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| An A-Z of things to make and do | |
| Appliqué | Collect interesting scraps of fabric. Cut out shapes and glue them on stiff card to make pictures. Try different textures and colours. Start with simple designs and add details (ribbon, sequins, feathers, beads) |
| Breadmaking | Use fast-acting yeast. Rolls are quick to make. Pizza: roll thinly, cut round a dinner plate, allow to rise; will freeze unbaked with or without topping |
| Clay | A big bag of red clay is cheapest. Make pinch pots, coil pots, small models; try embossed designs on tiles. Will dry without firing |
| Découpage | Decorating objects with pictures cut out and glued on, dried and varnished. See a lovely tutorial on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTYFhRuT0gk (there are others to watch as well) |
| Egg painting | Blow the eggs first: make a hole at each end with a drawing pin. Acrylic paint gives colourful results; other materials can be used. Fun to do during the year (not only for Easter): see http://www.redtedart.com/10-egg-decorating-ideas/ |
| Frieze | Use lining paper horizontally on the wall. Have a theme (seaside, cars, Spring etc). Do a simple background; add pictures, poems, photos etc |
| Gliders | Try making some paper aeroplanes and see how far they go: there’s an excellent site (including why they fly) at http://paperaeroplanes.com/index |
| Hoopla | Hoopla has been popular for centuries especially at fairs, fetes and fairgrounds. Try making your own hoopla game: see http://www.kidspot.com.au/things-to-do/activities/olympic-fun-make-an-olympic-hoopla-game for instructions. You need a piece of cardboard, a sheet of hardboard or three-ply for the base, some cardboard tubes, glue and paint. Make the game and invite some friends to play. You could provide some small (perhaps edible) prizes. Contestants stand behind a line when they throw the hoops. Younger children need to be quite near to the hoopla. |
| Ink pictures | Use coloured washable ink. Drop some on paper, fold it over and see what it makes! Add arms, legs, wings, eyes, wheels … |
| Jam jar art | Invest in some glass paints and collect interestingly-shaped jars to decorate. Plan the designs first on paper |
| Knitting | Can be enjoyed by boys and girls. Lots of videos on YouTube to help you (we liked ‘How to Knit – the Basics’ by CyberSeams – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCgEUwESYZk) Also see http://www.learn2knit.co.uk/ – has a free pattern to knit a scarf |
| Leaves | Use big leaves as stencils; they may need pressing first. Brush paint outwards to make outline or use spray. |
| Mosaics | Try lentils, split peas, rice, small pasta stars, other dried foods. Use craft PVA glue (thick) or copydex on hardboard or stiff car |
| Number fun | Try our puzzle ‘The Times Crossnumber‘*: have fun practising times tables. Try this one too ‘Number Fun Crossword‘*: it’s slightly harder, with calculations to do. Re-use the grids to make some puzzles for your friends. Send them in to share with other keen mathematicians out there! |
| Origami | Worth getting origami paper as it gives best results. There is a good introduction on the internet at http://www.origami-instructions.com/ |
| Paint pictures | Brush a layer of acrylic paint over a piece of gold paper/card. Draw on it with blunt pencil when wet; dry it. Gold design shows through. Also try using old CDs (make sure that they are no longer needed first!): let the paint dry, then use a sharp object (try an old knife that has a thin blade) to scratch off the paint and reveal the shiny surface underneath |
| Quiz | Quizzes (and wordsearches) are fun to make and share with friends. Use anagrams, fill the blanks, facts to find to make interesting clues |
| Rubbings | Use a very soft pencil and good quality paper. Try coins, tree bark, wood, embossed metal, any textured surface. Make a collection of them |
| String prints | Use a small block of wood (rub it down with sandpaper to take off any splinters) or make a thick block of cardboard squares glued together. Cover with glue and arrange string in patterns. Use as printing block when dry |
| Tangrams | Try this ancient Chinese puzzle: seven pieces or ‘tans’ which fit into a square. Make your own puzzle from hardboard. Draw the template; cut the pieces out carefully with a hacksaw; paint each piece a different colour with acrylic paint. Template and puzzle pages at www.activityvillage.co.uk/tangrams – also see www.parentingscience.com/tangrams-for-kids.html for more ideas and information |
| Under the sea | Find out about the undersea world first, then make a big picture; draw, cut out and stick on weeds, fish, stones, shells, sea creatures etc |
| Visual diary | Keep a photo diary for a week or more. Record the things that you do, places that you go, things that you eat – anything that you can stick in a scrapbook. Put in pictures, tickets, leaflets, packets, anything! Keep words to a minimum. See if you can get friends to keep a visual diary as well, and have fun comparing them when you have finished |
| Wordsearch | Make a list of words on a theme. Build up puzzle on squared paper. Copy it before filling in the spare letters so you have the answers! Share with your friends |
| X (Cross stitch) | Cross stitch canvas from craft shops comes in various grid sizes; wool is good for beginners. Design on squared paper; count the squares |
| Yarn projects | Gather up a collection of odd balls of wool, acrylic yarn, fine string of different textures and colours. There are many things to try including pompoms of different sizes and colours (see videos on YouTube starting with https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz2QSshnbQA); yarn globes – big and small – using balloons as a mould (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYIqzdFc8to). There are more yarn crafts here: http://www.thecraftycrow.net/yarn-crafts/ (we liked the sheep in particular!) |
| Zoetrope | First of all, find out what it is! They were very popular in Victorian times. See http://zoetrope4.weebly.com/index.html There are instructions for making a zoetrope at http://www.groeg.de/puzzles/zoetrope.html – this website is old but still very popular, with good designs and useful information. A Google image search of ‘zoetrope’ gives many examples of picture strips for ideas |
* You’ll find the answers to the Times Crossnumber puzzle here and to the Number Fun puzzle here.