Materials
prints of internet photos of the Watts Towers in Los
Angeles mounted on poster board
cardboard sheets or boxes from cereal, crackers, and other food products
cardboard paper towel tubes
newspaper
child-safe scissors
decorating materials, such as glitter, scraps of foil, buttons, pebbles, beads, and bottle caps
Instructions
* Cut the bottoms off plastic bottles.
* Smooth the cut edges with sandpaper.
* Cut papers to fit around the bottles.
* Cut string to 18" lengths.
What to Do
1. Give each child a piece of precut paper
and encourage them to decorate it.
2. While they work, tell them about toys from Victorian times, for example,
hoops, tops, and the cup and ball, which is what they are making.
3. When decorated and dry, glue the decorated papers around the bottles.
4. Help the children tie the string around the bottle neck.
5. Lay the end of the string on a strip of aluminium foil and tape it on.
6. Crunch the foil up into a tight ball and wind tape around this.
7. Show the children how to hold the bottle by the neck with the ball of foil
hanging loose. Then jerk your arm, tossing the ball above the bottle, trying to
catch it in the cup.
8. Remind them to keep their eye on the ball!
Teacher - to - Teacher Tip
* Although younger children can make the toy, they often lack the coordination
to get the ball into the cup.
Assessment
Consider the following:
* Do the children understand the concept that the bottle will become a toy?
* How well do the children follow instructions?
* Ask the children why we should recycle.
