Material: Clothespins

Foil Sculpture Clip Art

Foil Sculpture Clip Art

Steps:

  • Give your child a large sheet of aluminum foil. Encourage them to use both hands to tear the foil into smaller pieces.
  • Challenge them to crumple and squeeze the foil pieces tightly. Focus on making dense, rock-hard 3D shapes.
  • Adults can use scissors to cut small shapes or strips from the construction paper. Glue these shapes onto the ends of the clothespins.
  • Place the foil sculpture on the table. Hold the foil sculpture steady with your helper hand.
  • Use your dominant hand to pinch open a clothespin. Clip the decorative paper firmly onto the resistant foil surface.
  • Continue clipping the clothespins onto the stiff foil until the entire sculpture is covered in color.

Safety Tip:
Constant and direct adult supervision is required. Ensure children crumple the foil tightly to avoid sharp edges. Collect all small foil pieces immediately after play.

Weighted Clip Tower Build

Weighted Clip Tower Build

Steps:

  • Press a large lump of playdough firmly into the bottom of the container to create a stable, resistant base.
  • Ask your child to push 6 to 8 craft sticks vertically into the playdough base. Ensure they stand up straight like towers.
  • Take one clothespin. Use a strong squeeze to clip one bead securely onto the end of the clothespin. This is your weighted clip!
  • Challenge your child to hold the container steady with their helper hand to keep the towers from moving.
  • Using their dominant hand, squeeze the weighted clothespin open. Carefully clip the entire unit firmly onto one of the standing craft sticks.
  • Repeat the squeezing and clipping action until all the sticks are covered in colorful, weighted clips. Try removing them and repeating the process!

Safety Tip:
Constant and direct adult supervision is required. Beads and playdough are small objects and pose a significant choking hazard for children under five. Ensure materials are kept away from the mouth, nose, and ears.

Water Pocket Clip Boats

Water Pocket Clip Boats

Steps:

  • Fill a Ziplock Bag halfway with corn kernels.
  • Add a small amount of water to make the mixture thick and resistant.
  • Seal the bag tightly, ensuring all excess air is completely removed.
  • Use markers to draw small boat shapes onto construction paper.
  • Use scissors to cut the boat shapes out.
  • Lay the sealed bag flat inside a shallow container to keep it stable.
  • Pick up a clothespin. Squeeze it open using a strong finger pinch.
  • Clip one paper boat securely onto the clothespin.
  • Hold the resistant corn bag steady with your helper hand.
  • Clip the boat and clothespin firmly onto the dense bag surface. Push hard until it feels securely anchored!

Safety Tip:
Constant and direct adult supervision is required. Corn kernels are a choking hazard if ingested. Ensure the Ziplock Bag is sealed completely and the child remains seated while working.

Felt Pocket Clip Drop

Steps:

  • Adult Prep: Use scissors to cut a piece of felt that covers the container opening. Cut 6 to 8 very tight, narrow vertical slits into the felt.
  • Secure the felt tightly over the container opening using masking tape around the rim. The felt should be firm.
  • Place the pom-poms in a bowl. Practice squeezing a clothespin open using a strong two-finger pinch.
  • Challenge your child to pick up one pom-pom by securing it gently inside the open clothespin.
  • Hold the container firmly steady with their non-dominant hand. This stabilizes the base.
  • Aim the clothespin and pom-pom at a narrow felt slit. Use a strong, controlled push to insert the pom-pom completely into the pocket.

Safety Tip:
Constant and direct adult supervision is required. Pom-poms are small objects and pose a significant choking hazard for children under five. Ensure materials are used only as intended.

Coil Drop Target

Coil Drop Target

Steps:

  • Adult Prep: Tightly coil 5 to 6 pipe cleaners into small, narrow spirals or loops to create the targets.
  • Clip one pipe cleaner spiral onto the open end of a clothespin. Repeat this for all the coils.
  • Fill a separate container halfway with water and add a few drops of food coloring to create ‘magic potion.’
  • Ask your child to clip the clothespin targets onto the rim of the paper cup, making sure the coils hang inside.
  • Challenge your child to hold the eyedropper with a neat pincer grasp, suck up the colored water, and carry it to the paper cup.
  • Carefully aim the eyedropper and squeeze gently to deposit the colored drops into the narrow opening of the pipe cleaner coil. Repeat until the coils are full.

Safety Tip:
Constant and direct adult supervision is required. Pipe cleaners are small materials and pose a potential choking hazard for young children. Ensure the colored water is not ingested.