Paper Towel Roll Crown

This recycled craft idea was created by a 4 year old.

Unroll the cardboard tube from and empty roll of paper towels. Carefully unroll the cardboard tube.

Lay out flat for the child to decorate with crayons, markers, paints, stickers, feathers, or other collage materials.

Once decorated, staple the ends together.

Mailing Tube Ball Fun

Save a mailing tube you get in the mail, or pick one up from a packaging supply store.

 Decorate it with stickers, by painting it, or wrapping it in the fun new duct tape. (To paint it, put a broom pole through the tube. Rest to each end on a saw horse or tables. Painting on a turning element itself is a unique experience). 




Fill the packaging tube with lightweight balls like wiffle balls

When playing with the ball tube:

you can say 1... 2... 3.. Rolling Rainbow! as they all pour out and then sing the Rainbow Song -Red, orange yellow green blue purple, Red orange yellow green blue purple, makes the rainbow bright!

When it is time to pick up the balls, sing (to the tune of "Here we go round the mulberry bush")
"Lets put all the balls away, the balls away, the balls away, lets put all the balls away so we can do it again"
or last line can be "lets put all the balls away - we'll play again another day"
It's a great clean up song... gives Barney a little competition.

Makes a great gift to mail :)

Paper Bag Blocks

Easy fun is often the best fun!

Materials Needed:
Paper Grocery Bags
Newspaper
Masking Tape

Fill the Paper Bags full of scrunched up newspaper until the bags are about 3/4 full, then fold over the bag forming it into a block shape and tape it closed.

Have children stack the blocks and knock them down!

Build Gross Motor Skills and get out some energy!  Especially perfect for rainy/snowy days.

You can also make smaller blocks out of smaller paper bags, and color the blocks (or even paint them if you really want to go wild!)

Balloon Tennis

An easy to create, easy to play, indoor or outdoor sport! Maybe not exactly a sport, but definitely a fun activity for parties, camp, rainy days, summer boredom, or just your average Wednesday.

Use masking tape to tape a paint stir stick to the back of a sturdy paper plate (which you may decorate first with crayons/markers if you'd like). Use this as your racquet to hit balloons.

*caution- latex balloons are a serious choking hazard. Use only with direct adult supervision.

Milk Jug Ball Toss

Save your empty gallon milk containers! Rinse them out well, and then cut off the bottom.

Using lightweight balls like Wiffle balls, use the jugs to catch and throw the ball.

Recycled Paper Tree

Earth Day is almost here!
Do you ever get packages with the long brown paper crinkled up as the packaging material? Save this paper to use as the trunk and limbs of a tree. Make your own leaves or use leaves from outside to tape to the branches.

This can be an enriching and fun project that doesn't cost a thing!

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