Summer Boost
Activity:
Kids Purse
Want to add some extra pizazz to dress up play? Help your child craft a personalized purse out of an old gift or shopping bag! She'll make use of any decorative extras she sees lying around the house to put her own spin on an easy-to-make purse pattern. As she taps into her creativity, she'll also be giving those fine motor skills a boost and reusing materials that might otherwise get tossed. Who knew going green could be so fashionable?
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What You Need:
- Gift bag
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Clear tape
- Colored feathers (or an old boa)
- Beaded necklace (such as Mardi Gras beads)
- Any additional decorations (sequins, stickers, glitter glue, etc.)
What You Do:
- Ask your child to draw the shape of a purse on one side of the gift bag. The top of the purse will be the top of the gift bag so that she can use the handle to carry it.
- If she wants to use the purse strictly for decorative, dress up purposes, have her cut just one layer of the gift bag into the purse shape she has traced. If she wants to use it to carry things, she should cut both sides of the gift bag.
- If she is making a two-sided purse, have her tape the edges of both layers together after she has cut them out.
- Now for the fun part! To decorate her creation, she can simply start taping (or gluing) her chosen embellishments onto the front of the purse. Cut up beaded necklaces, strip some feathers off a brightly-colored boa, and add stickers, sequins, and more! This is her chance to tap into her creativity.
- If you'd like, you can sneak in a little writing practice by helping her write her name on the front or back of her personalized purse.
Try hosting a dress up party; she can make use of her own creation, and show her friends how to make one, too! Invite a few of her friends over, and get together other costume essentials, such as dresses, wigs, and jewelry. Dressing up is a great way to encourage imaginative play!
