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DIY Labor Day Cardboard Community!
- Patria Lincoln Posted On Aug 23, 2019 | Back to School
Materials Needed:
- Larger cardboard box (cut to lay flat)
- Black paper
- White paint marker or chalk
- Smaller cereal and cracker boxes covered with kraft paper
- Colorful paper
- Scissors
- Glue
- Toy cars, people, animals (optional)
Creating Buildings
When we do projects like this, I like to keep things open-ended so kids can get really creative with their thought processes! In the classroom, you could look up images of different community buildings or even take virtual field trips.
We looked up each community building online and tried to build it with our materials. Even though he can’t read yet, I labeled each building because he is able to pick up on the words based on the building. This is a great way to incorporate literacy into this activity. I love how they turned out!
To make the road, I cut the black paper into thirds and drew dotted lines in the center with my paint marker. I didn’t glue the road down so we could build different roadways as we played. For the trees, we used recycled paper tubes. Cut two slips at the top and insert the green paper cut into circles, triangles, or cloud shapes to represent the trees.
Once we were finished creating all the buildings and other pieces, I had my son help me “build” the city on the large box. His favorite parts were the roads and trees!
We added our favorite toy cars, people, blocks, and animals for additional props. I love seeing children use their imaginations deep in play. You can just see their wheels spinning and the learning taking place!
Learning Skills
This activity works on the following early learning skills: -fine motor/cutting-shapes-colors-early literacy-pretend play and language-critical thinking
This DIY cardboard city can be used again and again. We store the broken-down box, buildings, trees, and roads in a larger box and keep it in the playroom to pull out anytime.
Save it for later!
Summertime Tie-Dye Beach Towels!
Let's bid farewell to Summer in style by creating tie-dye beach towels with the help of the color wheel, rainbow order, mixing, and pigment strength. Set up the activity in the comfort of your backyard, and don't forget to grab some gloves and plastic coverings if you aren't on grass.
What you'll need
- Spray Tie Dye Kit
- Duct Tape
- Beach or Bath Towels
- Warm Water
- Twisty Droppers
- Color Wheel
Tie-Dye Beach Towel Materials
This activity works best with the widely available spray tie-dye kits. They dry faster, making the application easier for even the youngest beach-goers.
Grab white beach or bath towels (the fluffier, the more color-absorbent), lots of duct tape, hot water for mixing the tie-dye, and the spray kit.
Lay your towel out on a flat surface, smoothing it out. Spell out your child’s name across the towel using the tape and moving slowly.
Make it a Learning Experience
Keep the color wheel handy as a guide. It is a great visual tool for classifying spectral wavelengths from red to violet.
Depending on the options available in the tie-dye set you’ve purchased, look at your color wheel and separate your bottles into primary, secondary, and tertiary categories.
Next, put on your gloves on a covered surface or grass and mix the tie-dye with the warm water. What colors are made from primary colors? Working from the color wheel, which colors will look best near each other on the towel?
Let the Fun Begin
With those gloves on, let the spraying begin! Be glad you have on gloves! The bottles can get messy fast. If you prefer the traditional route of tie-dying, try using Twisty Droppers! Pigment strength was brought up: how do we intensify the color?
It’s perfectly fine to get spray on the tape. Once the towel is pretty dry, flip it over to spray the backside! Flip back over and allow to dry completely. Wash the towels separately twice, alone in the wash.
The Benefits
- Creativity: Tie-dyeing allows children to express creativity through color and pattern choices. They can experiment with combinations and see how they turn out, encouraging them to think outside the box and develop their artistic skills.
- Fine Motor Skills: This activity involves handling small objects, such as bottles and droppers, which can help children develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
- Science Exploration: Tie-dyeing also teaches children about science concepts like color mixing and pigment strength. They can observe how primary colors combine to create secondary and tertiary colors and experiment with different dye ratios to water to create varying degrees of color intensity.
- Sense of Achievement: Completing a project, such as tie-dyeing a beach towel, can give children a sense of accomplishment and pride in their work. They can use their monogrammed towels as a tangible reminder of their creativity and hard work.
- Bonding Experience: This activity can also be an excellent opportunity for parents and children to bond over a shared creative project, working together to create a unique and personalized item that they can enjoy using for years to come.
Voilà! Monogrammed beach towels created by your color-wheel-savvy children. Enjoy the summer!
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