Toilet Paper Roll Art
Dressing up is a must at our house. My son is never just chilling in his own clothes there is almost always a costume, some accessories or at the very least a hat to support his pretend play that starts when he wakes up and ends when we wrestle him into his PJs for bed. This craft was done spur of the moment when my scarf wrapped around his shoulders was simply not enough costume to be a superhero. It was so easy and if you don’t have foam on hand , felt, paper or even stickers would be great options. The foam has held up really well , we made this almost a month ago and it’s still going strong.
- Gather your materials. You will need a toilet paper roll ( or wrapping paper / paper towel tube ), some paint , sparkly sticky back foam ( great option for those afraid of letting your kids loose with glitter shakers), scissors and a paint brush.
- Start by cutting some buttons out of the foam. I asked my son what shapes he wanted but did the cutting myself.
- Next cut the roll open. Round the edges with scissors.
- Add the foam. When making props to play with skipping things that need to be glued on is usually a safe way to go. Also anything they have to peel the backing off is a great fine motor skill activity so it’s fast and worthwhile!
- Add paint – this is optional. We chose to paint after the foam because sticking the foam on wet paint is futile and painting around the shapes is another good fire motor skill activity as well as hand eye coordination which is your child is a beginning writer like mine they will benefit from as much pressure free practice as possible.
- Let dry … a little tip I use sometimes when I need things to dry faster for pictures … or eager kids who want to play superhero before bedtime( can you tell he was crying in the picture above? The tears were instantaneous when I told him he’d have to wait for the paint to dry.) Take some paper towel and blot the paint. If you are careful only the excess comes off.
- Play!
Superhero Picture Books
Super Duck (Duck in the Truck)
Supersister
Eliot Jones, Midnight Superhero
We love to pretend! Dramatic play isn’t just practice for future actors it’s practice for future adults. It gives children a chance to play out scenarios , engage in cooperative play and even problem solve. It also gives the imagination and kid’s natural creativity a great outlet ! This camping play is so easy and offers lots of situations to act out, from traveling to the camp ground, hiking, fishing for dinner and telling bedtime stories. Of course those were just our ideas your child will come up with their own.The campfire craft is a great opportunity to drive home fire safety rules and procedures too !
Campfire Craft
- Gather your materials. You will need a long paper roll or a few shorter ones. We used a roll from wrapping paper. Also some orange , red and yellow tissue paper, some double stick tape , scissors and a brown marker. You may also want some clothes pins.
- Start by coloring the roll.
- Next cut in 3
- Rip your paper. Random ripping works best.
We were out of red so I cut some red cellophane that I had. - Add tape to your rolls in the middle and have your child add the paper. This is why I like using double stick, that way I can place the tape and it’s sticky and ready for him to add the flames.
- Next tape the rolls together. This is where I used the clothes pins. I used double stick tape then held it together with the clothes pins for 30 minutes before playing.
While that sat we made some snacks for the camping trip!
We made some trail mix ( cereal, dried cherries and pumpkin seeds) 
Then we packed some other favorites into our “cooler” aka my son’s lunch box.
We popped a sheet in a back pack, grabbed a lantern and made a car out of the kitchen chairs. Packed our stuff in the trunk and got buckled in.
Then drove for 51 hours to the campsite.
Unpacked.
Got settled with a snack 
Then told ghost stories by the fire. 
Time for bed!
It took 5 minutes of gathering items to have a fun morning of pretend!
What is your child’s favorite pretend play activity?
We are visiting my parents and didn’t pack our travel craft box. That didn’t stop us though, we saw these paper rolls in the recycling bin and immediately thought we could turn them into puppets. We don’t have a ton of supplies here but with a little creativity we made fun puppets using pictures we printed off my facebook album ( accessible anywhere!) , markers and tape. All in all a fun easy craft that has proven a fun toy away from home as well.
- Gather your materials. You will need some toilet paper or paper towel rolls, markers, scissors, tape and printed out pictures of your kids in black and white .
- Start by having your child color the rolls.
- Cut out the pictures if need be.
- Next color the pictures. I swear he likes his baby sister, and he even asked what her favorite color was despite the maniacally coloring over her face.
- Trim the pictures- he did his sister and I did his picture.
- Tape on the roll.
- Play!
Paper towel and toilet paper rolls are staples in most houses and are among my favorite craft supply! Here are some of our favorite crafts we’ve made with these useful recyclable!
Fantastic musical craft from contributing writer Kim Young! I can’t wait to do this with my little guy .
This craft is a fun way to teach young children about sound. All you will need are toilet and/or paper towel rolls, markers, wax paper, rubber bands, and scissors. 
Have your child decorate the roll however they would like. You can use crayons, markers, glue and glitter, or stickers. Whatever you have available will work great.
Cut the wax paper into 3 inch squares, place over one end of the roll, and secure with a rubber band.
Now have your child blow or hum into the roll. You will know you are doing it properly when you hear the loud vibrations from the wax paper.
We talked about how the air carried the sound from our mouths, into the tube, and then to the wax paper. The sound became vibrations again. When my son questioned the “again” part, I turned on music and sat him on the subwoofer to the surround sound system. He instantly got the vibration part of sound.
This craft was a fun way to show the scientific side of music to my son. He mostly just enjoyed his new instrument. My daughter (only 20 months) really enjoyed making music in these as well. This craft was not messy, very fast, and provided the kids with hours of enjoyment playing music. Perfect for a quick craft or a craft at someone else’s house.
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Kim is a contributing writer for No Time For Flash Cards, a mom to a toddler, a preschooler, and a foster parent, too. She juggles her day by trying out fun activities and crafts with the kids. After all, she is just a big kid herself. See what she has been up to over at Mom Tried It.
