Newspaper - Page 2 of 3

Newspaper Nest Foot Deliver

Steps:

Crumple several sheets of newspaper into large, loose balls with your child.
Place a basket on a rug at one end of the room.
Put the newspaper balls in a pile a few feet away from the basket.
Have your child sit on a pillow on the floor, facing the basket.
Encourage them to lean back and brace themselves with their hands behind them.
Challenge them to pick up one newspaper ball using only their feet.
They must lift their legs carefully and drop the ball into the basket.
See how many nests they can deliver without using their hands!

Safety Tip:
Ensure the floor is not slippery and the area is clear of sharp furniture corners.

The Sturdy Newspaper Bridge

Steps:

Lay a sheet of newspaper flat on a table.
Start at one corner and roll the paper into a very tight, thin tube.
Use a small piece of masking tape to secure the end.
Repeat this until you have at least ten strong paper tubes.
Place two stacks of blocks about six inches apart on the table.
Tape your paper tubes together to create a flat platform.
Lay the platform across the blocks to form a bridge.
Gently place more blocks on top of the bridge to see how much weight it can hold!

Safety Tip:
Adult supervision is recommended to help with the building and design of the bridge. Be careful with any small tape pieces that might stick to other surfaces.

Wet Paper Squeeze & Drop

Steps:

Tear the newspaper into small strips using both hands. Focus on strong, controlled pulls.
Fill the bucket halfway with water. Submerge the newspaper strips until they are fully saturated and mushy.
Grab a large handful of wet paper. Squeeze the paper tightly over the bucket to remove the water. Aim for maximum effort!
Squeeze the remaining damp paper firmly into dense, hard balls (your ‘fortress rocks’).
Place the empty plastic container target nearby. Hold the container steady with your helper hand.
Use your working hand to aim and drop the wet paper ball precisely into the narrow target opening. Repeat until all rocks are delivered.

Safety Tip:
Constant and direct adult supervision is required. Ensure children do not place wet paper or small pieces of material in their mouths. This activity can be messy; choose a water-safe work area.

Newspaper Dance

Challenge your child’s core muscles by having them stand on a newspaper page (or paper bag, or another safe alternative you may have in your home).

This game works like Musical Chairs.

Play a song and have the child dance.

When the song stops, the child must stand on the newspaper page.

If the child does not step outside of the newspaper page boundary, fold the newspaper page in half.

Continue this until the child is unable to stand without stepping outside of the boundary.

Use painter’s tape to hold the newspaper page in place to prevent slips/falls.

You may see your child transitioning from standing with a typical stance, then standing with feet close together, then standing on one foot, then standing on tip-toes. This challenges their core!

Increase the challenge by:

Playing with an appropriate peer on the same newspaper page – be ready to catch anyone who loses balance!

Paper Bag Fish

Have the child crumple the newspapers into small paper balls.

Stuff the paper bag with the crumpled newspapers.

Use the yarn or a ribbon to tie a knot close to the edge of the open end to close the paper bag.

Ask the child to paint the filled paper bag using either a brush or cotton balls.

Glue large googly eyes.

For grading, you can ask the child to draw eyes on construction paper and cut/glue it onto the paper bag.

Lay a piece of yarn on the fish (below the eyes) to make a mouth. Use some glue to hold it in place.

To promote tactile perception, you can let the child finger paint the paper bag instead of using other media.