Make a Marble Track Out of Paper Plates

This paper plate spiral marble run is a cool craft for summer that isn’t that hard to make but might require a little help from grownups to get the spacing of the plates just right.

The full tutorial is at Frugal Fun 4 Boys, and it covers how they put the marble run together and the adjustments that were needed.

You could probably make this as large or small as you like, though it might lose stability if it got really tall. But it’s a great way to use what you have to make a fun (and recyclable) toy for kids and adults alike.

[Photo: Frugal Fun 4 Boys.]

Paper plates are one of the most versatile craft materials for kids, as they are affordable, easy to find and can be used to create an endless array of projects. Whether you’re looking for a rainy day activity or a fun way to keep the kids busy, these paper plate crafts are sure to delight. From adorable Easter bunnies to spooky Halloween bats, these crafts are perfect for children of all ages.

Spring is the perfect time to get creative with paper plates. These 20 springtime paper plate crafts for kids are a great way to celebrate the season and let your little ones’ imaginations run wild. From cheerful flowers to buzzing bees, these crafts are sure to bring a smile to your child’s face.

Snowflakes are a classic winter decoration, and with this paper plate snowflake art project, you and your kids can create your own beautiful and unique designs. With just a few simple materials and some imagination, you can turn plain old paper plates into stunning works of art.

Easter is just around the corner, and what better way to get into the spirit than by making a cute and crafty paper plate Easter bunny? This easy and fun kids craft is perfect for children of all ages, and is a great way to spend some quality time together.

Did you know that October is Squirrel Awareness Month? I didn’t know we needed more awareness of these little creatures, but let’s take it as a sign to learn more about squirrels!

Let’s start with some fun facts via Kids Konnect: did you know there are five subfamilies and more that 280 species of squirrels? The smallest are pygmy squirrels and the largest, the Bhutan giant flying squirrel, can be longer that 4 feet (1.2 meters).

Tree squirrels can climb down trees so fast because their ankles can rotate 180 degrees, allowing them to grab the tree bark as they go down. While most squirrels don’t survive their first year of life, they can live five to 10 years in the wild and squirrels have been known to live up to 20 years in captivity!

Rhythms of Play has more fun facts and tips for observing squirrels if you want to add some real life nature to your nature study.

We always like to start these collections with life cycle and parts of the animal printables, so let’s grab the squirrel life cycle an parts of a squirrel worksheets from Montessori Nature. (It doesn’t look like these are free any more but they have a whole unit study on squirrels you can buy that includes life cycle and parts activities, characteristics of different kinds of squirrels, a printable poster, information about predators and more.)

Grab the squirrel lapbook printable (free with email address) from Homeschool Share to learn the parts of a squirrel, where they live, what they eat, whether they hibernate and more. There’s also a nut taste test printable, a place for making observations about squirrels, life cycle of an oak tree, games and more.

Simple Everyday Mom has some cute squirrel themed worksheets including tracing the letter s, labeling the parts of a squirrel and a letter s maze. She also has more activity pages with a squirrel theme, including matching, a more traditional maze and a counting and graphing activity.

Work on letter recognition with this squirrel and acorn game printable from Teaching Mama. I love the idea of hiding the letters in a fall themed sensory bin for kids to find, identify and match to the letter on the worksheet.

For older kids you can do this “if I were a squirrel” writing prompt from Lesson Planet.

And throw in a little counting with these squirrel and acorn tens frame printables from JDaniel4’s Mom, which you can use to count real acorns or any other little fall themed thing you have handy.

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