Homemade Paper and Seed Paper

Last night, while cleaning up from dinner, I told L not to throw away her pudding cup because it can be recycled. She replied, "What's recycle? What's it mean?" So as I was doing my best to explain to a 2-year-old how plastics are melted down and made into new containers, I remembered how I used to make paper as a kid...it's the perfect activity to teach kids of any age how things are recycled! I lost my paper-making kit years ago, but it didn't take long to locate and piece together the materials needed for homemade paper. I love this activity because your kids can help with each of the steps, keeping them busy and entertained the whole way through!

Materials needed:
-old paper
-water
-blender
-2 small window screens
-felt (or thin cloth like a cloth diaper)
-sponges
-plastic tub or wide container
-seeds (optional)


First, dig through the recycling basket for colorful paper. (I always save colored-on pieces of construction paper for projects like this!) Have your kids help you tear it up into 2-inch pieces and throw it all into a large bowl.

Add some water to the bowl, covering all the paper pieces, and let it soak thoroughly for a few minutes. Your kids can now reach in the bowl to see how the wet paper feels compared to the dry. 

Next, scoop and dump the paper and water into your blender. There's no exact amount of water needed since it'll all be squeezed out in the end. Blend the mixture for about a minute. The pulp should resemble the consistency of oatmeal.

Now for the fun, messy part!!! Lay one of the screens over the plastic tub or container. (You could use your sink, but it's easier for kids if the project is done on the floor!) 

Next, dump the paper pulp mixture out on top of the screen. Let your kids help you spread it around gently. 

Then lay a large piece of felt on top of the mixture and next, the second window screen. 

Using sponges press down on the felt, squeezing most of the water out. We started in the middle of the felt and worked our way out, pressing the paper underneath nice and flat. 

Next, take off the top screen and, placing one hand on top of the felt, quickly flip the other over. Remove the screen and leave the paper on the felt to dry. I did this last step outside on our picnic table so the paper could dry in the sun and summer heat. It takes about a day to dry on its own. When I was a kid, doing a similar paper-making project, the paper and felt pieces were much smaller and I'd pop it in the microwave to dry. The paper would curl a little bit sometimes, but it was quick and easy. 

Here's our finished paper! It doesn't look like your typical paper, but it is beautiful with all the bright yellows, reds and oranges mixed in! It'll be perfect to paint on later in the day!

Making Seed Paper: 
To make seed paper, add a handful of flower seeds to the pulp before squeezing all the water out. After the paper dries, you can cut it up into squares and gift it to friends. They can plant the paper strips in soil in the Spring, water and wait for their flowers to grow! We used our leftover, perennial Balloon Flower seeds...they're easy to grow and look beautiful anywhere! 

Other Ideas:
-Before squeezing the water out of the paper-pulp mixture, add some flower petals to the pulp for a fresh and colorful look!
-After squeezing the water out and removing the screens, use cookie cutters to carefully cut the paper into shapes. After they dry, you can punch a hole to hang the paper shapes and make ornaments! We may do this around the holidays, using holiday-colored paper. 
-You can also add glitter to the paper pulp, before squeezing the water out, to give your paper a little sparkle! 

Have fun and get messy! Your kids will love you for it!!!

DIY Tin Can Bird Feeder

I think what I love most about the Tin Can Bird Feeder is that you're essentially making something from nothing! It's also such a fun way to teach kids how to reuse and recycle! We just made the bird feeder on a whimsy for our own backyard, but it would make a terrific gift too. 

Materials needed:

-tin can and its lid

-pliers

-hot glue gun and glue

-sticks

-string

-a few small rocks

First, make sure your can has been thoroughly cleaned and remove the paper label.

Next, being careful not to cut yourself, fold the lid in half using your pliers. Our lid was one of the pull-top ones, which made it a little tricky, but we were still able to make it work!

Now, using the hot glue gun, put a little bit of glue around half of the rim of the can and set the lid inside. Try your best to hide the glue, so it's not so visible from the outside.

While you're folding and gluing the top, go ahead and send the little ones off to find sticks in the backyard. 

Find one or two thicker, sturdier sticks and glue them to the bottom of the bird feeder...this is where the birds can perch while they snack. 

Now, go around the can gluing sticks side-by-side until the entire can has been covered. We broke the sticks so they were all roughly the same length, but by no means perfect. If one stick is curved and leaves a substantial gap, go ahead and glue a small stick in to fill the hole. 

On the bottom of the can, glue a few rocks in place...these probably won't be seen, but will help balance out the bird feeder so it doesn't tip too far forward.

Lastly, tie a string around the bird feeder and fill with bird seed. Hang it up where you and the kids can see it from a window...maybe on a nearby branch or off of your porch. Now, sit back and wait for the birds! 

We decorated our bird feeder with sticks from the yard, but you can certainly get creative and mix things up a bit. Your kids can paint the tin can, wrap string around the can, or glue buttons on it...anything you all are inspired to do to make it unique! 

Sensory Bags

These bags are great for babies to play with and are a nice calming activity for bigger kids...heck, I even have a hard time walking by one without squishing it! They always feel so cool to the touch! We made ours pretty simple, but you can always embellish yours a bit by throwing some glitter in or some flat foam shapes. 

Materials needed:
-Ziplock quart-size bags
-alcohol wipe
-hair gel
-food coloring
-clear packaging tape

First, use the alcohol wipe to easily remove the Ziplock logo from the bag.

Next, squirt about a cup of hair gel into the bag.

Then add a few drops of food coloring. If you're using glitter, throw that in too.

Seal the bag shut, making sure you leave little to no air in the bag. Squish the gel and food coloring together, adding more food coloring if you'd like a deeper color. 

Reinforce all the edges of the bag with the packaging tape, especially the top, ensuring that the bag won't split at its seams letting the gel-food coloring mixture out. All done!

WB likes to squish the bags on the kitchen floor, while L likes me to tape hers to the window, letting the sun shine through. As with most toys, you should never leave your baby alone with the sensory bags...you can never be too safe! Enjoy! 

Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches

In the Summer, when I was a kid, my mom used to make a frozen, creamy yogurt pie for us. She mixed together yogurt, whipped cream and fruit, poured it into a graham cracker crust and stuck it into the freezer to harden up. We ate it for dessert, afternoon snacks and even breakfast! This is a new twist on such a yummy and healthy Summer-time treat! 

Ingredients:

-banana

-graham crackers

-2 cups, low fat yogurt, any flavor

-1 cup, low fat whipped cream (store bought or homemade) 

 First, take a 8 x 8 in or 9 x 9 in pan or dish...line it with tin foil. Break the graham crackers into squares and lay them out on the bottom of the pan.

Cut the banana into slices, about 1/4 inch thick, and lay one slice on top of each graham cracker. 

Mix the yogurt and the whipped cream together in a bowl. Pour and spread the yogurt mixture evenly over the bananas and graham crackers.

Finish with another layer of graham crackers. Quickly put the pan in the freezer for a few hours to firm up.

Take the pan out of the freezer and carefully lift the foil and ice cream sandwiches out. Place on a cutting board and cut into squares. Let them sit about 5 minutes so they're more creamy and less icy. Yum-yum....enjoy!

A great thing about this treat is that it's very versatile...you can make it with just about anything you have on hand. 

Variations include:

-mash up 2-3 ripe bananas, mix with peanut butter...layer in-between graham crackers

-add 1-2 tablespoons of jelly, jam, nutella or chocolate syrup

-use strawberries instead of bananas

-use cookies instead of graham crackers

The possibilities are endless...let us know what you come up with!