Backyard Magic
Ages: 5 to 9
Indoor activity
Materials: pillow case, fabric, or skirt; bulldog clip or clothespin; colored paper/paperboard, fabric paints, glue, crayons or markers, cotton, foil, felt, ribbons, streamers
Your kids can have an enchanting time with some homemade magic get-up!
A pillowcase, a large piece of fabric, a scarf, or an adult-sized skirt make an excellent child's cape. Use a bulldog clip or clothespin to hold the front of the cape together.
Crowns are easy to make out of colored paper. Cut the paper into a length to fit a child's head, with several points on the top. Supply your child with plenty of crayons, markers, cotton balls, glitter, glue, used aluminum foil, felt, ribbons, and anything else that can transform a ring of paper into head gear fit for royalty.
Finally, make a wand. Cut a ten-inch square of colorful wrapping paper. Then, along one edge, cut every quarter inch or so. Tightly roll the uncut edge of the paper, and insert the rolled paper into a cardboard tube from a dry-cleaner hanger.
Encourage your child to dream up wild magic acts, complete with incantations, like turning a brick into a prince or princess, or a tree into a dinosaur. Perhaps even make the sky rain cookies. Now then, wouldn't the world be a better place if we each took a moment to believe in magic?
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