Rainmaker/ Shaker/ Fabulous tube of Fun!
(Age: 3 and up, Challenge level: EASY to MODERATE. Easy to execute but moderate because of materials required)

This started off as an idea for a rainmaker but it turned more into a maraca or just a place to stuff a lot of things that look and sound cool when you shake them. Really, it was about the process in this one, which our four-year-old found super fun. We might say that the highlight of the crafting was cutting up the straws and having the pieces fly into the air. There was a serious amount of giggling.

 Needs:

 Plastic bottle and top

1 cup rice

5-10 straws

Glitter/confetti/sequins (if you have some leftover from another project)

How:

1. Cut the straws into 1-inch pieces.
2. Funnel the rice into the bottle.
3. Add the straw pieces.
4. Add glitter and sequins if using.

Close bottle and let the rice “rain” through the straws by turning the bottle. Our bottle was half full but experiment with more rice if you don’t get the rain effect at first.

(We dyed the rice by adding a few drops of food coloring to rice in a baggie, but this isn’t necessary.)

This probably ended up being the favorite activity for our 4-year-old because it was just so exciting adding the different elements of the potion and then having a gooey slimy thing to dig your fingers into at the end.

Needs:

Plastic container

1 cup Elmer’s glue or similar product

How:

1. Add glue, shaving cream, and 3 drops of color to a plastic container.
2. Use a spatula, chopstick or popsicle stick to stir the mixture.
3. Gradually add contact lens solution and keep stirring. Keep adding contact lens solution until the slime is pliable and no longer sticky.

Still looks a bit sticky here but with a few more drops of contact lens solution, it came together well. (That’s guacamole in the background, not green slime.)

Bubble Break!

Below are a few more ideas we wanted to try next time! If you try them, let us know how they went!

Squirt Gun Painting. From Fireflies and Mud Pies

Homemade Microscope. Childhood 101

making Sun Prints. Creative Family Fun

Ice Cream in a Bag. Little Bins for Little Hands

Straw Rockets The Pleasantest Thing

https://childhood101.com/yoga-for-kids-brain-breaks/ Childhood 101

https://childhood101.com/nature-play-update-adding-story-stones/ Childhood 101