Ball-and-Cup #quarantinecraft

'Rona and her shenanigans has everyone fed up....

With all the businesses and schools shut down until further notice, I can just imagine how frustrating and tiring it is for some families. Especially for those with elementary age children, trying to keep your young learners in "school mode" may seem close to impossible, but don't fret-- there are plenty of learning resources available to help in this process. Message to The Village: Let's do as best as we can to keep it together. WE CAN DO IT!

**As an educator, I'll speak on behalf of all my teacher friends as I remind parents that learning and reinforcing lessons and skills should not only take place on school grounds.**

I've decided to contribute to the homeschooling movement by providing inspiration for some fun crafts and activities to help you and your young learners :) As a dedicated member of team #savetheplanet, I always encourage recycling. So for this project (and most others) you might already have all of the materials handy. BTW, you toilet paper hoarders should have a blast with this one!

Do you remember the Ball-And-Cup game??

We're taking it back with this old school classic! Not only is it fun for the whole family, it's very useful for developing and reinforcing some of those essential skills in our young learners. While creating this project, they'll work on fine motor skills when they cut, paste, and color. They'll be improving their hand & eye coordination and gross motor skills as they toss and catch. And add a bit more challenge by keeping score so that you can help them practice counting and comparing for math! See where I'm going with this? It's easy!

Materials:

-toilet paper rolls

-paint & brush, markers, or crayons

-embellishments: foam sheets, googly eyes, construction paper, buttons, rhinestones, etc.

-string (I used yarn. You could use rope, ribbon, shoe string, whatever you have available)

-button, bead, or something to attach to the end of your string

-glue, tape, stapler, or a hot glue gun,* don't let young children handle the hot glue

Decorate your paper roll and add any fancy embellishments you'd like. I thought the frog was a cute idea, as the string represented its tongue, and the button was the fly that it wanted to catch and eat.

Attach your button or bead to one end of your string.

Pinch one end of your tube flat, and glue, tape, or staple it shut while attaching the loose end of your string in the middle. Finish attaching any other embellishments and let it dry completely. THAT'S IT!

#DIY crafter tip: Save those scraps of paper, craft foam, felt, etc...you never know what you could create with it later!

I hope you've enjoyed this project as much as I've enjoyed making it for you :) Feel free to share this post with others and tag me on IG/FB @michmosh_world

PEACE.