321 Learn! » Recipes

How to Make Recycled Paper

Jennifer Wagaman — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 16:27:07 +0000

April 22 is Earth Day, and making recycled paper is a great way to teach students about recycling. Likewise this can be a great lesson anytime of the year when the science focus is on recycling or preserving the earth. The nice thing is that this activity can be used with young and older students, the difficulty modified for the varying age groups.

Materials needed to make Recycled Paper:

A metal coat hanger (one per student)

A pair of old pantyhose (one per student)

A blender or food processer (a heavy duty one is best, if not, be aware that the process of blending the paper and water might render the machine unusable for food)

White glue

Water

Sink or a large container that is able to hold a few inches of water

Scrap paper

Iron (optional)

Tips for Teachers Making Recycled Paper in Class:

A week or so before you plan on making recycled paper in class, send a note home to parents explaining the project and asking for them to send in an old metal coat hanger and pair of pantyhose. Parents need to be aware that they will not be receiving them back. This will give you an idea of how many coat hangers and pantyhose you need to purchase yourself, and remember that it is prudent to have several extra on hand just in case.

How to Make Recycled Paper

Step One: Rip up scrap paper into small strips or small pieces.

Step Two: Bend the metal coat hanger into a square. This will be the frame for the new piece of paper.

Step Three: Add ripped up paper pieces and some water into the blender and blend on high. This will produce a mushy glob of blended paper and water.

Step Four: Pour the mushy glob of paper and water into the sink or tub (this should have a couple of inches of water in it already).

Step Five: Add two tablespoons of white glue to the blended paper and water.

Step Six: Mix the glue and paper mixture together. This is a great job for the student to do!

Step Seven: Stretch one leg of a pair of pantyhose over the coat hanger paper frame.

Step Eight: Place the coat hanger frame at the bottom of the sink or tub and slowly (counting to 20 while you lift) lift the frame out. This will catch all the mushy paper bits on the pantyhose inside of the frame.

Step Nine: Allow the frame to drip for a moment to eliminate excess water.

Step Ten: Hang the hanger frame up to dry.

Step Eleven: Peel the paper off of the frame after it is completely dry.

Step Twelve (optional): Iron the paper flat

A great way to finish the lesson on making recycled paper is to have the students write the basic steps for making the paper on their own piece of recycled paper.

Note for student teachers: this makes a great lesson for inclusion in a professional portfolio. The activity involves contacting all the parents, provides good opportunities for taking pictures of students and usually at least one student is willing to donate their recycled paper for you to keep.

Learn More about Earth Day.

Crayon Hearts for Valentine’s Day

Jennifer Wagaman — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 20:22:15 +0000

Here is a creative way to make several cheap Valentine’s Day gifts, whether you are a parent providing gifts for your child’s friends or a teacher looking for a cheap gift for your students.

Go to the dollar store and purchase several packets of crayons and one heart-shaped muffin tin.

Take all the paper off of the crayons and melt them together over the stove. Pour the melted crayons into the heart-shaped molds and allow to cool.

Once cool, you have created heart-shaped crayons, a cheap and perfect gift for Valentine’s Day!

How to Make Self-Hardening Salt Clay

Jennifer Wagaman — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:55:00 +0000

Self-Hardening Salt Clay is a great dough that students can use to mold whatever shapes, bowls or decorations they want. This is also a great idea for encouraging children to make homemade Christmas gifts for friends and family.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup salt
4 cups flour
1 1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon alum to preserve dough if the clay is not to be baked

How to Make Self-Hardening Salt Clay

In a large bowl, children can mix together the salt, flour, and alum if not baking the clay. Slowly add water, stirring until the dough balls up around the spoon. Children should then switch to kneading the dough much like bread. If the clay crumbles as it is kneaded, more water can be added.

This clay will harden as it air dries, but it can also be baked. To bake the clay, set the oven at 300 degrees F and bake for 20-30 minutes or until the clay is hard.

Encourage children to make Christmas ornaments or other small gifts as a cheap way to spread the Christmas cheer this holiday season!

How to Make Cloud Dough

Jennifer Wagaman — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 18:37:23 +0000

Cloud dough can provide great fun for children of all ages, but is particularly easy for young children to play with.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup water (or more as needed)
1/2 cup cooking oil
2 cups flour
2 cups salt
food coloring
peppermint oil

How to Make Cloud Dough:

First, mix together the oil, flour and salt.

Second, measure out the water and add a few drops of food coloring into the water.

Third, gradually add the water to the dough, mixing thoroughly.

If additional water is needed, the dough will have trouble binding together. The dough should be smooth and easy to work with when it is the right consistency. A few drops of peppermint oil will help preserve the dough and can be added last and worked into the dough.

Encourage children to make a variety of objects with the dough. As this is great for young children, parents and teachers can use the dough to help teach shapes and sizes.

How to Make Cornstarch Paste

Jennifer Wagaman — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:53:57 +0000

As an alternative to homemade flour paste or store bought glue, cornstarch paste is a great craft recipe.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons light karo syrup
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 cup cornstarch
3/4 cup water
oil of wintergreen

Step One: Mix together the 2/3 cup water with the karo syrup and vinegar in a sauce pan. This mixture will need to be brought to a boil. *Please have an adult help with this to prevent burns from working around a hot stove*

Step Two: In a bowl, mix the cornstarch and 3/4 cup water. Slowly add this to the boiling mixture on the stove, all the while stirring to prevent any lumps from forming.

Step Three: Once everything is mixed together, it needs to sit overnight before being used. Adding a couple of drops of wintergreen oil will help to preserve the paste for around two months.

This recipe makes approximately one pint of paste.

How to Make Flour Paste

Jennifer Wagaman — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:42:11 +0000

Making homemade art supplies can be a great way for teachers and parents to save money while encouraging creative play in children. Many of these crafts will require glue or paste of some sort. Instead of purchasing this glue, have the children participate in making this fun craft that makes more crafts possible.

In order to make flour paste, you will need the following supplies on-hand:

1/2 cup flour
2/3 cup water
oil of peppermint or oil of wintergreen

Step One: Mix the flour and water together. Stir well. The paste will develop a cream consistency with no lumps.

Step Two: Add a few drops of oil, which acts as a preservative for the paste.

This recipe will make approximately a cup of paste.

How to Make Squeeze Bottle Paint

Jennifer Wagaman — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:34:41 +0000

Squeeze bottle paint is an easy an fun recipe for a creative craft.

Ingredients:

flour
salt
poster paint
plastic squeeze bottles

How to Make Homemade Squeeze Bottle Paint

Mix together equal parts of flour and salt to form the amount of paint desired. Divide the mixture into however many different colors of paint you have and mix paint in to form a paste. This paste should then be poured into the plastic squeeze bottles.

Children can then use the squeeze bottles to paint on thick paper or cardboard. This paint is heavy so be sure to not use regular printer paper.

How to Make Soap Paint

Jennifer Wagaman — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:28:56 +0000

Soap paint is a unique paint that has a three-dimensional look when it dries.

Ingredients:

1 cup soap flakes (not soap powder)
1/2 cup cold water
food coloring or powdered tempera paint

How to Make Homemade Soap Paint

Add the soap flakes to the water in a bowl. Using a mixer, beat this mixture until it is stiff like beaten egg whites. Add the food coloring or powdered tempera paint and mix thoroughly.

This paint is best used on thick paper or cardboard as it is a heavier paint. As a side note, glitter and colored sand will stick to this paint without the additional use of glue, so children can create wonderfully textured pictures.

Important note: Do not rinse this paint down a sink drain as it will clog the drain. Any leftover paint should be disposed of in a trash can.

How to Make Sawdust Dough

Jennifer Wagaman — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:22:32 +0000

Sawdust dough is a great clay for making small sculptures or similar projects. The unique texture is also great for providing sensory integration for children.

Ingredients:

2 cups sawdust
1 cup wallpaper paste
water

How to Make Sawdust Dough

Mix the sawdust and dry wallpaper paste should be mixed together thoroughly. Then add water slowly until the dough becomes thick and pliable.

The dough can then be molded into the desired shapes and left to harden over night.

It might be prudent to split the recipe in half if this is going to simply be an afternoon activity with one or two children. This way two days worth of fun can be had with one recipe’s worth of ingredients. This is a great way to enable children to feel the various shapes and create great projects.

How to Make Finger Paint

Jennifer Wagaman — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:16:04 +0000

Making finger paint is simple and easy and can actually be done two different ways.

Ingredients:

liquid laundry starch
powdered tempera paint or food coloring
powdered soap flakes*

Flour
cold water
food coloring or powdered tempera paint
powdered soap flakes*

*optional

How to Make Finger Paint

Making finger paint is quick and simple. Mix two parts starch with one part tempera paint if using the first set of ingredients. If no tempera paint is available, add food coloring as the paint is used on the paper.

If starch is not available, flour and cold water can be mixed together to form a paste and the tempera paint or food coloring can add color to the paint.

Adding powdered soap flakes can help to make the paint smoother and clean up easier. Be sure to use powdered soap flakes, not liquid soap.