Preschool Craft Time

Finding junk to occupy the boys crafts the boys can both do is difficult because A. Jonas (2.5 years old) is 80 times more destructive than Simon (3.5 years old), B. Simon can (sort of) use scissors a little but Jonas cannot, C. Jonas still puts things in his mouth, D. Jonas wants to do everything Simon does, and E. I usually have a Baby Charlotte on my hip. So unless I want paint/glue/marker/blood all over my home, my options are pretty limited.

But I had an idea last week... toilet paper tubes + pipecleaners = sculptures. Even better, add googly eyes & a bit of marker and you've got monsters! I already had all these things in the craft/activity cabinet. Here's the super easy how to:

1. Gather your supplies [pipecleaners, toilet paper tube(s), hole punch, glue (I used tacky glue), googly eyes, marker(s)]



2. Punch some holes in the toilet paper tube. [I did 8 holes]


3. Give the tube & pipecleaners to your kid(s) and let 'em have at it!


4. Hand your kid(s) a marker and let 'em have at it again!

5. Help your kid(s) glue some googly eyes on their creation(s). [I guess some kids could do this step themselves, especially if they're older, but mine can't be trusted.]

6. Photograph the creation(s) for posterity.

Simon's monster

Jonas' monster

7. Be prepared for meltdowns when the monster is inevitably destroyed.

This occupied the kids for quite some time. Plus, almost a week later, They're still playing with (what's left of) their monsters! I think I win with this one.

(If you have older kids or want to take more time preparing, you could cover the tube with some pretty paper, too, but I'd do that before punching the holes.)