4h camp

Uncle Sam pins

For each Uncle Sam pin you will need:
A craft spoon
Googly eyes
A cotton ball
A top hat - you can make it from red, white, and blue paper pieces OR cut out a hat from white paper and have the kids color their own
Glue
Scissors
Magnet or pin for attaching to clothing
Black pen

First you make your hat.  We did paper pieces.  Our red was 2 x 1 1/2 in.  Our blue was 3/4 x 2 in.  Our white stripes were 2 x 1/4 in.  We then glued them together to make a hat.  Attach the hat to the handle of the wooden spoon.
Then glue on the eyes and with a black pen, draw on a nose.  Take some cotton off your cotton ball to make a beard.  Glue on the beard.
When dry, attach you magnet to the back of the pin.  You can use a pin if you wish.  We did two magnets since they do not damage clothing or children.  And after the holiday Uncle Sam can go on the fridge.

operation write home

Have you ever heard of Operation Write Home (OWH) or AnyHero Mail?  Maybe you have heard of programs but never really did the research to find out what they are.  Both are great ways to show our military that we care and that they are not forgotten while overseas protecting our country.  With Independence Day right around the corner, it seems the perfect time to tell you about both.

Operation Write Home is a organization that was started by one woman, Sandy, in 2007.  It quickly grew as card makers spread the news.  As of June 20, 2011, OWH has sent 1,042,276 cards!  They have women who are shippers and active bloggers. While that sounds like a lot, remember that we have a lot of military in need of cards.  They serve the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, National Guard, and deployed Coast Guard.  These cards are handcrafted, blank cards, that can be used to write letters home to their loved ones.  OWH's website can be found here.  There you can find the instructions on how to make your cards.  There are a few rules to follow but they are simple and make perfect sense.  The Card Guidelines can be found here.  Our military deserves awesome cards to write home on and OWH provides those and all of us can help.

For the children out there that want to help, there is AnyHero mail.  AnyHero mail is uplifting letters, cards, and artwork that are passed out to military members.  Many of these go to people who get very little or no mail and can really brighten a day. Information and guidelines on AnyHero mail can be found here.  The site even offers some creative ways to merge finely crafted cards and children's artwork like in this example.

So - get out those crafting supplies, check the Operation Home Website for inspiration, guidelines, and even card making challenges.  They also have a list of most needed themes, which changes throughout the year. And of course, have fun making a soldier smile!

If you do make a card or cards to send in, take a photo and send them into Macaroni Kid!  We would love to feature your hard work!  Just email the photo to jenniferj@macaronikid.com or tag it to our facebook page.

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Counting Fish

In honor of Go Fishing Day on June 18th, I made some simple fish for my son.  I added some buttons in different numbers to use for counting practice as well as fishing.

Things that you will need:

Felt sheets (these can be bought at most crafts stores for less than 40 cents per sheet)

Embroidery thread in multiple colors

Needle

Embellishments if wanted

Stick for a pole (we used a wooden spoon)

Magnet

Metal washers (they can be found in bulk at home improvement stores)

The first thing that you need to do it to make yourself a pattern.  I drew out some fish on paper until I got two that I liked.  For each fish you will need to cut out two fish from the felt.   

If you are going to add embellishments, this is the time.  We added buttons in different numbers on each fish to use for counting. You will only put them on one side of the fish so it must be done before sewing the fish together.  Then place the two on top of one another and stitch them together.  We used different bright colors of thread.

You need to leave a small opening at the mouth of the fish to sew on the washer.

Now you have the fish finished.  It's time to make a fishing pole.  Any stick would do.  You can buy a stick or just get one from outside.  We decided to use a wooden spoon left over from another project.  It is the perfect size for my three year old.

We attached three to the spoon and secured with glue.  Then you add a magnet as the "hook".  So far, we have not stopped playing or "fishing".

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