FUN ACTIVITIES TO DO WITH CHILDREN

create an earth piñata

Do your kids love to do games? Give them a global geography lesson, with careful environment thoughts and, in the end, watch them having fun destroying it all. And this time - no worries - it’s ok.

Want a fun way to get your kids into recycling? Make an earth piñata from reused and recycled household items.

Play & Learn. Make a piñata of the earth and fill it with natural materials for a fun game that also makes the perfect centerpiece for a party, picnic or family day at home.

an earth piñata...why?

Start a recycling talk Creating an earth piñata is a great way to start a conversation about recycling and encourage your kids to think like global citizens.

What will they learn? They’ll learn about continents, oceans and nearby natural habitats. Plus, they’ll start thinking about how to recycle and reuse things at home.

Ecologic Theme Party It’s also an excellent excuse to host an ecologically centered event that delights all ages. Who can resist a piñata party?

fun earth facts • The earth is about 4.5-5 billion years old.

• About 70% of the earth is water and only about 30% is

land.

• The average person generates over 4 pounds of trash every day and about 1.5 tons of solid waste per year.

• Over 75% of waste is recyclable, but we only recycle about 30% of it.

• Recycling one glass bottle is enough to light a traditional light bulb for four hours.

• Recycling 100 cans could light your bedroom for two weeks.

• Every ton of paper that’s recycled saves 17 trees.

Materials You will need:

• 2-3 balloons (balloons from birthday parties work, but perfect globes need round balloons)

• Flour

• Water

• Salt

• Measuring cup

• Whisk for stirring

• Mixing bowl

• 2-3 newspapers

• Child-safe scissors

• World map

• Blue and green crepe paper

• Blue and green paint, glitter (optional)

• An apron or old shirt (one per person) • Ribbon • Glue • Piñata filler: natural items from outside, such as dried

flowers, seashells and pinecones; candies and food that will last (like nuts)

• A solid stick from outside (for piñata whacking) • Blindfold (also for piñata whacking)

Materials

Preparation time:

15 minutes to gather the materials and prep the paper-mache paste

Activity time: • 60+ minutes over 2 days, you need downtime between steps

to let the piñata and paint dry

• 15 minutes to paper-mache your piñata (and clean up)

• 20 minutes to find piñata filler outside

• 20 minutes to paint your piñata (and clean up)

• 5 minutes to fill your piñata

• After you cover the balloon with paper-mache, it will take approximately 24 hours to dry

• After you paint your piñata, let it dry for a few hours before filling it up and cracking it open

Location: Your home and backyard or neighborhood

prepare the paste 1. Make Paper-Mache Paste

All you need is flour, water and a dash of salt. And an apron—this activity can get messy!

1. Spread out a few sheets of newspaper on a clean surface like the kitchen table.

2. Set out everything you’ll need: flour, water, salt, measuring cup, mixing bowl, whisk, blown up balloons (have a few extras in case they pop accidentally) and newspapers torn into one-inch strips.

3. Tear up the newspapers into 1″ (2.5 cm) wide strips as part of your prep, so they are ready to use and your paste doesn’t have time to dry out. You’ll need enough to cover your balloon with 4 to 5 layers, so aim for at least 20 strips.

prepare the paste 2. Make Paper-Mache Paste

4. Add 1 part water to 1 part flour in the mixing bowl.

Stir and add a dash of salt. Using 1 cup of flour to 1

cup of water provides enough paste for 1 medium-

sized piñata.

• Whisk until your paste is smooth, thick and creamy.

• Note: There are two other paste variations —one uses glue and the other uses wallpaper paste.

Create the piñata 3. Create the earth piñata cast out of paper-mache

• Dip the strips of newspaper into the paper-mache paste. Squeeze off the excess paste. Then lay the strips flat on the balloon.

• Cover your balloon with 4 or 5 layers of newspaper. Be sure to leave a round hole uncovered at the bottom (at the tied end of the balloon) so you can fill it up later.

Create the piñata 4. Let it dry

• Set your piñata out to dry in the sun or in a

room with great ventilation. It will need to dry for about 24 hours.

• Note: If you live in a cooler climate, you may want to do only 2 or 3 layers, let your piñata dry, and then add 2-3 more layers. (You can refrigerate the paste in a sealed container if necessary.)

• Be sure to place your piñata in a safe place to dry. We lost one to a pair of piñata predators–a toy

poodle and a toddler.

Prepare to Fill the earth 5. Gather Filler items outside While your piñata is drying, head outside with your family to find treasures to fill it with.

Ask your kids to look for pinecones, leaves, flowers (preferably already on the ground instead of picked), seashells and other interesting natural resources in your yard or neighborhood. You can gather stuff too!

While you are out on this nature walk, take the opportunity to talk to your kids about nature, recycling and any other outdoor family activities you

can add to your to-do list.

Make recycled confetti

6. Or Fill it with confetti

You can also use edible filler for your piñata.

To stay with the environmental theme, fill it with nuts, dried fruit or individually wrapped natural candies from your home or local store.

Decorate it! 7. Decorate the earth piñata

• Once your piñata is completely dry, bring it inside. Pop the balloon and remove it from the cast.

• Tidy up the bottom with your scissors. Be sure to leave a hole that’s large enough to fill the piñata.

• Cover the piñata in blue tissue paper and glue it in place. To teach your kids more about the ocean, have them the label the oceans with a marker or paint.

• Alternately, you can paint your piñata blue. Wait until the blue paint is dry before going on to the next step.

Decorate it! 8. Decorate the earth piñata

• Next, pull out your world map and your green tissue paper. (You can also find world map printouts on the Internet.)

• Cut out shapes from green tissue paper that roughly match

the continents. Glue these over the blue base. Have your kids use markers or black paint to label the continents and any countries that are important to your family.

• To get your kids thinking more about the earth, ask them to draw small pictures of family, friends or animals around the world. Glue these onto the piñata where the people or animals live. We added grandparents, sharks and lions to ours.

Note: Allow the glue and any paint to dry before you fill up your piñata.

Fill the earth 9. Fill your earth piñata

• Once your piñata is fully decorated and completely dry, fill it up.

• Add the natural items first.

• Next, wrap your edible items in tissue paper and tie them up with raffia, twine or ribbons so they won’t get dirty. Then, add them to the piñata.

• Alternately, you may decide to create two piñatas; one natural and one filled with edible items.

• Next, glue two pieces of ribbon over the open end of the piñata and then use a long strip of ribbon or rope to hang it up. You can hang it from a tree, play structure or patio cover. Make sure there’s room for the piñata and the stick to swing in a wide arc without hitting something (like your house!).

Play time!

10. Smash the earth

• You can use your piñata for a party or a fun night with the family.

• Find a large, sturdy stick for cracking open the piñata. Use a fallen branch from outside or an old broom or mop handle or a baseball bat from indoors.

Play time! 11. Play rules

• Hang the piñata, so it’s suspended from a tree, patio cover or play structure.

• Have everyone line up, youngest first.

• Note: keep this line a reasonable distance from the piñata, so bystanders don’t get hit.

• Blindfold the first person. Turn him around three times. And let him have three tries to hit the piñata.

• Variation: For younger kids you can skip the blindfold and allow them to hit it more times.

• Each person takes a turn until the piñata breaks.

When the treats hit the ground, everyone scrambles to get them.

See you in next games!