Fish hand puppets

Happy Friday! Today is the last themed activity of the week. These fish puppets are really easy to make and are great for younger children as they can practise cutting out the shape with safety scissors. You can also go wild with the decoration and colours and pair the puppet with a book to make story time even more fun.

What you will need:

- Paper or card

- skewers/lollipop sticks/straws/pencils

- tape

- pencil

- scissors 

-glue stick 

- any other crafty bits for decoration, such as googly eyes. (you could colour in your fish if you are using plain paper)

1.  First of all, draw around your hand to create the fish's body. You could draw around different sized hands if you wanted to create a family of fish. 

2. Once you have drawn around your hand, cut it out*.  

3. Tape the skewer or lollipop stick to the back of the fish. 

4. Now for the fun part, decoration! I added a googly eye, but you could draw your eye on. To create the mouth cut out a heart shape on coloured paper.* Glue half of this down onto the front of the fish. 

5. Now you have your fish, create a show or pair this with your favourite book. The book 'The Rainbow Fish' is perfect to pair your puppet with.

Extra Suggestion:

- As well as fish, you can also create other animals also using the shape of your hand. Some animals that work particularly well are:

- Flamingo

- Elephant

- Giraffe

- Dinosaurs 

(* = adult help/supervision might be needed for that particular task).

Puppet Show Theatre

Lights, Camera, Action! Today's activity continues from Monday, so if you made these puppets, this is a great addition to help you make your own show. I've decorated mine in a simple way, but you could go the extra mile to make a theatre experience!

What you will need:

- A4 sized piece of cardboard (cereal boxes are perfect for this)

- parchment paper/tracing paper or even just a plain sheet of A4 paper

- ruler

- scissors

- pencil

- tape

- paint or colouring pens

1. Firstly, you will need to make the frame for the theatre using a piece of thin cardboard. I used the front piece of an old cereal box. Using a ruler, draw a line a few centimetres from the edge of the box around each side. 

2.  This next task can be tricky so you might need an adult's help. You will need to cut out the inside of the frame, leaving you with just the border (see image 3).*

3. Measure and cut your paper so it will fit inside your frame.* You will need a little bit of excess paper so that you can stick it to the back of the frame. 

4. Tape the paper to the back of the frame. Make sure that the paper is laid flat and is pulled tight.

5.  So that your theatre will stand up, cut out two triangles the same size.* The easiest way to do this is use the box you have left over and cut off the corners. Tape these so that the straight edge is in line with the bottom of the frame. 

6. Now for the most fun part, decoration! I painted mine, but you could also colour it in. I went for a bright red and painted the word 'theatre' onto the front. You could also make curtains for your theatre to make it even more realistic.

7. Finally, place your theatre in front of a window or a light area or in a dark area using a torch as a spotlight and hold up your puppets behind it. You can create a great show from just using shadows.

Extra Suggestion:

- If you have prepared a show, you could make some tickets and invite everyone to watch it at your theatre!

(* = adult help/supervision might be needed for that particular task).

Shadow Puppets

Happy Bank Holiday Monday! This is the last themed activity week and it will be theatre themed. To start us off, we have these shadow puppets which are really easy to make and stand out so well in the dark with a torch. This is great for imaginative play as you can come up with story lines to match the characters.

What you will need:
- Lollipop sticks/skewers (or if you don't have these you could use pencils)
- If you are making your own template, you will need a pencil and paper. If not you can use the template I have used as I have linked it below.
- Tape 
- Scissors
- Torch

1. First of all, cut out your template.* I found one online which has a mixture animals. This is great for imaginative play as it will be fun inventing the script for the show!

2. Once you have cut out your shapes, tape the skewer/lollipop stick to the back of the animal head.

3. Now you have your puppet, find somewhere that is dark and turn on your torch to see some amazing shadows.

Link for animal template

Extra Suggestion:

- If you want to try a different template you could make a puppet show using other shapes like people or different animals. 

(* = adult help/supervision might be needed for that particular task).

Magic Marbling Milk

Today's activity is a fun science experiment using food colouring, milk and washing up liquid. This is one where you will definitely hear lots of 'oohs and aahs'. It is also a great activity to incorporate into home learning as you can explain the science behind this in a visual and exciting way!

What you will need:
- shallow bowl/plate
- milk (you only need enough to fill the surface of your bowl/plate)
- food colouring (gel food colour won't work as well for this)
- cotton bud 
- washing up liquid 


1. First of all, fill your plate/bowl with some milk, you only need enough to cover the bottom of the plate.

2. Add droplets of your food colouring into the milk. You can add as many colours as you like! (Just be aware that food colouring does stain, so an adult to supervise this task may be a good idea).

3. Now squirt a small amount of washing up liquid onto the cotton bud and place the cotton bud into the milk mixture.

4. You should start to see that when you place the cotton bud into the milk, the colours move and separate, creating an amazing marble pattern.

To explain how this works, have a look at the 'How does it work section?' in this link: https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/milk-color-explosion/

Extra Suggestion:

- As a way of remembering this experiment, you could place a piece of paper onto the surface of your mixture and lift it out to see the pattern transfer onto the paper.

Straw Rockets

Ready for lift off! Today's activity is rocket making, they are simple to make and create hours of fun for all ages. This can also make a fun game if you compete against each other to see whose rocket flies the highest!

What you will need:

- paper

- 1 straw

- glue stick or tape

- scissors 

- pencil

- colouring pens/pencils

1. Firstly, you will need to draw out your rocket onto the piece of paper. Try not to make it bigger than 15cm long as it might be too big/heavy to take off. I will link some templates below if you don't want to draw one. 

2. Once you have drawn or printed out your design, colour it in and cut it out*. 

3. Using your paper again, cut out a small rectangle* and roll it up, creating a tube, as shown in image 4. Tape or glue the end of tube to create a pocket and stick this to the back of the rocket with the taped up side at the top.

4. Your rocket is now complete, but to make it fly we need to use the straw. If you have a straw with a bendy side, point it upwards and place that part of the straw in the pocket that you have already created. Blow out into the other end of the straw and the air should push the rocket upwards.

Link for rocket template

Extra suggestion:

- You could create a game of air football using a similar method. Create two goal posts, use a ping pong ball or scrunched up paper ball and play against each other to see who can score the most goals by only blowing through the straw!

(* = adult help/supervision might be needed for that particular task).

Sponge Darts

It looks like it is going to be another sunny day, so this activity is a great one to get outside! This is really easy to set up and the aim is to see how many points you can get by throwing the sponges onto the target. I like how adaptable this is, as for younger children they can stand closer to the target and for older children  this can be made more challenging by standing further away as they start to get better at throwing the sponges at the target!

What you will need:

- sponge(s)

- some chalk (I used a different colour for each circle in the target but this is not essential)

1. Firstly, for this activity you will need to find a tarmacked area like a driveway or carpark, but you could also use a wall or fence.

2. Once you found a space to create your game, start to draw out your target. I started with the outer circle. It is tricky to draw the perfect circle, but don't worry too much as it won't really affect the game. Draw out three circles and a bulls eye.

4. Now you have your target, label each section with the amount of points you get for landing on each circle. I did it so that you won one point for the outer circle, two points for the second circle, three points for the inner circle and five points if you hit the bullseye.

5. Finally, to make it obvious where you have hit the target, soak the sponges in water. When you take your turn to hit the target you will see the splash marks of where your sponge has landed.

Extra suggestion:

- As an alternative to sponges you could also use bean bags or even water balloons!

Flower Pressing

It's Friday and the last activity of our wildlife themed week. Today's activity is flower pressing. This does not require a lot of equipment, just some flowers and a heavy book. I love this as it is great for teaching children about plants and also patience as the flowers need time to press!

What you will need:
- flowers (these were picked from my garden, but you could use bought flowers that are not fresh anymore or pick some flowers on a walk) 
- newspaper or baking paper
- a heavy/large book

1.  First of all, collect the flowers that you would like to press (make sure to check with an adult which flowers you are allowed to pick!)

2. Place the flowers onto one half of your baking paper or newspaper and fold the other half of the paper over the flowers so that the flowers lay in between the two sides.

3. Finally, place a large book over the top of the paper and leave it there for a week. After a week the flowers should be flat so you can take them out of the paper and use them how you wish!

Extra Suggestions of crafts where you can use your pressed flowers:

- create your own bookmark
- create a monogram using the flowers
- use the flowers to make a sun catcher 
- stick the flowers onto card to make a homemade card for someone
- use your imagination with the flowers to create pictures or faces 

Milk carton bird house

The wildlife theme continues with today's activity, a bird house! This is really simple, but the carton is an ideal home to some of those birds you might have spotted with your home-made binoculars from Monday's blog post.

What you will need:
- juice or milk carton 
- scissors 
- pen 
- string 
- stick/twig
- circular object to draw around
- bird feed (optional)

1. Firstly, you will need to wash and dry out your carton to make sure it is clean. Using a pen and something to draw around, outline a circle shape which the birds will fit through, on the front of your carton.

2. You might need an adult's help for the next task which is to cut out the circle you have drawn.* 

3. This step is not essential, but I added a stick into my bird house to make a perch for the birds. To do this, cut a small hole first with scissors on either side of the carton*. Now slide the stick through both holes.

4. You will want to be able to hang this up outside, so cut a hole in the top of the carton and thread a piece of string through until you reach the middle of the string.* Tie the top of both pieces of string together, and hang up on a tree or a window.  

5. Finally, If you have some bird food, add this to the bottom of your house, this will encourage the birds to go inside the house you have created. Don't forget if you created the binoculars on Monday, use them to have a look at what birds are making use of the house!

Extra suggestions:

- If you want to you could decorate your carton. I personally liked the decoration already on the carton, but you could paint, colour or cover yours in stickers.

- This is a great link if you want to create a bird feeder for inside your bird house. link for bird feeder

(* = adult help/supervision might be needed for that particular task).

Toilet roll bird binoculars

Hello everyone! I’ve planned to create a theme for all of the activities this week. The theme will be wildlife, so today’s creation is a pair of toilet roll tube binoculars! These are a great prop to watch the birds out your window, in your garden or on a walk! 

What you will need:

- 2 toilet roll tubes

- glue stick 

- string or ribbon 

- paint, pens or stickers to decorate 

- tape

1. First of all, if you want to decorate your binoculars do this now before we stick them together, I painted mine to add some colour, but you can decorate however you like! 

2. If you have painted, let that dry. Now you can stick the two tubes together, side by side. 

3. To add some extra support and decoration I added some decorative tape around the two tubes. 

4. Finally, cut one piece of string long enough so that it will go over your head. Tape each end onto the side of the two tubes. (For very young children you can make them without the string to prevent any risk of danger from getting tangled up.)  

5. Add any final details/decorations, and there you have it, a great pair of binoculars for bird watching! 

Extra Suggestion: 

- As well as watching the birds, you might enjoy listening out to their different calls so I have included this link which has all the different bird songs that you might hear.

link for British bird songs

Shadow Drawing

This activity is a great one to begin your sunny weekend. I have found that this is a favourite with younger children and you only need a few items to create these shapes using the sun!

What you will need:
- paper 
- pencil
- objects (any item with a distinct shape will work, e.g. animal characters or lego people)
- colouring pencils/pens 


1.  First of all, make sure you find a sunny spot, or if you are inside you can use a lamp or torch. Lay out your paper in the light and place the figure onto the paper.

2. Position the figure so that you can see the shadow and draw around it.

3. Once you have drawn out your shape, you could colour it in or decorate it.

Extra suggestion:

-  You could create a themed scene by drawing round lots of shapes. 

Nature magic wands

Today's activity is perfect for performing magic spells! You can easily transform these plain sticks from the garden, or from a find on your walk, into something more fun by using ribbon and string and even some glitter. 

What you will need:

- a stick/twig

- some leaves or feathers 

- ribbon/thread/wool/scraps of fabric

- sequins/glitter (optional)

- scissors

- craft or PVA glue (not essential)

1. First of all, you want to start decorating the stick from the bottom upwards. I used a mixture of thread and ribbon. To start and end each thread, tie a tight double knot.

2. For the ribbon, it might be easier to use craft glue to secure the ends onto the stick.* 

3. Once you have covered the stick with ribbon and thread and you are near the top, start wrapping the thread around the feathers or leaves to secure them into place. You will need to wrap it around quite a few times to make sure that they will not come loose when you are performing your spells! Tie it off the same way as you have done with the other threads.

4. If you want to add any extra details, you can add sequins and glitter like I have done. To glue down the sequins I used craft glue* and for the glitter, I dipped the end of the stick into PVA and then dipped that into the glitter. Make sure to shake off the excess glitter, and there you have it, the perfect magic wand!

Extra suggestion:

- If you want to use this activity for younger children, get them to decorate their wand using paint, glitter or stickers.

(* = adult help/supervision might be needed for that particular task).

Abstract chalk pictures

It's a new week and today's activity is this abstract chalk picture. I love this activity as you can be as messy as you like when colouring in, but the end product will look great!

What you will need:

- paper or card (black or dark coloured paper works best as the colours stand out better)

- chalk (I used some art chalks I had, but any sort of chalk will work)

- PVA glue or a glue stick

- hairspray (not essential)

1. Firstly, the most fun part, create your patterns by squirting the PVA onto the page in different directions. I created circles, squares and triangles to create something abstract, but you could also create a face or a scene for your picture.

2. Leave the glue to dry. I left mine overnight to be sure that the glue was dry. 

3. Now with your chalks colour in your picture. Where you have created the lines using the glue, you will notice that the chalk doesn't stick to it so you are left with a fun pattern. 

4. Finally, if there is any chalk dust on the dried glue you can wipe it off to make it stand out even more. To stop the chalk from transferring or fading, you can use hairspray to fix it onto the paper.

Extra Suggestion:

- You could do this activity on an A4 piece of card, fold it in half and create the pattern on the front side to make a card for someone.

Marble Run

Happy Friday! For this activity you can use up those toilet roll tubes you might have left over from the original lockdown rush! This is really simple but creates hours of fun and is very adaptable.

What you will need:

- toilet roll/kitchen roll/wrapping paper/cling film tubes (other recyclables like plastic bottles will also work)

-scissors 

-masking tape or washi tape, (try not to use normal tape if you can as it could peel off the paint on the walls)

-marbles* (for little ones, swap marbles for toy cars or pompoms)

1. First of all, collect together the tubes you will use to create your marble run. I cut one of the tubes in half to create two half tunnels, but you can do yours however you wish.* 

2. Using your masking/washi tape, stick the tubes onto a wall or a door. You can place these at different angles to make it more interesting, but make sure that each exit of a tube lines up with the start of the next tube. I found it harder to line up the tubes if they were not as close together.

3. Keep testing the marble run out after you add a new tube to make sure it works. 

4. Finally, add a box/tub at the bottom of the run to catch the marbles as they come down.

Extra suggestions:

- If you are feeling competitive, create two identical marble runs next to each other and have a race to see which marble gets to the bottom the quickest!

- You could also decorate your marble run by painting it or colouring it before you stick it on to the wall.

(* = adult help/supervision might be needed for that particular task).