Activity:
Pencil Pot
Let your young world traveler add a bit of exotic flair to his school supplies with this pencil pot activity! Inspired by colorful African drums and crafted from recyclable materials, these pencil holders will make a bold and charming addition to any desk set.
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What You Need:
- Recycled paper towel roll
- Recycled tin cans
- Tempera paint
- Brushes
- Light brown construction paper
- Black construction paper
- Double stick tape
- Black foam square
- Pictures of African drums
- Pencil
- Ruler
- Glue
- Scissors
What You Do:
- Study the pictures of African drums with your child and talk about the different patterns and colors. Which drum is his favorite?
- Help your child measure the tin can onto the brown construction paper. He should use a pencil to mark the approximate dimensions.
- Let him use scissors to cut the brown construction paper along his penciled lines.
- Show him how to trace this rectangle piece of paper on the black construction paper.
- Let him cut out the rectangle from the black construction paper and set aside.
- Have him use tape to cover the tin can with the piece of brown construction paper. Don't worry about excess paper -- he can just tape it down.
- Let your child pick a color to paint his pencil pots. Encourage him to select one that reminds him of the African drums from the pictures.
- Have him paint the paper roll and the covered can with his selected color. Set aside to dry.
- Help him use other paint colors to add patterns and designs.
- To cover the icky can interior, have your child place his black construction paper rectangle inside the can. You may have to help him adjust the paper just right.
- Have him tape the paper into place.
- For the finishing touch, let your child trace the bottom of each pencil pot on a sheet of black foam.
- Have him cut out each circle of black foam.
- Let him glue the black foam circles to the bottom of each pencil pot.
- His African pencil pot drums are all ready to go!
