I had no idea that I could ever love a measly $2 roll of aluminum foil so much!
I had this left over from a road trip we took (let the kids play with it in the car). So when we pulled it out for a VBS craft this summer the I let them have at it and about 1 hour later (YES, I said 1 HOUR) they were finally done twisting and turning and taping the foil.
How do I get a free hour to myself you ask? Simple, grab the below supplies and set them on the counter, call in the kids and walk away.
Supplies:
- Generic box of aluminum foil
- roll of masking tape
- scissors (1 per child)
I was so shocked at the attraction of foil that unfortunately I wasted a lot of my ‘free’ time staring in amazement wondering why I hadn’t thought of this before.
My 4yr old made a, um, a, duckish boaty type of thing. Yea.
My 7yr old ended up with a bracelet, headband, wand and boat:
Of course my son had to turn it into a weapon of sorts and incase you’re wondering, bullets shoot out the ends.
At first I had a hard time letting them ‘waste’ the foil like that, but when you think about the cost of all those little craft supplies, you really can’t beat a $2 box of foil. And if that’s not enough to sell you, just think back to the moonsand incident and then think how easy foil is to clean up.
You can bet I’ll be pulling this out again!
NOTE: A kind reader reminded me to encourage you all to recycle these fun creations when you’re done!
I laughed out loud when I read your post because I too have resorted to all sorts of items not commonly used to amuse kids, and I am amazed at how fascinated they are with them! As for your son building weapons with the foil, my little guy too will shape anything he can get his hands on into a weapon. I really think they are genetically wired like that or something! Love your blog- thanks for all you do for us!
Fantastic! So creative! Here is another idea (if you don't already know it): wrap aluminum foil around a piece of cardboard (whatever shape you want), then paint the foil as many colors as you want, then use a q-tip to draw lines or shapes in the wet paint. We did this with Easter egg shapes and the kids loved it.
We have done this, too. Funny how boys always make weapsons whenever they can!http://homeschooljournal-bergblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/making-creations-out-of-aluminum-foil.html
Great Idea. I am going to pull out some foil soon!
Great idea! I am in NEED of a free hour or two, so I may just have to do this one. The Moonsand though…to high up on the messy meter for me to even think about trying! 🙂
This is fabulous! Thank you for sharing. We'll try tomorrow if I have enough spare foil 😉
What an excellent idea! I was just telling my husband last night that the items I picked up in the housewares section are a bigger hit than the toy section! I am going to get some foil tonight! Thanks for sharing.
Watch your walgreens ad(if you have one) They sometimes have rolls for .25. They are the small ones but it will help make it cheaper.
Great idea! I'm sure each of my boys would be making weapons of some sort and my daughter would have to have a crown and glorious jewelry!By the way, I found your blog through another bloggers and love it! 🙂
Erica,Ah, I'll be doing the same. My kids would have a blast. I've already added a box of aluminum foil to my shopping list.