Pencil Pot

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:

1. Study the pictures of African drums with your child and talk about the different patterns and colors. Which drum is his favorite?
2. Help your child measure the tin can onto the brown construction paper. He should use a pencil to mark the approximate dimensions.
3. Let him use scissors to cut the brown construction paper along his penciled lines.
4. Show him how to trace this rectangle piece of paper on the black construction paper.
5. Let him cut out the rectangle from the black construction paper and set aside.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Have him paint the paper roll and the covered can with his selected color. Set aside to dry.
9. Help him use other paint colors to add patterns and designs.
10. 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.
11. Have him tape the paper into place.
12. For the finishing touch, let your child trace the bottom of each pencil pot on a sheet of black foam.
13. Have him cut out each circle of black foam.
14. Let him glue the black foam circles to the bottom of each pencil pot.
15. His African pencil pot drums are all ready to go!