2-Liter {Bottle} Tropical Fish

The summer camp my son attended made these and while he wasn't signed up for the particular "recycled art" workshop, when I saw them, I knew he'd love it.

This is a simple craft with minimal supplies.

1 clear, clean 2-liter soda bottle

2 dot stickers (like you'd use for garage sale pricing)

Acrylic craft paint in whatever colors you please

black construction paper

exacto craft knife

hole punch

paint brushes, sponge brushes, etc.

permanent marker

scissors

stapler

(and anything else to decorate your fish like glitter, tissue paper, fabric, sequins, etc.!)

Before we made our 2-liter tropical fish, we read about the coral reef, where so many brightly colored fish reside.

Having admired some of the strange and beautiful creatures of the reef through Sylvia Earle's book, we got busy crafting our own tropical fish.

I cut out the tail-fin pattern I'd made. Download it here.

Next, my son wrapped it around the bottle, secured it in place, and began tracing around the edge of the template with a permanent marker.

Now, he handed the bottle to me and with an exacto craft knife and scissors, I carefully cut along the lines he'd drawn.

Before things got messy with paints, he paper punched two black dots from the construction paper. He placed it in the middle of the sticky side of each dot sticker, and adhered the stickers (our fish's eyes) on the inside of the bottle.

Paint brushes came out and the inside of the bottle was lightly coated in an array of red, yellow, and lime green.

My son couldn't wait for it to dry. So we pinched the tail together and added a staple to make our fish's body more flat.

Isn't the final result awesome? If we drank more soda, we'd have a sea full of these at our house!

After School Linky Party (8/19)

Welcome to the After School Linky!

Are your kids heading back to school? The After School Linky is ready to help your kids flex their mental muscles with loads of great educational activities.

Here are just a few of my favorites from last week's party.

The Essential Guide for Homework Help & Afterschool Activities at KC Edventures.
(Jacquie has loads of links and advice for getting back into the school swing of things in this post!)

P is for Police at Life with Moore Babies.
(Ashley gave her kids a wonderful pretend police experience - complete with crafting their own badges, fingerprinting, and a mystery to solve. FUN!)

Kids Back to School Shopping Scavenger Hunt at B-Inspired Mama.
(Shopping can be boring for kids, but Krissy knows how to make it fun: a scavenger hunt. Download her School Shopping Scavenger Hunt to keep kids entertained while you're looking for all those school supplies!)

Word Family Slam at Toddler Approved.
(This word review is simply genius. Post note cards with word family words (or sight words) on the wall and have your child try to hit them as you call them out. Perfect for kinesthetic learners!)

Opuestos (Opposities) at Toddling in the Fast Lane.
(Yogamama guided youngsters through a series of activities - everything from acting out opposites to memory and a version of duck, duck, goose - to help them remember Spanish opposites. Perfect for kids of all ages!)

4 Math & Counting Activities with Stamps at 3 Dinosaurs.
(Cassie used stamps as a math manipulative and shows us how to practice patterns, counting, addition & subtraction. This is SUCH a clever use of stamps. Kids will LOVE it!)

Cohosted by

The Educators' Spin On It

Little Wonders' Days

Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

This Reading Mama

We would love to have you link up your School-Age Post (ages 5 and up) about your learning week after school including Crafts, Activities, Playtime and Adventures that you are doing to enrich your children's lives after their day at school, homeschool or on the weekend! When linking up, please take a moment to comment on at least one post linked up before yours and grab our after school button to include a link on your post or site! By linking up you're giving permission for us to share on our After School Pinterest Board or Feature on our After School Party next week! Don't forget to follow along and join our After School Enrichment Community.

Outdoor Ring Toss Game [Division/Addition]

Have you been over to Crafts by Amanda? Her ideas are incredible! This ring toss game especially caught my eye.

When we hosted a neighborhood outdoor movie night, I wanted something for kids to do while we waited for it to grow dark enough to project the DVD onto the garage door. Amanda's little game proved to be the perfect solution.

I purchased a stick (you could use a jumbo paint stir stick) and three 6-inch floral craft rings from our local craft/hobby store.

We ran out of time to paint our stick and rings (perhaps I'll get around to that once school starts back up) but I used some paint pens to write on the rings.

Each ring had one of the following numbers on it: 10, 20, or 30. I placed the stick in the ground using a rubber mallet about five feet out from the edge of our driveway. 

Kids could stand at the edge of the cement and there would be no "no fair" comments because someone stood too close. (Although, we DID allow the younger children the opportunity to stand closer.)

Here's how we played. Each player gets all three rings to toss. The objective is (of course) to try and get them threaded through the stick. If he/she is successful, they get the points indicated on that ring. For example, if a child tossed the ring marked 10 and it landed through the stick, 10 points were awarded.

If that same child hit the stick but it didn't go onto the ring, only half the points on the ring (i.e. five points) were awarded. No points are awarded for missing the stick.

The kids played this for an eternity and I was quickly sent inside for paper and a pencil so that a scorecard could be made to keep track of the rounds.

This was quick and easy division and addition practice. And the kids thought they were just playing at a fun game at an outdoor neighborhood party.

He He He. That makes me smile.

After School Linky Party (8/12)

Welcome to the After School Linky Party!

Summer is nearly over. If you're like us, you're looking for great activities to get the kids ready for school, while trying to find fun ways to get the most out of the last days of the summer.

Last week's linky was loaded with 'em.
Here are just a few of the great ideas and activities shared.

5 Secret Codes for Kids at Kids Activities Blog.

(Codes are a wonderfully sneaky way to get kids interested in word work.

And these are AWESOME!)

Water Displacement Activity by Happy Hooligans.

(Jackie created this great hands-on activity for kids to teach them about water displacement. How many rocks would need to be added in order for the turtle at the top of the jar to get a drink?)

Science for Kids: Create an Under the Sea World to Explore Ocean Zones at

KC Edventures.

(Jacquie brings a Cat in the Hat book to life with this great activity. Kids learn the ocean zones and animals that live in each by making their own underwater world in a jar!)

A Punch of Color at Playdough to Plato.

(Letters, colors, and critical thinking combine with Jen Rice's easy punch box. Kids will have so much fun playing, they won't even realize the activity is educational!)

Summer Learning Fun: Squirt the Letter Game by Pen Pals & Picture Books.

(Quick! It's not to late to get some practice recognizing letters in before school starts. Grab a squirt gun and some chalk and get ready for a good time.)

Simple Ways to Make Reading Fun from Keep Moving Forward with Me.

(Kids L-O-V-E balloons, so using them for reading practice and a letter recognition exercise is bound to capture their attention. All you need are balloons and some flashcards!)

The Awe Journal from The House of Hendrix.

(I'm a firm believer that happiness stems from recognizing life's most beautiful moments. Encouraging kids to keep an Awe Journal will help teach them this important lesson!)

Cohosted by

The Educators' Spin On It

Little Wonders' Days

Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

This Reading Mama

We would love to have you link up your School-Age Post (ages 5 and up) about your learning week after school including Crafts, Activities, Playtime and Adventures that you are doing to enrich your children's lives after their day at school, homeschool or on the weekend! When linking up, please take a moment to comment on at least one post linked up before yours and grab our after school button to include a link on your post or site! By linking up you're giving permission for us to share on our After School Pinterest Board or Feature on our After School Party next week! Don't forget to follow along and join our After School Enrichment Community.

2 Air-Powered Rockets

We're no strangers to air-powered experiments. Check out our balloon-powered pinwheel and swimming balloon squid. The success of those two activities pretty much guaranteed my son would have a blast with this.

Rocket with a Drinking Straw Launcher

CREDIT: Dollar Store Crafts

Here's what you'll need:

Disposable Bendable Drinking Straw

Two pictures of rockets (use clip art or draw your own; just make sure they are mirror images)

Toothpick

Thread/string

Hot glue

Cut out your rocket pictures. Ours were approximately 2 inches by 1 inch in size.

Turn one of the rocket pictures over and place a small bead of hot glue running up the center. Place the toothpick in the glue so half of it extends out the bottom of your rocket.

Add glue on either side of the toothpick and carefully add threads to simulate engine exhaust (remember, the glue is HOT!). Now add some more glue to the entire rocket and place the other picture on top, sandwiching the toothpick and threads.

Grab a straw and insert the toothpick into one end. Blow through the other end to launch your rocket.

Turn this into a measuring activity! We placed a measuring tape on the ground and kept track of which launch went the farthest. My son's record was 5 ft. 8 inches!

Balloon-Powered Rocket

CREDIT: A Little Learning for Two

Here's what you'll need:

Packing tape

Picture of a rocket (use clip art or draw your own)

Disposable drinking straw

String/Twine/Cording

Cut a long length of your string and affix one end to a surface that's elevated (make sure it's not too high for your child to reach). We used the packing tape to hold it. Now cut the drinking straw in half. Thread it through the end of the other end of the string.

Now tape that end to another area that is lower, so the string is at an angle.

Blow up a balloon but do not tie the end closed. Use a piece of packing tape to adhere the balloon to the straw that is on the string. Make sure the open end of the balloon is pointing toward the elevated end of the string.

 Keep the balloon pinched shut with your hands or use a clothespin. Add a loop of the tape on top of the straw and place your rocket picture on top.

Now release the balloon and watch the rocket whiz down the string!

NOTE: We found it difficult to reuse the balloons so if you do this, have LOADS of extras handy. We launched our balloon-powered rockets again and again and again. It just never got old!