Colorful Melted Candy Suncatcher

A burst of color is what we need as we await the beauty of spring that is still yet to come.  And with some Jolly Rancher candies and our oven, we made a lovely suncatcher in the shape of an Easter egg.  It now hangs in the window, catching rays of sunlight through the translucent colors to brighten up the kitchen.  It's easy to make your own suncatcher by melting hard candy.  Here's how.


Supplies needed:

• hard candy in assorted colors (we used Jolly Rancher candies)
• baking parchment
• baking tray
• metal skewer
• waxed dental floss or ribbon

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F (140 C).  Line the baking tray with parchment.
2. Arrange the candies on the parchment in an eye-pleasing roundish shape.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the center is melted flat.
4. Tilt the warm tray to swirl the colors a bit and to even out the shape.
5. Allow the disc formed to cool.  Trim the edges with a knife or break off small shards to even out the edges somewhat.
6. Heat the pointed end of the metal skewer over a stove top burner and puncture a hole near the top of the disc.  Allow the edges of the hole to harden before threading with floss or ribbon.  
7. Hang up your suncatcher near a window.

I might be sharing this idea here.

Creating and Tracing Rainbow Light Patterns

Inspired by those magical moments when "rainbows" appear on the floor as glass breaks sunlight into its color spectrum, my daughter wanted to try to trace the color patterns. We improved our odds by placing a glass jar near a window on a sunny morning. 

 After playing with angles, my daughters started tracing the colorful light patterns that they found. It was a bit of a race against time, as the sun's angle changed, but we still enjoyed the process.

Watercolor paints would be even better because kids can paint more swiftly. Now that we've located our stash of paintbrushes, we'll have to try tracing with watercolors next.

This pattern was outlined later, and it seemed to resemble an island.

Rainbow Games, Part 2: Using Paper and Felt

Instead of the Hunger Games, my kids and I have been exploring more cheerful themes, like rainbows.  My previous post featured games that get kids moving on a bigger scale.  These next activities involve more focused movements, like coloring and aiming smaller objects like coins or cotton balls.


Rainbow Board Games

1.  Color Toss Game

This could be a great waiting room activity when you have a wiggly toddler or preschooler along.  Or just play it at home because it's fun.



To Make It:

Cut a rainbow from 6 colors of felt.  Attach curves to a felt backing with thread or tacky glue. I decided to only attach the purple and leave the other 4 colors as puzzle pieces.

To Play:

Toss cotton balls and/or coins, aiming to get one to land on each color.

Variations: 

                   a) Use paint or paper scraps to create the rainbow on scrap cardboard
                       instead of using felt.

                   b) For a math challenge, assign point values to each color band.
                       Or add up the value of the coins that land on the rainbow.

2.  Rainbow Shuffleboard

To Make It:

Print out and color the rainbow page (scroll down below to find it).  Overlay the rainbow with a long sheet of waxed paper, about 2 to 3 feet long. 


To Play:

Slide coins or glass stones across the waxed paper toward the color bands on the rainbow.  Count up who gets the most objects to land on the rainbow.

Printable Rainbow Coloring Page

This post is linked to Show and Tell
and It's Playtime.

Rainbow Games, Part 1: Using Chalk and Bins

Rainbows are a symbol of hope.  They illustrate the colors and wonder of creation and remind us of the promise given at the end of the story of Noah's ark.   I find the rainbow theme to be an inspiring springboard for learning and play.

Rainbow Games and Activities

1. The Rainbow Twist Game

Draw a giant rainbow on pavement with colored chalk.  With or without a Twister game spinner, call out right or left, hand or foot, and a color.

Variations:

• Sometimes we make this a bilingual game by saying the names of the colors in Spanish or another target language.  For example, "left hand azul!"
• You can turn this into a tossing game by using rolled up socks.  Aim to toss the sock ball onto each color band.

2. The Rainbow Clean Up Game

If it is time to clean up a fairly large mess of toys, papers, etc., enlist children to sort the objects based on their color and then put them away.

Tip: Provide a matching container for each color, or label containers before the clean up begins.  You may want to assign a particular color (or colors) to each child.

This post is linked to Show and Tell
and It's Playtime.