about liquids, solids and gases and found examples of each in our kitchen. Then we played with the glop, glurch...whatever you choose to call it, and about it's properties that are like a liquid and others that qualify it as a solid.

Have fuN!

Photo Finish

Items Needed: photo, paper, crayons, markers, or colored pencils

Find a picture of your child or cut one out of a magazine. Take the picture and glue it in the middle of a large piece of paper. Continue drawing an extension of the photo. Make your extension realistic or make believe!

Jello Finger Paints

This activity can be fun in all kinds of ways. Take the chance to practice letters, shapes, numbers...or just have fun with the texture.

Materials: gelatin powder, water, paper, and fingers :)

Mix a small amount of the powder with water to form a thin paste, about the consistency of white school glue. Using their fingers, help your child paint a picture with the Jello paint! Best part: the paint is edible. No worries about them licking their fingers between colors.

One note:

This activity can get messy, but it's easy to clean up with a warm washcloth. Just be careful that there aren't any fabrics nearby that you don't want tie-dyed.

Toothpick Pictures

Last week while my husband was gone my daugther and I made him a "family picture" to welcome him home. It was quick and easy and really fun.

Materials Needed:
Large cardstock, cardboard, or sturdy paper
ToothpicksCottonballs or craft puff balls
Glitter Glue (optional)




Create a picture on your paper using the toothpicks - use colored puff balls to embelish. You could make a picture of most anything (people are pretty easy though). Let your child decide who or what is in the picture. After the picture is all set up use Elmer's glue to put everything down on paper. You can let your child help by having him/her put the puff balls onto the glue. When you are finished you can write in a message or put more details with glitter glue.