How to make a Pop-Up Book Have you ever wondered how to make a pop-up book like you see in the bookstores? It can be done much easier than you may think. Sure, there are some really fancy pop-up books, but kids can have a whole lot of fun with nothing more than some paper, scissors and a little imagination. This past week, my daughter discovered a whole new world.
The easiest way to start a pop-up book is to take a piece of paper and cut 2 small equal slits. Then you fold in the piece that you just cut, giving you a 90 degree angle on the inside fold.
Tip: To create interest, make some of the cuts different widths and thickness. That will allow your creatures to pop up at different perspectives.
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You can glue creatures, pictures, or figures on the pop out folds to make them stand up when you open your page.
Once you have all your pages done, you can just glue the backs together to form a book. My daughter has about 5 pages done but not the cover. This is one of those projects that keep getting more fun as she figures out new ways to do the pages and create the story.
Have you ever made a pop-up book? Got any tips for making it even more fun? I’d love to hear!
How to Make Paper Cats and Dogs My daughter came home from school last week telling me that one of her friends had been trying to make a dog out of a piece of paper but it didn’t quite look right. I remembered making a dog face with floppy ears back when I was a kid, so we did what all intelligent Moms do when they want to impress their kids – they do a google search. We found how to make paper cats and dogs very easily using a single sheet of paper and a pair of scissors.
Making a paper cat or dog is super simple. In fact, my 8 year old got so excited and had so much fun that she made a dozen so she could take them to school and share them with her friends.
Materials Needed:
Paper Scissors Pen/Pencil Colored paper (optional)
Directions
Fold the paper over and cut the bottom so you have a square. Fold the ears down on each side. Fold the nose triangle up. Use a pen or marker to draw eyes, nose and ears.
Making the Cat Face The cat face was a simple switch. Instead of folding the ear flaps down in front of the face, you just fold them up. The top triangle folds backwards too. Then you flip over the face so the ears are in the back.
There are directions for every imaginable paper animals or shapes.
Have you ever made animals out of paper? What’s your favorite paper creation to make? Got any fun stories or tips? I’d love to hear!
Fun in a Box How much fun can a 5 and 8 year old have in a box? Earlier this week, we received a package from Amazon. The package itself was pretty boring, but my 2 youngest kids decided that there is more fun in a box than in the contents. Before I realized what was happening, they had found crayons and begun designing their car. It comes complete with 4 wheels, a steering wheel, all the gears, gas and brake pedals and of course an eject button for when they need to get out fast. They were busy designing this box for hours.
My kids were off to the races in this boxcar, headed into space and I think I even heard them fighting a few airplane battles in the skies. I loved listening to them play and have fun in a box. Sometimes as parents, we think that our kids need to be scheduled or have organized activities always going on. But, I think that kids do better to get a chance to stretch their imagination and figure out how to create their own fun.
Too often, we forget that the simple things in life are the things that really make life rich. We bought our kids an Angry Birds: Knock On Wood Game for Christmas. They love Angry Birds and have enjoyed playing it. But they have had even more fun over the past few years building their own Angry Birds game out of boxes in the recycle bin .
My friend Jen posted pictures of her kids building their Real Life Angry Birds game. Take a look at the tower they built! I think they proved that kids of all ages can enjoy playing real life Angry Birds!
Sharon D from A Little Bit of Everything has a son who loves Postman Pat! Talk about fun with a box! Check out this Postman Pat van they made! It even has a door with hinges and a hood that pops up! I love this creativity!
Preschool Physics and Engineering Lesson with Ramps All you need is a lot of cardboard and you will have a wealth of meaningful activities for your child.
In this activity your child will be learning engineering and construction. They will learn theories in physics; gravity, velocity, inclined planes, and speed. If you are doing this with more than one child they will learn teamwork and social skills.
When I made the ramps I wanted the children to have as much flexibility and options to create as possible. Therefore, I used strong but flexible tape for the middle sections. I left enough space between the two pieces of cardboard so that the ramps would bend giving the children the opportunity to vary the inclined planes.
I used some boxes as tunnels that could still be used as ramps. I made some low boxes to wedge the ramps in so that they would stay up. I included sealed boxes for the children to build the ramps on.
I made cardboard handles on the ramps so that they could more easily move, balance and hold the ramps in place. I also left pieces of boxes (as shown in the picture above) to catch the items at the bottom of the ramps.
This is a project that you can fold up into a box and bring out again and again. To make it a new and different experience each time use different items for the children to use on the ramps such as cars, trains, pegs, and balls of varying sizes and types. (Thanks to Jen at the Dapper Schoolhouse for this great activity!)
Recycled Trash into Toys What can you create with old cereal boxes, plastic straws, some tape and 4 round pieces of packing foam? A monster truck, of course! Last week I got a package in the mail with some black round foam shapes. My kids and my Mom immediately saw the possibility to make recycled crafts and use trash to make toys. All I saw was more stuff to recycle.
My Mom who is a genius with cardboard creations assembled some basic supplies. Materials Mom Used 2 Cereal Boxes 4 Plastic Straws 8 round foam discs from the package Duct Tape Scissors Pencil
Helpful tip When trying to put a straw through foam, first poke a hole with a pencil. Then slide the straw on the end of the pencil and pull out the pencil. This will help thread the straw through the foam without bending your straw.
Of course you could use the wheels as dumbbells! They work great!
What do you like to create out of recycled stuff? Got any great creations you’ve made?
I’d love to see!
Being creative and using the common things around us is half the fun of life! So next time you need a new toy or UPS delivers a package in a box, don’t toss it. Just leave it on the floor in the living room for a few hours and see what your kids create. They may end up at the moon or on a racetrack, but don’t worry! They’ll be back by dinner!
What’s the best thing you or your kids have created with an empty box? I’d love to hear!
Star Wars Origami for Kids My kids love Star Wars. When my son saw this book Art2-D2′s Guide to Folding and Doodling, he knew it was going to be fun. He counted up his money from his home bank and headed to the school Book Fair. He has made all the main characters and is now sharing creatures with his brother and sister. Star Wars Origami is full time fun right now in our house.
Art2-D2′s Guide to Folding and Doodling: An Origami Yoda Activity Book is full of paper folding, drawing and doodling activities for the Star Wars fan. It shows you how to create the basic Star Wars figures. My son decided to make practice creatures first. He made many of the figures out of regular paper; then he moved on to the origami paper that was provided in the book. Here’s his Darth Vader out of plain paper and then out of the black paper.
Another section of the book teaches you how to draw some of the most recognizable Star Wars characters using basic alphabet letters and numbers. For example, the classic Bobo Fett helmet can be drawn by making the letter T, then adding a lower case n and then a number 9. Even my 6 year old was fascinated with this section.
Learning to draw Bobo Fett For my son who is already fascinated with art and drawing, this book has become a great springboard into a whole new way to create.
Do your kids enjoy origami? What’s the best resource for learning how to fold and draw? I’d love to hear your tips!
More Ideas to Inspire Your Kids Create a Grand Piano out of a Cereal Box and Toilet Paper Tubes
Turn a tissue box into an Angry Bird!
You can contact Sharon Williams on either of her blogs: Hobbies on a Budget State by State Travel
All photos have been taken by Sharon Williams (except for the pictures by Jen at the Dapperschoolhouse)
If you would like to use any of these images, feel free to write for permission. Hobbiesonabudget@gmail.com