Cardboard - Page 9 of 19

Felt Tunnel Push

Steps:

Adult Prep: Cut a strip of felt. Glue it tightly around a short paper roll. Secure the roll standing vertically onto the cardboard base.
Place a pom-pom just inside the top opening of the felt tunnel. Hold the cardboard base steady with your helper hand.
Pick up a craft stick. Aim the stick straight down at the pom-pom.
Use a strong, controlled push to drive the stick down. Force the pom-pom all the way through the resistant felt tunnel.
The pom-pom should pop out the bottom onto the table. Repeat this process until all the pom-poms are pushed through.

Safety Tip:
Constant and direct adult supervision is required. Pom-poms are small objects and pose a choking hazard for young children. Adults should handle the scissors during preparation.

Cardboard Confetti Collage

Steps:

Use masking tape to secure the large piece of cardboard firmly onto the table. This acts as your stable canvas.
Give your child a stack of index cards. Encourage them to use the hole puncher to make many small circles (confetti). Squeezing the puncher requires strength!
Challenge your child to tear the remaining index cards into tiny, jagged pieces using both hands together.
Now, use only the fingertips to crumple and squeeze the punched circles and torn pieces into tight, dense confetti balls.
Draw a simple shape (like a circle or heart) onto the cardboard using glue from the bottle. Use controlled squeezing.
Use a careful pincer grasp to pick up the sequins and crumpled confetti. Press them onto the wet glue to create a colorful, textured collage.

Safety Tip:
Constant and direct adult supervision is required. Sequins and crumpled paper pieces are small objects and pose a choking hazard for children under five. Ensure all materials are used only as intended and collected immediately after play.

Cardboard Tee Lacing

Steps:

Use markers to draw several dots onto the piece of cardboard. These dots are your targets.
Place the cardboard flat on a stable table. Challenge your child to hold the cardboard firmly with their helper hand to keep it steady.
Pick up a golf tee. Use a strong, controlled push to insert the tee straight through the cardboard at one of the marked dots. Feel the resistance!
Remove all the golf tees, leaving behind a set of neat, small holes across the surface.
Challenge your child to thread the pipe cleaners through the new holes. They must weave the fuzzy sticks in and out to create a colorful lacing pattern.

Safety Tip:
Constant and direct adult supervision is required. Golf ball tees and small pieces of pipe cleaner pose choking hazards for children under five. Ensure materials are used only as intended and collected immediately after play.

Pom-Pom Skewer Push

Steps:

Adult Prep: Secure a thick piece of cardboard firmly onto the inside of the plastic container lid using glue. This creates a stable, resistant base for planting.
Place the Q-Tips and pom-poms in separate containers. Ask your child to hold one pom-pom steady with their helper hand to stabilize it.
Challenge your child to pick up a Q-Tip using a neat pincer grasp (thumb and pointer finger).
Encourage them to push the Q-Tip straight through the middle of the resistant pom-pom. They need controlled force to do this without bending the Q-Tip.
Once the pom-pom is skewered, hold the container base steady with the helper hand.
Aim the Q-Tip stick and push it firmly into the resistant cardboard base to create a colorful, dense forest of pom-poms.

Safety Tip:
Constant and direct adult supervision is required. Q-Tips and small pom-poms are choking hazards for children under five. Ensure materials are not placed in the mouth, nose, or ears.

Felt Tapestry Push

Steps:

Adult Prep: Use scissors to cut 8 to 10 tight, narrow, horizontal slits into the felt sheet.
Secure the felt tightly onto the cardboard using masking tape on all edges. Tape the cardboard base firmly onto the table.
Take two pipe cleaners and twist them tightly together to create one stiff, thick ‘needle’ for threading.
Hold the cardboard base steady with your helper hand. Use a strong pincer grasp to pick up the end of the stiff pipe cleaner needle.
Challenge your child to thread the pipe cleaner straight through one tight felt slit. Push it completely through, feeling the resistance of the fabric.
Continue threading the pipe cleaner into the remaining slits, creating a dense, woven tapestry pattern across the felt surface.

Safety Tip:
Constant adult supervision is required. Pipe cleaners are small materials and pose a potential choking hazard for young children. Ensure all materials are used only as intended.