The Chocolate Muffin Tree: Mandala

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

CD Hovercraft

We made a CD Hovercraft which was quite fun! I've seen these all over the web and we just had to try it!

All you need to make one is:

permanent markers (optional)

flip top from dish soap or a water bottle

glue gun

balloon

First we decorated the CD with permanent markers. Cassie really enjoyed this! Using sharpie markers is always a special treat!

Close up of her design.

Here is my design and Cassie's. A good lesson on radial symmetry or mandala art!

After designing the CD's, I used a glue gun to put some glue on the center to attach the flip top.

This is not the best picture but you can see the flip top is attached to the middle. After attaching, (quick drying with a glue gun!) make sure the flip top is pushed down so no air is released when you first put the balloon on!

Attach the balloon and your almost ready to make the hovercraft go!

Open up the flip top and push it along a bit and it will fly across a smooth surface....COOL!!! Make sure your balloon has a smaller neck or too much air will escape. We tried it with a larger balloon and we needed to put a rubber band around the neck! Here is Cassie watching it go!

It doesn't go as fast as you might expect, but it still was FUN and a GREAT science experiment on how a hovercraft works (propelled by air). Here is Cassie blowing it to make it move along faster! We had fun designing the CD and playing with the completed hovercraft!

HAVE FUN!

(we sure did!)

Check out more fun with CD's:

CD Spinners from Irresistible Ideas for play based learning.

CD Garden Art from Irresistible Ideas for play based learning.

Video of a CD Hovercraft on YouTube to see instructions and one in action!

20 Creative and Cool Reuse of CD's from Crookedbrains!

Have you had fun with CD's???

This post is linked to:

IT'S PLAYTIME
KIDS GET CRAFTY
THE PLAY ACADEMY FOR THE KIDS FRIDAY
FOR THE KIDS FRIDAY
RESOURCE CENTRE
SUNDAY SHOWCASE
CRAFT SCHOOLING SUNDAY
NO TIME FOR FLASHCARDS
SHOW AND TELL

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Glue and Bead Sun Catchers

This is a very simple project to do, but with a long waiting time for completion (4-6 days). It is well worth the wait!!!! I was the one who had a more difficult time waiting! My daughter had the patience to wait and enjoyed observing the sun catchers drying each day. I got the idea from a facebook page called: Casa Maria's Creative Learning Zone. Here is one of our finished Glue and Bead Sun Catchers:

To create a Glue and Bead Sun Catcher you will need a clear plastic lid with a rim.

Beads---(my collection since I was a child!), sequins, or anything else you want!

Take the white glue and pour it in to the top of the lid so it sits nicely in without running out. Don't fill it all the way to the top! Leave some room for the beads, but enough for them to sink in halfway or so.

Now, drop the beads and sequins in to the glue. This was the FUN part! This could be done very randomly or placed very carefully in a mandala design. If you are not sure what a mandala or radial design is click on the link and it will show you some examples. Older children could make a much more detailed design by starting in the middle and branching out to the edge of the lid.

Cassie LOVED this part----choosing precious beads! Don't put out quite as many beads as me!! At least Cassie already had a day to explore these beads---it was a sensory bin in a tin! We tried stringing beads before I let her explore them, but she was more interested in just looking at the beads and feeling them!

Adding some glitter for a finishing touch!

After you are finished with making your sun catcher, the hard part is that you have to wait about 4 to 6 days for it to air dry. It may be shorter for you depending on your climate outside or inside your house. I checked on our sun catchers throughout the week and would add some more glue to air pockets that would form while it was drying. Here is Cassie loving the beads: