Activities for Pippins

Pine Witch

For this activity from Sweden you will need –

• One pinecone
• Plasticine [pale coloured]
• Wool [yellow, brown or black]
• Scrap of material
• Small piece of thin cardboard
• Felt pens

To make

1. Make a small ball from the plasticine and push it onto the top of the pinecone to form a head.
2. Make a face from the cardboard and decorate with felt pens, or scratch a mouth and eyes in the plasticine.
3. Stick strands of wool onto the head for hair.
4. Cut a small triangle of material and wrap this around the head and glue it under the chin.

Tin Can Phones

A parent or older brother sister could help you with with this activity.

You will need –

• Two empty cans
• A small tack
• Two buttons
• A hammer
• Approximately 10 metres of thin string [if you can get it thin wire is better]

To make

1. Remove the lid of the tins, making sure no sharp edges remain.
2. With the hammer and tack make a small hole in the bottom of the cans
3. Thread one end of the string/wire through the bottom of one can into the inside.
4. Thread this end through a button and tie it tightly so the string/wire cannot slip out of the can.
5. Do the same thing using the other end of the string/wire with the other can and button.

You will need two people to use the tin can phones.  Each person takes a can and moves a distance away from each other, stretching the string/wire between the cans as tightly as possible.  One person whispers into the can they are holding while the other person holds the open end of their can to their ear to hear the message.  Try this with one person out of sight in another room or around the corner of a building.

Splatter Painting

• Take an object of nature eg a leaf, twig, flower etc.
• With a little paint on a paint brush gently rub the brush and splatter the paint over the object. 
• Gently remove the object and you will have the shape left on the page.
  

Outrageous Ooze

Squidge it between your fingers and have fun with your friends

You will need -

• newspaper
• 1 cup cornflour
• large bowl
• food coloring
• ½ cup of water

 To make

1. Cover the area you are working on with newspaper.
2. Put the cornflour in a bowl and add a few drops of food colouring.
3. Slowly add the water, stirring the mixture with your hands until it is smooth.
4. If the mixture is too dry, add more water, if it is too wet add more cornflour.

A Simple Kite

You will need –

• a supermarket bag
• 1 metre long piece of string
• crepe paper streamers, tinsel or ribbon
  

1. Tie the supermarket bag handles together with the piece of string.
2. Tie the streamers or tinsel to the handles also.
   

These kites do not need a lot of wind to fly, and if you run quickly the bag will fill with air and fly behind you.

Toast a marshmallow

You will need –

• bamboo skewer that has soaked in water for approx 2 hours
• tea light candle
• matches
• marshmallows
• ice cream container of water

1. Skewer one marshmallow at a time and gently toast them over the flame of the candle.
2. The ice cream container of water is for dunking the skewer and/or marshmallow in should they catch fire.