Reporter Ellie Constantine has some easy ways to whip up some fun and fill some hours on a free day - just peak inside your kitchen cupboards.
Paint:
Paint is a great resource for young and old, can be easily made with items from the kitchen cupboard, and will come in handy for the following activities.
What you need:
750 mls water
65 grams cornflour
Food colouring
What to do:
- Mix 250mls water with the cornflour. Start by adding a small amount at a time to build up a smooth paste.
- Add 500mls more.
- Cook in the microwave for 8-9 minutes, or until thickened. Its important to keep stirring every minute or so throughout the cooking process.
- Divide the mixture between 6 small bowls.
- Add 3 drops of (different) food colouring to each bowl.
Let your children create their masterpieces.
Grass head: See the video
Making a fuzzy head will amuse the children through the creation process and for weeks after as their handiwork sprouts hair which can be cut into different styles.
What you need:
Some old knee high socks or cut off panty hose.
Grass seed.
Soil.
2 small elastic bands.
Decorations - paint, googly eyes, buttons, paper, pipe cleaners, bits of felt, some old wool for hair etc.
What to do:
- Have the children put 2 teaspoons of grass seed in the toe of the panty hose.
- Add 1-2 handfuls of soil. It is important to help the children with this stage as you need to ensure that the seeds stay in the top of the head, otherwise youll have hair sprouting from under the eyes.
- Use the small elastic band to pinch off a nose about half way up the head.
- Use the second elastic band to tie off the bottom, or you could just tie a firm knot in the stocking.
- The children can decorate by pasting on eyes, mouth, ears, or what ever else inspires them.
- When you have completed the head, you can either rest it on a saucer or put it in a small plastic pot with water in the bottom.
- It is important to keep it well watered over the next few days.
- The hair should sprout in less than a week.
3. Lunch and entertainment can also be found by making an egg head.
These are similar to the fuzzy head but instead of grass seed, you use mustard and cress seeds.
Egg head
What you need:
Egg shells
Soil
Mustard and cress seeds
Markers
What you do:
- Cook boiled eggs to eat and carefully slice off the top of the egg. Eat the egg gently so as not to break the shell. - Fill the shell 2/3 full with soil and then sprinkle some seeds on the top and put into an egg cup.
- Use the marker to very gently draw a face on the shell.
- Water your head every day and it should start sprouting hair in 2-3 days.
