Image by nugroho dwi hartawan from Pixabay Thanks to contributing author: Christina Vunk Picture it...The setting: Every family household. The year: 2020. The situation? There was a pandemic. Parents everywhere thanked their lucky stars for Google and minds craftier than theirs for coming up with ingenious ideas for using stuff around the house in creative ways. If you’re like me, there are only so many rounds of Go Fish and Candy Land that stay fun and entertaining, not to mention countless drawing and doodling sessions that lead to more papers flying around than I want to deal with. It could just be the quarantine talking or the inability to get out to speak with people who don’t ask me for food every 5 seconds, but this Mama needs a break! Enter some screen time; namely Blues Clues. Here’s the mail, it never fails, it makes me want to wag my tail, when it comes I want to wail, MAIL!!! (Told you, Mama needs more adult contact.) Anyway, while I like Blue’s Clues for a variety of reasons, this particular day it saved my sanity. Not only did I get a 20 minute break while kids were enthralled with handy dandy notebooks and finding clue’s, Steve also showed them how to make a caterpillar out of an egg carton. They, of course, wanted to try it and I was happy to have something different and engaging to do with them. Added bonus? There were still 4 eggs left in the carton I had so the deal was that they had to eat them for lunch if they wanted to make the caterpillars. A healthy lunch and a craft?? Steve, you’re my hero! So we got out our egg carton, some pipe cleaners, markers, scissors, and a stapler. If you have googly eyes around get those too and while you’re at it, stick some on the tube of toothpaste, the orange juice container or the banana on the counter. It will make for some unexpected giggles and smiles. Cutting the egg carton in half is definitely a job for the adult in the room as it can get kind of tricky with all those bumps. While you’re doing that, have the kids pick out what color legs and antennae they want from the pipe cleaners. I wound up using tiny staples to attach the legs as glue and tape were not working as well as I had hoped. Depending on the age of your kids, the stapling is also an adult job. I wound up bending over the ends of the pipe cleaners too so that the sharp points were hidden and it wound up creating cute little feet! After the legs and antennae are on, let them go nuts with markers and crayons and let them add whatever finishing touches they want! The best part? Coming up with fun names for their new friends! Check out our friends, Banana Meatball and Mortimer, below! Have you been getting creative during the home time? Are you upcycling household items in crafty ways? Let us know! We'd love to your stories and sharing your crafts can help mom's like our own here keep their sanity a little while longer. :)
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