Walk the Dog

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Dana Sheridan

Ready for a walk? Don’t be surprised when a friendly pup follows you home, courtesy of a long piece of clear elastic beading cord that clips to the back of your pants (you can juuuust see it if you squint at the screen).

The dog doesn’t just tag along behind you…it also carries a bone in its mouth (with the assistance of magnet tape and a paperclip).

We read The Best Pet of All by David LaRochelle (Puffin, 2009). A boy wants a dog. Really, really, really wants a dog. But his mother gives him plenty of reasons why he can’t have one. But when he asks if he can have a dragon, well, mom says yes if he can find one (pretty clever mom!). It takes some searching but the boy finally finds a dragon and invites him home. Unfortunately, the dragon is loud, messy, and completely naughty. So what’s a boy to do? Get a dog to chase the dragon away of course!

You’ll need:

1 box (mine was 4 ½” X 4 ½” x 9”)
A selection of construction paper for the dog’s body, ears, tail, and muzzle
A selection of patterned tape
4 rectangles of white poster board for the legs (approximately 3″ x 5.5″)
Black dot stickers if you’re going dalmatian
1 3oz. plastic cup
1 jumbo pom-pom
1 small rectangle of red construction paper for tongue (approximately 1.25″ x 3.25″)
A 1.5″ strip of self-adhesive magnetic tape
2 large wiggle eyes
A dog bone template printed on 8.5″ x 11″ card stock
1 jumbo paper clip
A 4′ piece of clear elastic beading cord
1 binder clip (mine was 1.25″ wide)
Tape and scissors for construction
Markers for decorating
Hot glue

Begin by wrapping three sides of the box with construction paper to create your dog’s body. We offered the following “dog” colors: brown, black, yellow, and…ahem…pink. Since our boxes were white, kids desiring a white (or dalmatian) dog left the box uncovered. If you are using construction paper, make sure to leave the bottom of the box construction paper free, so it slides along the floor easily.

Now for the collar! Use the patterned tape to add a collar on three sides of the box. You’ll want to indent the tape 2.5″ from the front of the box so you have room for your dog’s ears.

The collar is done, now for the feet! Round one edge of each poster board rectangle to create a “paw” (you can also use markers to draw “paw lines” on the poster board too). Then fold the straight edge of the rectangle downward like so:

Attach to the side of the box with tape. Make sure the leg doesn’t actually touch the ground, or your dog will have trouble sliding across the floor.

Use construction paper to make ears and a tail. To create the muzzle, tape construction paper around the plastic cup and then hot glue the cup to the front of the box. Attach the wiggle eyes and pom-pom nose with hot glue as well. This is a good time to add any extra doggy details with markers or, if your pet is a dalmatian, use the dot stickers to create spots.

I had a little extra time when I was prepping this project, so I made the tongues in advance. I simply rounded one edge of the red construction paper rectangle, and then drew a red line down the center.

Tape the tongue securely to the underside of the muzzle cup. Then, peel and stick a 1.5″ piece of self-adhesive magnet tape on the underside of the muzzle, but…make sure it’s on top of the tongue. Some kids put the magnet tape under the tongue and the magnet’s connection to the paper clip wasn’t strong enough. It should look like this:

Now for the dog bone! Cut the card stock bone from the template, then slide the jumbo paper clip on the middle. It’s best to position the paper clip diagonally, so there’s more contact on the magnet tape.

The last step is the invisible cord. I gave each kid 4′ of cord, and then let them adjust it to the desired length. Attach one end of the cord to the binder clip by knotting the cord around the bottom of one of the silver handles. Reinforce the knot with tape.

The other end of the cord gets taped to the TOP of your dog box, directly above the forehead. We tested this and concurred – the top / forehead placement results in the best pull on your dog!

To walk the dog, attach the binder clip on the back of your waistband, and then flip the handles down for extra stability (if you’re wearing a dress, just bunch up some of the fabric and attach the clip to that).

The cord is attached…start walking and your dog will follow! And, just in case you’re wondering, Ian (our fabulous dog walking model) IS whistling “How Much is that Doggy in the Window?” in the photo. We’re into details like that.

Would you prefer that a dragon follow you home? No problem! Click here.

Live By The (Foam) Sword

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Dana Sheridan

Every pirate needs a cutlass, every musketeer needs a saber, and every knight needs a sword! But the combination of kids and swords can get a bit… dicey. Someone always get dinged, bonked, poked, or conked.

So you need a sword that will hold up in battle but that won’t bruise on impact. Foam is usually the way to go but foam swords can get a little pricey and fall apart quickly.

I have a solution for you. Straight from the plumbing section of your local hardware store.

It’s tubular foam pipe insulator. Also called “that gray foam tube that gets wrapped around pipes.” It’s made out of polyethylene (the same stuff as pool noodles and kickboards). I use the 1/2″ diameter foam, which comes in 6′ tubes and costs 97 cents. You can cut it easily with scissors. I can get 3 good-sized (i.e. 20″ – 21″) swords out of 1 tube. That’s 32 cents a sword. Oh yeah.

You can wield the sword as a plain tube, or you can create a “hilt” by wrapping the base with color masking tape. To reach the pinnacle of royalty, try hot gluing a large gemstone to the hilt as well. Grab your shield, and you’re ready to sally forth!

Pssst! If you’re looking for another amazing find in the plumbing section, check out this post. If you’re yearning for a cannon to go with that pirate sword, you can find it here. Looking for a dragon to adventure with? Click here!

Good Hair Day

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Dana Sheridan

Because if you don’t look good…we don’t look good.

We read The Hair Scare by Jeffrey Fisher (Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2006). Radbert has a talent for cutting hair, and his styles are simply amazing. Soon, the king comes knocking, demanding the best haircut of all time. Radbert delivers, but it is NOT to the king’s liking. He royally decrees that there will be no more haircuts, triggering a slew of shaggy dos, unkempt tresses, and general hair sadness. The king once again seeks out Radbert. Once again he asks for a haircut. But when the haircut is revealed and the moment of truth arrives, the haircut takes matters into its own hands!

You’ll need:

1 plastic top hat (I bought mine from Oriental Trading Company).
A selection of 12″ x 18″ construction paper
A selection of 9″ x 12″ construction paper
A selection of craft ties
A selection of sparkle stems
A selection of foil star stickers (optional)
A selection of ribbon
Markers and unsharpened pencils for curling.
Scissors and tape for construction

We prepped the 12″ x 18″ construction paper in advance by fringing it lengthwise to create long locks. We used “natural” hair colors: black, brown, red and yellow. For more daring dos, I stocked up on smaller sheets of construction paper in multiple colors.

In addition to the construction paper, I offered craft ties, sparkle stems, ribbons, and star stickers to add flair. The craft ties worked especially well as barrettes and headbands. I also brought out the Bling Bin for extra touches.

To make your hair more wig-like, I would recommend cutting the brim off your plastic hat. This does, however, make it more wobbly. If the wobble is going to be a problem, leave the brim on (or wait until the very end to cut it off).

Before we got started the project, I gave the kids four quick “style” tutorials. Namely, the hair poof, the mohawk, the crimp & curl, and the crown.

1) THE HAIR POOF

Fringe a length of construction paper, and tape it to the front of the hat.

Bunch the ends together at the top…

Then tape it on the top of the hat.

Your hair poof is complete!

2) THE MOHAWK

Fringe two pieces of construction paper (I used contrasting colors to make it easier to see in the example).

Tab the bottom of each fringe, then tape the tab to the top of the hat. The tab of both fringes should be pointing outward, causing the fringes to lean in and support each other.

Finish by crimping the hair!

3) THE CRIMP & CURL

To add body and texture, employ the crimp & curl! Basically, this involves folding or curling the fringe strands. An accordion fold (i.e. folding the paper back and forth in squares) produces a nice crimp. Curls are produced by wrapping the fringe around a marker or pencil. Markers create long curls, pencils create tight curls.

4) THE CROWN

Since there was a king in the book, I offered a construction paper crown option with large gemstones available through the magic of hot glue. Attach optional mustaches, beards, and goatees to face with foam mounting tape.

After the tutorials concluded, the kids took off running…or styling really. Check out some of these amazing dos!