There are lots of easy and fun science experiments that you can do involving eggs. Even younger kids will get a kick out of some of them, although they won’t understand the “science” behind the trick. Here’s a few I’ve come up with.

Egg Etching

Most children decorate eggs for Easter, but here’s a way to get in a little science experiment with your decorating.  Is it possible to actually etch an egg without breaking it?

What You’ll Need:

• Hard Boiled Egg
• Crayons
• Widemouth Jar
• White Vinegar

What to Do:

1. Draw on your egg with the crayons. You create designs, write words, or even just scribble. The color of the crayons doesn’t matter. Be very careful not to crack the egg when you are writing on it.

2. Put the egg into the widemouth jar and cover it with white vinegar.

3. Let the egg stand in the vinegar for two hours and then pour out the vinegar and replace it with fresh vinegar.

4. Let the egg stand in the fresh vinegar for another two hours, then take it out of the jar. Wash the egg and remove all the crayon markes. This will create an etched egg shell.

Why This Works

The crayon acts as a protective barrier to the vinegar. The acid in the vinegar dissolves much of the calcium carbonate of the eggshell. The wax in the crayons protects the parts of the shell that you wrote on and keeps it from dissolving.

Egg In A Bottle

Kids never cease to be amazed by this little trick, no matter how many times you show it to them.

What You’ll Need:

• 1 Hard Boiled Egg Peeled
• Boiling Water
• A Bottle with a neck slightly smaller than the egg

The Experiment:

1. Set the egg on the neck of the bottle to demonstrate that the egg simply won’t fit in the bottle. Tell the child that you know a trick to make that egg go down into the bottle without breaking it.

2. Remove the egg from the bottle and pour the boiling water into the bottle. Carefully roll the water around in the bottle and then pour it out.

3. Quickly put the egg back on the neck of the bottle, while the bottle is still hot, and wait for it to get sucked down into the bottle.

The Explanation:

When you put the hot water into the bottle and then poured it out, the hot water left steam behind in the bottle. The steam forces out some of the air that was already in the bottle. As the steam in the bottle cools down, it converts into tiny droplets of water. The drops of water require less space and this reduces the amount of air pressure in the bottle. The pressure on the outside of the bottle is greater than the pressure on the inside of the bottle and that is what forces the egg into the bottle.

Removing The Egg From The Bottle

You can remove the egg from the bottle using the same process in reverse. Hold the bottle upside down and blow into the bottle for about 30 seconds. Be sure to seal your lips around the mouth of the bottle when you do this. By blowing into the bottle, you will increase the pressure on the inside of the bottle and force the egg out.

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Easy Egg Experiments For Easter Science – Part 1

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This is a cute little penguin that will come in handy if you’re working on a Winter theme, Winter animal theme, or Penguins themselves.  It would also be fun for any kind of winter themed scounting event, and we’ve even done them for homeschool!  I’ve shown some other options for creating a couple of different kinds of penguins like Emperor Penguins and Macaroni Penguins.

NOTE:  Some people have expressed a concern that they can’t use toilet paper rolls in preschools, even if they sanitize them first.  For this craft, you could roll up a piece of file folder and staple it to make a tube, cut a paper towel tube, or even make it with heavier construction paper if necessary!

These are the basic instructions for the penguin…

What You’ll Need:

• Toilet paper tube
• Black and white construction paper
• Scrap orange construction paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• 2 Wiggle eyes
• The templates below

What to Do:

1.  Cover your tube with black construction paper.  Print out the template below for the penguin parts.

2.  Trace the tummy template onto white construction paper and cut out.  Trace the wings template onto black construction paper and cut out.  Trace the feet and beak onto orange construction paper and cut out.

3.  Glue the tummy onto the tube so that the flat edge is at the bottom of the tube.

4.  Lightly crease the wings and then glue them onto either side of the tummy.  Creasing them before you glue them will help them stick out from the body a little.

5.  Glue on the wiggle eyes and the beak.  Fold the feet on the line to create tabs.  Glue the tabs to the front inside of the tube so that the feet stick out in front of the penguin.  (See picture above.)

To Create An Emperor Penguin

It’s really easy to create an Emperor Penguin by simply coloring his belly.  I used chalk in the picture to the left so that the colors would blend easily.  Simply color around the outside of the belly with yellow chalk and then put a line of orange next to that.  Blend the colors together.

You could do the same thing with crayons or watercolor paint, but the blending won’t be as smooth.  Younger children won’t care about that a bit.

To Create A Macaroni Penguin

It’s also a lot of fun to make a Macaroni Penguin.  First cut a piece of paper to fit around the inside of the tube.  Cut slits in the tube to make a fringe, and then glue it to the inside of the tube.  Rough it up to make it look more fuzzy.

Fringe too difficult? Use strings, yarn, or even a pom pom to make the crazy hair on the head of a macaroni penguin.

By the way, the picture above is a little deceiving.  Macaroni Penguins are supposed to have a little bit of yellow or orange hair on the outside edges of their top knot — but this is just too complicated for younger children!

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Tissue Tube Penguin

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I like to do just about anything that will get my kids thinking about how blessed they are in their lives, and a Thankful Book craft does a really great job!

This is a craft project that would be ideal for just about any group of kids, regardless of age.

The idea is to make a Thanksgiving keepsake for your child.  You can make this as elaborate or simple as you want. You don’t even have to “make” the book.  You could purchase a small scrapbook, Thanksgiving stickers, etc. and make this a really simple project.   But for those of us on a budget, a homemade Thankful Book is quick, simple, and fun.

What You’ll Need:

• A holiday picture
• Crayons
• Several sheets of paper
• Stapler
• Pen or marker

What To Do:

1.  Print out a holiday picture and let your child color it.

2.  On the sheets of paper, ask your child what they are thankful for (you may have to help them get started or give them examples to get the ball rolling). Write down each thing they are thankful for on a separate piece of paper.  You can even take this further by having them draw pictures of what they are thankful for, etc.

3.  Assemble all the sheets with the holiday picture on top and staple it along the side like a book.

There are so many variation of how you can do this book and make it a meaningful activity for your child… but I hope this gives you the general idea.

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

A Thankful Book Craft

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There’s absolutely no doubt that kids love to paint!  However, the most enthusiastic painter can get stuck in a rut – even kids.  That’s why it can be really fun and educational to try painting with different types of tools than just paintbrushes.

Here are some of my paintbrush ideas.

Paintbrush Substitutes:

• Q-tips or cotton swabs
• Cotton Balls
• Fingers
• Toes
• Rags
• Toothpick
• Twigs or sticks
• Feathers
• Toothbrush
• String or yarn

Printing/Stamping/Stenciling Objects

• Fruit or vegetables
• Corks
• Cookie cutters
• Wood blocks
• Leaves
• Textured Fabric
• Lace
• Doilies
• Styrofoam Shapes
• Body Puff
• Loofa
• Natural Sponges
• Stamps
• Stencils
• Plastic lids from containers (to make circles)
• Wheels from toy cars
• Sponges

Other Painting Tools

• Blow Paints
• Squirt bottle
• Eyedropper
• Old or Cheap Toys

I’m sure this list gives you all kinds of ideas of your own — I hope you’ll share!

Plus, keep in mind that you can combine these painting techniques with all kinds of other projects.  For example, if you were doing a Fall painting, you could paint with fallen leaves to make the project more creative.  You could also choose to use a different “painting tool” with any project that would normally call for painting with a brush.

I think you could have a lot of fun painting with other types of tools for a classroom or scouting project!

The ideas are nearly endless!

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Great Paintbrush Ideas

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I think it always makes it easier for children to learn their letters and the sounds of the alphabet when they get reinforcement from a lot of different activities.  That’s why I thought I would start periodically posting activities specifically designed to help children learn their letters.

We’ll start at the top with the letter “A” and keep adding to the list.

Thumbprint Ants – Draw an ant hill with a marker on a plain sheet of construction paper. Use a black washable stamp pad or black paint and have your child put a thumbprint on the paper (or several thumbprints). Draw on the legs(6), eyes, etc. and then turn them loose to draw in the rest of the ant’s home.

Ant Thumbprint Counting Book – You can also adapt this craft to create “Ant Books” to go along with “The Ants Go Marching” song. Create counting books using one page for each verse of the song. On the first page, make one thumbprint ant. If they are able, have your child write a number one. If not, write a one for them. Continue the pages for as many verses as you want to do, and use the “Ant Book” when you sing the song. This is a great way to get in a little counting practice with your child too.

Macaroni “A” – Use the “A” template here and print it out onto heavy construction paper. Spread glue onto the A and let your child glue different shapes or sizes of macaroni onto the A until it is filled in. You can also have them color the pasta with markers before or after they glue it on.

Of course, you could also use the “A” template and use other media instead of macaroni like tissue paper, beans, buttons, colored sand, etc. or just let them color the letters!

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

3 Easy Letter A Activities

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Kids of all ages will enjoy making a cloud picture spring craft. There are lots of different ways you can go about making cloud crafts, so I’ve put together a few ideas that we’ve done over the years.

Paper Towel Cloud Pictures

This one is super simple.  All you need is white paper towels, a glue stick, and blue construction paper.  Tear the paper towels into cloud shapes.  Younger kids can just go for your basic fluffy cloud, but older kids can try to tear the paper towel to look like an animal or other object.  Once you’ve sufficiently torn your paper towel, all you have to do is glue it to your construction paper.

For older kids, you could use chalk, water colors, or markers to add a little dimension to your clouds and really make a beautiful picture while teaching them a little about art.

Fluffy Cloud Pictures

This is another really easy cloud picture that you can do with younger kids.  All you have to do is glue cotton balls to blue construction paper.  You can also put the whole idea of the clouds into perspective for them by putting a “scene on the ground” below the clouds with crayon or marker.  Young children will just enjoy the sensory experience of gluing cotton balls to paper.

Abstract Cloud Craft

This craft is intended for kids that are ages 6 and above because younger kids will have a problem getting the concept.  I also think you could do this as a scouting or homeschool activity, especially if you threw in some facts about clouds like the different types, what makes them different colors, etc.

The idea is to cut cloud shapes out of scraps of material and glue it to the construction paper.  Try to have a variety of scraps available so that the kids can really let their imagination fly by using different patterns, colors, and shapes all in the same picture.

Also be careful with the scissors… they need to be a little sharper to cut fabric.

Lastly, if your younger child is having trouble making the connection between the craft and the clouds in the sky — take them outside and lay down in the grass with them.  I guarantee they’ll remember the day you laid down in the grass and looked at the clouds together for a long, long time.

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Cloud Picture Spring Craft

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A lot of people like to let their kids watch short videos online… but the problem is that you never know what you’re in for when you click the play button.

Some of the most friendly video titles that look like they would be okay for kids can turn out to play all kinds of sleazy stuff that’s completely unfit for young eyes.

Apparently YouTube.com has decided to take the smut and violence in hand and create a kid-friendly video website called TotLOL.com.  So, if you like to let your kids safely surf the net, here’s another resource that they can access for a little video entertainment.

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Cute New Online Video Site For Kids

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We absolutely LOVE making the Valentine’s Day Heart Man! No matter how many times we make them, or how old the kids get, they still giggle and laugh when we make them.

We usually make these every year, so you’d think that I’d have a picture of one around here somewhere… but I can’t find one.

I do have a complete template and construction page for the Valentine’s Day Heart Man though… Enjoy!

In addition, I found this heart slider puzzle on the site and I’d forgotten about it.  Older kids might get a kick out of it:

http://www.kidcraftsmagazine.com/2006/valentine-heart-slider-puzzle.html

I also have a secret…

Believe it or not, I actually live a “double life” in my online business.  Many of you already know that I’ve been doing children’s crafts online for many years, but what you may not know is that I’m also an Internet Business Consultant operating online under the pen name Arvada Yates.

As Arvada (which I fully disclose is a pen name), I help people start their own successful online businesses, provide tons of marketing and business tutorials, and give advice to online business owners.

So why am I telling you all this?

A number of people who found me through my children’s craft sites have recently contacted me for business advice, and the word is starting to get out.  Basically, I wanted to tell you about “the rest of my business” before you found out yourself.

I didn’t want you to think that I was being dishonest.

You see, my children’s craft sites are like my babies.  They are where I started online and I have a great deal of loyalty to them and to all the people who I’ve met through them… You!

I’m a mom first and foremost and I’ve really enjoyed meeting so many other parents, grandparents, and caregivers.  My craft sites aren’t really business… they’re personal!

I guess I’m writing this all in the spirit of full-disclosure because I believe in being completely honest.  So if you’d like to know more about my “other identity,” you can subscribe to my online business newsletter Answers eMagazine or visit the links below:

• www.iMarketingWatch.com
• www.Internet-Marketing-Tutor.com
• www.Escape-Your-Cubicle.com

Nothing has changed…  I just wanted you to know and I hope you understand.

Best Wishes,

Chris Yates

P.S.

Only four days until Valentine’s Day (where did the time go?) and I’ve got lots of great Valentine’s Day ideas lined up for this week!

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Valentine’s Day Heart Man and A Secret

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I absolutely LOVE these Christmas printables!

Why?

Because they’re fun AND educational! My daughter found these over the weekend and the kids have been busily occupied ever since. They’ve been racing to see who could finish some of the Christmas mazes first, playing the printable games, and even doing Christmas math as if it’s just playtime!

I love it when I can trick them into doing math, writing activities, word puzzles, problem solving, and other educational activities and they don’t even realize it because they’re having too much fun!

The really great part is that the kids think they’re pulling a fast one on Mom because it’s too much fun to be educational!

The other thing I like about these Christmas printables is that there’s something for everyone here… from my oldest child to my youngest, everyone is happily occupied in holiday spirit.

Okay, enough raving… just go on over and take a look for yourself!

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Have You Seen These Great Christmas Printables?

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My youngest is sooo excited that we’re going to the zoo next week that she keeps singing that song over and over again… bless her little heart.  Sorry if that title was a bit annoying, but I though that if I shared it maybe I could get it out of my head!!!

We’re planning the picnic lunch, mapping out the zoo, planning out each animal stop… you’d think we’d never been to the zoo before.  I think the kids are just excited because we’ve planned our homeschool field trip to be the same day that public starts in our area.

Anyway, I thought I’d post some fun zoo crafts today in case anyone else could use them.

Paper Plate Monkey – Supplies: A paper plate, brown paint, brown construction paper, tan construction paper, glue, and this template. Directions: Paint your paper plate brown and let dry. Use the template below to cut out the ears and face of the monkey out of tan colored construction paper. (If you want, you could just paint on the face using the template.) Glue the ears onto the back of the paper plate and glue the face on the front. Use a marker to draw in the eyes, nose and mouth.

Giraffe Paper Bag Puppet – Print out one of the giraffe templates ( color – or – black and white). Color the giraffe, if necessary, and cut out the 2 parts. Glue the giraffe’s head to the bottom of a small lunch-sized paper bag. Lift up the fold and glue in the neck of the giraffe so that when you put your hand inside the bag it looks like the giraffe has a head on top of a neck.

Paper Plate Elephant – Paint the back of a paper plate gray (or any other color you choose) and let dry. Print out the black and white or color template. Color the parts, if necessary, and cut out the pieces. Glue or staple the ears onto the plate on opposite edges. Make sure you put the ears behind the plate so the tabs don’t show. Glue on the trunk and eyes.

Monkey Puppet – Print out the monkey template in color or black and white. Color the parts if necessary and cut them out. Cut out 4 strips of brown construction paper that are about 1 inch wide and 11-12 inches long. Take each of your strips of paper and fold them like an accordian so that when they are folded they are about an inch square. These are the monkey’s arms and legs. Glue a hand or foot to the end of each accordian strip. Glue the monkey’s head onto it’s body. Glue each of the arms and legs onto the right spot on the body. You can turn this monkey into a funny puppet by gluing a craft stick to the back.

Paper Plate Snakes – Paint both sides of a paper plate green. Let dry. Cut plate starting at outer edge and spiraling towards the center. Stop cutting when you get about 4 or 5 inches from the center. The center of the plate will be the snake’s head. Make eyes on your snake with a marker or glue on wiggle eyes. You can also glue on some red curly ribbon for a tongue.

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

We’re goin’ to the zoo, zoo, zoo… How about you, you, you?

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