Extraordinary Uses for Ordinary Things

Protect little fingers:
Pad the ends of drawer runners with a cotton wool ball. This will prevent the drawer from closing completelyand keep children from catching their little fingers as the drawer slides shut.

Colourful decoration:
Make a multicoloured sun-catcher by shaving crayons onto a 10 or 12 centimeter (4 or 5 inch) sheet of wax paper. Use a potato peeler or grater for this task. Place another sheet of wax paper over the top and press with a hot iron until the shavings melt together. Poke a hole near the top through the layers of wax and crayon while still warm. Once your ornament cools, peel away the papers and thread a ribon through it to hang in a window.

Make play clay for kidsusing cream of Tartar:
Here's a recipie for fun dough that's lke te commercial stuff: add together 2 tablespoons cream of tartar, 1 cup salt, 4 cups plain flour(without rising agents) and 1-2 tablespoons cooking oil. Stir well with wooden spoon to mix together, then slowly stir while adding 4 cups water. Cook the mixture in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally until it thickens. It's ready when it forms a ball thats not sticky. Work in food colouring if you want. Let it cool, then let the kids get creative. It dries out more quickly than the commercial vareity, so store it in an airtight container in the fridge.

 

Duct tapes and kids:

Make a fancy dress costume:
Want to be the Tin Man or Terminator for a party? How about a Robot? These are just three ideas that work naturally with the classic silver duct tape. Make a basic costume from sturdy brown paper bags. with openings in the back so the child can easily put on and take off the costume. Cover this patternwith rows of duct tape. For the legs, cover over an old pair of pants, again giving your little robot or Tin Man an easy way to remove the outfit for bathroom breaks. Duct tape comes in an array of colours, so let your imagination lead your creativity.

Make a toy sword:
Got a couple of would-be swashbucklers around the house? Make toy swords for the junior pirates by sketching a child-sized sword on a piece of cardboard. Use two pieces if you haven't got one thick enough. be sure to make a handle the child's hand can fit around comfortably once the handle has been increased in thickness by several layers of duct tape. Wrap the entire blade shape in silver duct tape. Wrap the handle in black tape.

 

Make bicycle streamers:
Add snazzy streamers to your kid's handlebars. Make them using duct tape in various colours. Cut the tape into strips about 1.2 cms(1/2 inch) wide by 25cms (10 inches) long. Fold each strip in half, sticky sides together. Once you have about half a dozen for each side, stick them into the ends of the handlebars and secure them with wraps of duct tape. Ensure that your child will still have a good grip on the handlebars.

Make play rings and bracelets:
Make rings by tearing duct tape into strips about 1.2 cms(1/2 inch) wide, then folding the strips in half lengthways-sticky sides together. Continue to put more strips over the first one until the ring is thick enough to stand on its own. You can adjust the size with a pair of scissors and tape the ends closed. To make a stone for the ring, cover a small item such as a pebble and attach it to the ring. Make a bracelet by winding the duct tape around a stiff paper pattern.

 

Hi all
Sorry for not posting in this thread for long. I really dont know what made me stop though I was logging into the site. Now here I go again. Let me start

 

Jars:
Make a piggy bank:
You can encourage thriftiness in your child by making a piggy bank out of a jar with metal lid. Take the lid off the jar, place it on a flat work surface like a cutting board and tap a screwdriver with a hammer to carefully puncha slotted hole in the centre. Then use the hammer or a rasp; to smooth the rough edges on the underside of the slot to protect little fingers from scratches.Personalising the mini-bank with paints or collage makes a fun rainy day project.

Collect insects:
Help the kids observe natureby gently collecting fireflies and other interesting insects in clean jars. Punch a few small airholes in the lids for ventilation. Dont make the holes too large, or your insects will escape! Dont forget to let them go off after you have admired them.

Make baby food portions:
Take advantage of the fact that baby-food jars are already the perfect size for baby's portions. Clean them throughly before re-use and fill them with anything from pureed carrots to vannila pudding. Ataach a spoon with a rubber band and you've got a ke-along meal perfect take along meal when you travel with your little one.

 

Turn a large wide mouthed jar into a miniature biosphere. Clean the jar and the lid, then place a handful of pebbles and charcoal chips in the bottom. Add several trowelfuls of slightly damp, sterli zed potting soil. Select a few plants that like similar conditions (such as ferns and mosses, which both like moderate light and moisture). Add a few colourful stones, seashells or a piece of driftwood. Add water to make the terrarium humid. Tighten the lid and place the jar in dim light for two days. Then display in bright light but not direct sunlight. You shouldn't need to add water-it cycles from the plants to the soil and back again. It is important to use sterilised soil to avoid introducing unwanted organisms. The charcoal chips filter the water as it recycles.

 

Make a baby foot print paper weight:
Make an enduring impression of your baby's foot, using quick drying modelling clay-which comes in lots of great colours. Put enough clay in a margarine tub to hold a good impression. Put a thin layer of pertoleum jelly on baby's foot and press it firmly into the clay. Let the clay dry as directed, then flex the tub away from the edges until the clay comes free. Years from now you'll be able to show your teenager that his large feet was once smaller than the palm of your hand! You can also presever your pet's paw like this

 

Make indiavidual Ice cream portions:
Small margarine tubs are just the right size for a quick ice cream snack. And when it comes home from the shop, a litre of ice cream is the perect consistency to portion out into the tybs. No more time consuming getting out the bowls, finding the scoop and waitng for the icream to soften up enough to dis out. When the children want their icecream now they can get it themselves and everyone has an equal portion- they just go to the freezer and pull out a tub.

Give children a lunch box vareity:
As a break from the usual sandwhich, put some fruit salad, or rice mix or other interesting fare in one or two recycled margarine tubs for your child's lunch. The tubs are easy to open and will prevent the food from getting crushed.

Bring fast food for baby:
Need to bring your home cooking for a baby on the road Use a disposable margarine tub for a container that wont break in your baby bay. It's also a handy food bowl and you wont have to wrap it up and bring it home for cleaning

Make a piggy bank

Use a tall tub as a homemade bank for your little one. Cut out a piece of paper that will fit wrapped around the side, tape it in place and encourage him or her to decorate it with flair. Cut a slit in the top, and start saving!

 

Cover your kids' textbooks

Helping your children make book covers for their textbooks isn't only fun, it's also a subtle way to teach kids to respect public property. And few materials rival a paper bag when it comes to making a rugged book cover. First, cut the bag along its seams to make it a flat, wide rectangle, then place the book in the center. Fold in the top and bottom edges so the bag is only slightly wider than the book's height. Next, fold over the sides to form sleeves over the book covers. Cut off the excess, leaving a couple of inches on either side to slide over the front and back covers. Put a piece of masking tape on the top and bottom of each sleeve (over the paper, not the book) to keep it on tight, and you're done. Lastly, let your child put his or her personal design on each cover.

Make a life sized body poster of your child.
Start by cutting up 4-6 paper bags so they lie completly flat(any print should be facing down). Arrange them into one big square on the floor and tape the undersides together. Then get your child to lie down in the middle, and use a caryon to trace the outline of his or her entire body. Give him or her crayons or water colour paints to fill in the face, clothing and other details. when your child is finished, hang it up in her or her room as a terrific wall decoration

 

Make index cards

It's inevitable -- at the eleventh hour your child will say, "I need index cards for school tomorrow." If you don't have any, use paper plates and a ruler. Measure out a 3 x 5 or 4 x 6 (A7 or A6) card on the plate and cut. Use the first card as a template for the rest.

Make Frisbee flash cards
Drilling your kids with flash cards can be a drag, but here's a way to make it fun. Write the numbers, letters, words or shapes you are teaching on paper plates and let the kids toss them like Frisbees across the room when they get a correct answer.

Make a snowman decoration
When the cold wind blows and cabin fever peaks, paper plates can provide an inexpensive, creative outlet for kids. They can use them to make masks, mobiles, and seasonal decorations. To create a cute winter snowman, use two paper plates. Cut the rim off one plate to make it smaller. Staple the smaller plate to the larger plate, creating a head and body. Make boots and hat out of black construction paper and mittens out of red paper and glue on. Decorate the face with googly eyes, buttons, pipe cleaners, or draw on features with crayon or marker.