Keeping the Kiddos Busy

Don't throw away toilet paper rolls! Like tin cans and glass jars , toilet paper rolls can keep children busy for hours.  So many things can be done with them.  You can fill them up with candies or other treats and then wrap them as party favors or small gifts. If you have pets like rabbits, hamsters, or guinea pigs, you can use toilet paper rolls to make toys for them to keep them stimulated. With other art materials and a bit of imagination, you can transform toilet paper rolls into cars, animals, and other objects.  If you have several of them, you can make a model city. You can decorate them into fancy napkin holders. Etc., etc. Some more ideas of things you can do with toilet paper rolls can be found here , here , and here .  You will find many more if you search online. As with the other activities in this blog, the only limits are safety and your imagination!

Papier mache is easy to make.  All you need are old newspapers, water, and flour or glue.  And you can make a lot of things with it:  masks, vases, bowls, animal models, jewelry, etc.  When it is dry, you can paint and varnish it. Here are some instructions on how to make papier mache, and here are a lot of projects you can do with it.  Children may need help with big projects such as those that involve chicken wire frames, but there are many small projects that are easy enough for children to do. After you have some experience doing some of the projects in those websites, you can experiment with some of your own.

This is another art project which is easy to do but which yields stunning results.  Cut pieces of string, soak them in paint make patterns with them on a sheet of paper, cover the string with another sheet of paper, then pull the string.  You can experiment with different colors, patterns, and string textures.  See how different kinds of string yield different results. Here are some other ideas. Warning: this activity can get messy -- but in a fun way!

(Photo credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Paper_beads.jpeg) Stringing beads into a necklace or bracelet is another craft that is considered easy enough for children.  However, I originally did not think of it as a good lockdown activity because while most households have sewing kits with a stash of thread in them, obtaining beads is a different matter. But I learned that it is possible to make beads out of paper.  The procedure is simple: cut the paper into narrow triangles, add glue to one side, roll them up with the aid of a toothpick or barbecue stick, seal them with glue or clear nail polish.  By making variations on the procedure , you can make beads of different shapes and sizes. You can use any kind of paper you want.  You can even use the pages of old newspapers and magazines for a unique look.   You can also make sophisticated jewelry patterns . Making jewelry out of paper beads is fun, but wearing it is even more fun. Who ...

The idea behind stamp printing is simple: apply paint to your stamp, and then stamp it on the surface you want to decorate while the paint is still wet.  You can get creative with the stamps you make and use. A common stamp printing project is potato printing , where you carve out your design on a potato half and use the potato half as a stamp.  You can try printing the natural textures of other vegetables and fruits .  You can also make stamps from recycled materials.    You can also be creative with the surfaces you decorate.  If you have textile paint, you can use stamp printing to decorate shirts. You can decorate wooden surfaces too.  You can use stamp printing to make cards, book marks, gift wrappers, and other similar items. Again, the possibilities are endless.

Tin cans are not the only things that can be made into pretty crafts.  Most likely, you have a stash of used glass jars in your house.  You and your children can make a lot of things with them. After you wash the jars and remove their labels -- as well as any traces of the adhesive that was used to attach the labels -- there are countless ways of decorating them. You can paint them, tie ribbons around them, stick things on them, drip melted crayon on them... Just be careful that your kids don't break them and injure themselves . Then, you can use the finished product for many things. You can use them as organizers for various items, flower vases, or even as lanterns .  Here are some ideas of things you can do with glass jars and bottles .  Again, the limit is your imagination. 

A few days ago, I blogged about how you and your children can make serious music using recycled items like tin cans.  But music is just one thing you can make with tin cans.  You can also decorate them to reuse them as pencil holders or organizers for other items. Older kids can make lanterns out of them by boring holes in them and adding a lighted votive candle inside.  Tin cans can also  be transformed into toys like toy phones and stilts. You can paint them, glue things on them -- the limit is the imagination! Just be sure to remove jagged edges or cover them with layers of masking tape, for safety. Here are some ideas of things you can do with tin cans, with instructions. But like I said, the limit is the imagination!

A joke is going around in social media that with all the canned goods we are eating during the lockdown, we can play tumbang preso.   While that is a good idea, another thing you and your children can make with all those used tin cans is music.  Cans and many other throw-away household items can be recycled into homemade musical instruments. Here are some ideas. Most of the instruments you can make with recycled materials will be percussion instruments.  Your children will have fun playing them to accompany songs, or even to experiment with their own rhythms.  It may seem like childish play, but believe it or not, serious music has been made using recycled instruments.  Take this video for example: Soon, you may be able to enjoy a free concert in the comfort of your own home.

(Image credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Bali_Wayang_Kulit_shadow_puppet_Ramayana_Hanoman_dramatic_show_4.jpg) Many  cultures have their own version of shadow puppet theater .  Shadow puppet theater is an age-old method of storytelling and entertainment. It is a good way to stimulate your children's creativity and imagination.  They will enjoy putting up a shadow puppet play as well as watching one put up by others.  Best of all, it could be done with materials you most likely already have at home. Basic materials are a cardboard box, anything translucent that can be used as a light backdrop (like wax paper), a light source, stiff paper and sticks for the puppets, glue or adhesive tape,  a cutter, and a pair of scissors.  ( WARNING: Please assist your children in using cutters and scissors. )  There are many online tutorials on how to do it, like this one .  For your story, you can make a puppet show o...

This portrait of John F. Kennedy is made mostly of eggshells . Indeed, you and your children can make art using them if you do not throw them away.  Eggshell mosaics are easy to make, although you can also make them as complex as you want them. To make an eggshell mosaic, draw first your template on a sheet of paper. Decide what color you want for each part. After cleaning your eggshells, paint them your desired colors and sort them out.  Spread glue over each part of your template, then attach the eggshells according to your desired color scheme.  When the glue dries, you're done! Here is a Youtube tutorial showing how it's done. You can also use the same eggshell mosaic technique to decorate items like vases . Eggshell mosaics are an accessible version of an ancient art form , something you and your children will enjoy making at little or no cost.