The Preschooler’s Busy Book (15 page)

String or rope

Small blocks of wood

Tempera paint, liquid

Shallow pan

Paper

Wrap string or rope several times around a small block of wood.
Tie it in place (make sure the rope is distributed evenly over the block, not gathered in one spot).
Have your child press the string block into liquid tempera paint, then press onto paper.
She should move the block around in different directions and add colors to vary the design.

Sculpting, creating three-dimensional structures, challenges a child’s imagination.
Not only is it artistic, but messing around with Super Goop and other modeling compounds can also encourage a scientific interest in your child (science begins as a “hands-on” activity).

Many materials can be used for sculpting.
Your child is probably familiar with playdough and modeling clay (see
Appendix A
).
Following are some other ideas you may want to try.

Saucepan

2 cups water

½ cup cornstarch

Food coloring

Mixing spoon

Ziploc bags (optional)

Boil water in a saucepan.
Add cornstarch and stir until smooth.
Add food coloring and stir—adjust the amount of food coloring until you get the color you want.
Remove from heat and cool.
Let your child squish away on the tabletop, or, for less mess (or younger children), pour the mixture into two Ziploc bags and seal.
Your child can squish the bag or trace letters, numbers, or shapes on the outside of the bag.

2 cups warm water

1 cup pure laundry soap or soap flakes

Large bowl

Electric mixer

Food coloring (optional)

Put water and soap in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until very fluffy.
Add color if desired.
If you like, separate the mixture into a number of bowls, and tint each a different color.
Have your child mold the fluff into shapes and allow the shapes to dry.

2 parts white glue

1 part liquid starch

Small mixing bowl

Airtight container

Combine glue and starch in a bowl and mix well.
Let dry until the putty is workable.
You may have to add a bit more glue or starch.
(This may not work well on a humid day.) Experiment!
Store in an airtight container.

Patch plaster or plaster of Paris

1¼ cups water

Tin can

Mixing spoon

Paper plates

Picture hook (optional)

To make the plaster mix, stir two cups of patch plaster or plaster of Paris and one and a quarter cups water in a tin can.
The mixture should be as thick as pea soup so it can cast without air bubbles.
Plaster of Paris dries in about ten to twenty minutes, while patch plaster takes twenty to forty minutes to dry.

To make a cast of your child’s hand or footprint, pour one inch of plaster mix into a paper plate.
Wait two minutes for plaster of Paris, six minutes for patch plaster.
Have your child press her hand or foot gently into the plaster.
The imprint should not go to the bottom of the plate.
Hold for one to two minutes and remove.
Let the imprint sit overnight, then peel the plate from the print.
If you like, glue a picture hook to the back and hang the print on your child’s wall.

Sugar cubes

Glue

Styrofoam meat trays or a piece of heavy cardboard

Food coloring or tempera paint, liquid

Let your child create wonderful sculptures by gluing sugar cubes onto a Styrofoam meat tray or a piece of heavy cardboard, and also onto each other.
You can color the cubes by quickly dipping them into food coloring or by lightly dabbing them with liquid tempera paint.

Papier-mâché can be a very messy activity, but it is a lot of fun for children and adults alike.
Papier-mâché is a special kind of paper modeling that uses paste in combination with paper or other materials, such as newsprint, paper toweling, gift wrap, crepe paper, tissue paper, construction paper, or aluminum foil.
Paper can be torn into two-inch or larger squares or long strips.
Torn edges glue better and result in a more interesting finished appearance.

For young children, a basic flour-and-water paste is the best bonding material to use.
Begin with one cup of water; mix in about a quarter cup of flour, until the mixture is thin and runny.
Stir this mixture into five cups lightly boiling water.
Gently boil and stir for two to three minutes.
Cool until you can dip the paper into it.

Pour the paste into a shallow tray.
Dip strips of paper into the tray, or brush paste on with a paintbrush.
Paste the strips over a form, such as an inflated balloon, an empty toilet paper or paper towel roll, or even crumpled newspaper.
Add as many layers as you like; model the form with your fingers as you go.
Tissue paper can be used as the final layer for a colorful finish.

Cardboard tube or baby bottle

Scissors

Papier-mâché paste

Newsprint or other paper

Colored tissue paper or paint

For this project you will need a cardboard tube large enough in diameter to slip over your child’s hand.
Cut one- or two-inch pieces of the tube and cover them with layers of paper and paste.
Finish with brightly colored strips of tissue paper or paint.
Or, instead of using a cardboard tube, use a bottle with the appropriate diameter (baby bottles work well).
Grease or powder the bottle, then start with molding a layer of newsprint around the bottle.
Add a layer of heavier construction paper for strength, then add an additional six layers of papier-mâché.
Remove the bracelet from the bottle and finish with paint or strips of tissue paper.

Papier-mâché paste

2 large squares of wrapping paper

String

Paint

To make a fancy hat, paste together two big squares of wrapping paper with papier-mâché paste.
Set this on your child’s head, mold the crown of the hat, and tie a string around your child’s forehead to hold the shape.
After ten minutes, remove the hat, shape, let dry, and paint.

Large inflated balloon

String

Newsprint or other paper

Papier-mâché paste

Small toys and candy

Crepe paper or tissue paper

Paints

This is a great project to make for a birthday party or other special occasion.
Hang a big balloon from a string and cover it with many layers of paper and paste, leaving a hole about six inches in diameter at the top of the balloon, around the string.
This will take several days to dry.
When dry, pop the balloon and pour in toys and candy, then cover the opening with more paper and paste.
Let dry again, then decorate the outside with fringed crepe paper or paints.
Have the children try to break the piñata by taking turns swinging at it with a toy baseball bat or golf club.

Most young children gain enormous pleasure from the use of scissors and the feel of paste.
Buy your child a good pair of child-safe scissors and teach her how to use them safety.
Show her how to keep the edges sharp by cutting sandpaper.

For paste, you can use commercial white glue or make glue or paste using the recipes in
Appendix A
.
Glue and paste is best applied with a small paintbrush, although Popsicle sticks or plastic applicators from the art store can also be used.
For variety, tint the glue with food coloring.

Keep a stack of old magazines and catalogs on hand for cutting.
An old wallpaper book is also great for all the interesting shapes and patterns it contains.
Cut out circles, squares, rectangles, triangles, or other creative shapes, and glue them onto construction paper to make designs and pictures.

Construction paper

Scissors

Glue or stapler

Fold construction paper in half lengthwise and show your child how to cut from the folded edge to within one and a half inches of the opposite side.
When cuts have been made along the entire length of the paper, unfold and form into a cylinder by joining together the short uncut ends of the paper.
Glue or staple another strip of construction paper for a handle.

Old magazines

Scissors

Paper

Glue

Look through old magazines, searching for pictures of faces, and cut out as many eyes, noses, mouths, ears, and heads of hair as you can find.
Mix them up and have your child piece together a funny face; then paste it onto a piece of paper.

Family photographs

Cardboard or construction paper

Glue

Clear contact paper

Give your child the family photographs that didn’t make it into your photo album.
Have her glue them onto a piece of cardboard or construction paper and cover with clear contact paper.
This place mat makes a great gift for Daddy, grandparents, and other family members.

Glue

Paper cup or small plastic container

Water

Paintbrush

Paper

Tissue paper cut into ½-by-16-inch strips

Scissors