Elementary Preschool Toddler
Crafts
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Whew! This weekend was a hot one! Don’t get me wrong, I love summer, but triple digit heat coupled with ridiculously high humidity is definitely something that I can do without.
Obviously though, even if it was a tad bit uncomfortable, it was actually quite perfect since this week’s Think Outside the Toy Box item just happened to be ice cream cones.
I wasn’t entirely sure what we were going to do with them at first but after debating for a while, I knew we could come up with something that would thoroughly engage Nicholas and his current rocket ship obsession.
Thus, ice cream cone rocket ship races were born!
Even though we’ve had a lot of fun with out past Think Outside the Toy Box projects, I have to say that this one was probably one of his favorites.
That boy loves everything that has to do with rockets right now and every toy he touches automatically becomes a rocket ship headed for outer space. So, with a few simple craft supplies and a little bit of time, we had our very first rocket ship race.
Making the rockets is super simple.
You’ll need:
Ice Cream Cones
Craft Foam
Scissors
Glue (we found that either Tacky glue or a hot glue gun works the best)
A Straw
Fishing Line
While we really didn’t get any pictures of the rocket making process, it really is pretty simple. Just cut out some craft foam (foam adds just a little bit more weight than paper does which helps it glide down the fishing line) and glue the shapes to your ice cream cone to form a rocket.
Then, cut your straw so that it fits the length of your ice cream cone and glue it on.
Quick tip: We found that the Tacky glue works just fine for the foam but hot tends to be a little easier when it comes to the straw.
When your rocket is all dry and ready to take flight, string your fishing line so that one end is higher than the other. We took ours outside and tied one end to the railing of the deck and the other end to a stick that we stuck in the ground so that there was a nice slope to the line.
Before you tie off both ends though, go ahead and string the line through the straw attached to your rocket.
Start your rocket off at the top of the line and get ready to watch it fly!
We started off with a single rocket to test things out and it worked perfectly! I don’t think I’ve ever seen Nicholas quite that excited :)
While we don’t have any pictures of the actual rocket races (it is really hard to get photos while racing rockets), it really is a lot of fun.
If you have older children, you could even turn it into a science lesson and have them adjust the weight of the rocket with foam pieces and make predictions on how that will affect the rockets speed.
Have you ever used ice cream cones as craft supplies? What did you make with them?
For more fun ideas to try with the kids this summer, make sure you check out the rest of our Think Outside the Toy Box projects!
5/26 – Glow Sticks (Glow in the Dark Sensory Slime Bag)
6/2 – Plastic Soda Bottles (Soda Bottle Speed Boat)
6/9 – Paper Grocery Bags (Paper Bag Wind Sock)
6/16 – Kool-Aid (Kool-Aid Painted Beach Towel)
6/23 – Ice Cream Cones (Ice Cream Cone Rocket Races)
6/30 – Pool Noodles (Pool Noodle Play House)
7/7 – Wax Paper (Wax Paper Nature Night Light)
7/14 – Puzzle Pieces (Puzzle Pictures)
7/21 – Paper Cups (Hot Air Balloon Craft for Preschoolers)
7/28 – Plastic Milk Jugs (Recycled Milk Jug Sun Catchers)
