Paddle Pop Harmonicas

This has to be one of my all time favourite crafts I've discovered. It's a little difficult to get right at first and many of the younger kids will require a lot of assistance, but the end result is well worth it. It's perfect for a music themed day/week - because its an instrument - but can also be used for a science theme, since it's a great example of how how sounds are made.

What You Need:

• 2 paddle pop sticks
• 2 small rubber bands
• 1 large, wide, flat rubber band (It's important that it is wide and flat. I've tried with the regular thin ones and they just don't work. The ones I use are between 0.5 and 0.7 cm wide)
• paper
• tape
• scissors

Constructing Your Harmonica:

1. Cut two little strips of paper. (Mine are 2cm x 5cm, but they just need to be wide enough that you tape doesn't hand off the edges and long enough they they go around both paddle pop sticks with a little overlap)
   
2. Place one paddle pop on top of the other and wrap the piece off paper around each end of the sticks, tapeing them to hold the right size.
   
3. Slip one stick out and set aside for a moment.
4. Stretch the large, wide rubber band from one end of the stick with the paper on it to the other as shown below:
   
5. Sandwich the paddle pop sticks together once more and wrap the smaller rubber bands around each end of the sticks, ensuring they are bound together securely. Make sure these rubber bands do not catch the paper beneath them. 
   
6. Blow! Place the centre of the harmonica between your lips and blow. If you're successful you will hear a buzzing, kazoo like noise.

HINTS, TIPS AND WARNINGS:

HINT! You can change the pitch of the noise by altering what we musicians call embouchure (Yay! Technical words!) which is basically the use of facial muscles and the shaping of your lips, along with the speed at which you blow the air out. Tighten lips and blow faster for higher notes. Loosen lips and blow slower for lowere pitches.

Or you can just tell the kids to blow harder for high notes and softer for low notes. That might satisfy them for a while...

HINT! Try using the big tongue depresser paddle pops too!

TIP! If your harmonica is not making a noise have a close look at the middle of the instrument (the area between the two pieces of paper). I learned while making them with the kids that the ones that work have teeny tiny gap between the paddle pop sticks. You should be able to see light through it.

 If you don't have a gap, there's no room for vibrations. If there's no vibrations, there's no sound. (Ohhhhh, science!). I like to make sure that at least one of my sticks is slightly bowed.

WARNING! This is a noisy craft! You may want to have a stash of ear plugs at the ready for children and staff that are sensitive to noises, as there will be a lot of it. Once a child has a harmonica and has figured out exactly how to play it, he or she is likely to play it for the rest of the day. Maybe it's best to send them outside to play directly after making them?


Enjoy! And don't hesitate to let me know what you think in the comments section!

Paper Plate Dinosaurs

Kids love paint.

No seriously. Paint. The moment you put it out, they're swarming around you eager to get their hands on a brush (or whatever other applicator you happen to be using - toothbrush, straw, fingers, yarn) and start making art. Don't ask me why it's like that, all I know is we never have enough art smocks to accomodate the amount of kids that want to paint.

That being said, is it any wonder that when we pulled this particular craft out of our hats we were almost bulldozed before we even got it on the table? I should think not.

So what you'll need is some paper plates. Circular ones. That are white.

I recommend making a few templates of the dinosaur shapes before the kids arrive (my colleague just free handed the ones we used) so that the kids can trace around them and cut them out fairly independantly. And that way you don't have the "Can you draw me a dinosaur shape?" question a million and three times.

Once they've cut out their dinosaurs, they paint. Yes, they finally get their little hands on the deliciously enticing colours. Paint them however they like. Pink T-Rex. Rainbow Brachiosaurus. It all sounds so exciting to me, so let them have at it!

And that's it! Pin or hang them up around the room and be awed by the unbridled creativity you have enabled.

And now for a little Firefly fan comic I made using my own Paper Plate Dinosaurs:

Braiding Disc Friendship Bracelets

Young girls love (as in LOVE) friendship bracelets. There's something about picking out coloured threads and actually physically making a piece of jewellery that they can where that just keeps them coming back for more. Young ones will love the hands on, look-what-I-made! factor, while the older girls will be able to do what they do best - sit and chat - while they're braiding. Plus it keeps them entertained for a good while, and isn't that just what we all want?

After a few weeks of watching the younger girls struggle to plait their three little strands, or making clumsy looking knotted lengths, I decided to turn to the internet where I found this lovely tutorial for Braiding Disc Friendship Bracelets. The tutorial is very thorough with easy to follow instructions and lovely, clear pictures, as well as a video at the end. But I'll just do a recap for the link lazy :D

The Supplies:

• Sturdy cardboard (eg: cereal box)
• 7 lengths of  yarn, 30-50 cm each
• scissors

The How To:

1. Cut out a cardboard circle.
2. Cut 8 slits, spaced evenly around the outside of the circle, and a poke a hole (with the pointy end of the scissors is fine) in the centre.
   
3. Knot the yarn together and thread through the centre whole in the disc.
4. Set up the strings by slotting them into the little cuts you made earlier. There should be one left empty.

   
5. This is where the braiding process starts: With the empty slot at the top, count down clockwise to the third string.
6. Remove it from it's slot and press it into the one at the top.
7. Turn so that the new empty slot is at the top and repeat until desired length is reached.

 

After a while the top will start looking like this:

And coming out the other side is:

 

 Hints and Tips:

• You can use whatever kind of string/yarn/cord works for you. I've used satin cord I bought from the cheap shop for the photos here and it's looking pretty good if you want a length of rope. I've also had success with crochet cotton and embroidery floss.
• If the loose ends get tangled (which they inevitably will) hold the disc in one hand and pull the strings up and out of tangle one by one.
• Play around with the number of colours you use and the way you set them out to discover the different patterns you can make in your bracelet.

Enjoy!