I Stole The Shrinky Dinks
This weeks unplugged theme is plastic. I had a great, I mean insanely great project to share but I couldn’t get the supplies together in a timely manner. I had grocery shopping (3 different stores!) while the girls visited with MiMi (my Mom) and a library program also today. But trust me it was great! So instead I stole the idea to make shrinky dinks right off the Unplug Your Kids site!
I cut some #6 plastic (salad bar containers, lids to aluminum cake tins…) up into different size pieces. They shrink by about 40%.
The kids colored on the plastic pieces with Sharpies-permanent markers.
We placed them on a foil sheet and put them straight on the bottom rack of a 350 degree oven.
I grouped like size pieces together for each batch. The first ones to go into the oven were large pieces and they didn’t come out so good-they curled up and melted. All with in a few minutes-so watch carefully!
The next batch curled up and then flattened back out and worked great! This is what is supposed to happen so don’t freak out while watching the metamorphosis. We punched holes in them before we baked them and some of the holes closed up so be sure to make them large.
I don’t know what the packed “shrinky dinks” are made off but let me warn you-you may want to do this activity outside with a toaster oven because the fumes can’t be good for you! When I taught pre-school, 137 years ago, We used to use Styrofoam trays and a toaster oven outside for that same reason. I don’t know why I thought plastic would be any different. But these are way cool and easy. The girls wanted to do more but I radiated, I mean microwaved their leftovers and threw them out in the fresh air to eat dinner while the house aired out.
Then we rode our bikes to get ice cream. I had a tasty pink grapefruit sorbet with chocolate sprinkles-delicious!! It tasted just like OceanSpray Ruby Red! This shop has some crazy flavors! Fish and chips? Guinness? I tasted the pear Riesling sorbet but went with the pink grapefruit.
Tomorrow we are off to pick strawberries with Dawn, who I am so thankful to for making my blog look so great! I owe her 1 zillion dollars for all her hard work! But I don’t have any money so I will continue to publicly thank her and buy her dinner soon! Thanks Dawn web designer extraordinaire!!!!!
And I promise to share my most insanely excellent project soon!
P.S. i am not sure how I feel about the new lay out…..
I can’t say I noticed a lot of fumes when we did it. I was a bit worried about that, especially since I have two cockatiels near the kitchen. They survived, so at least it can’t be THAT bad!
Can’t wait to see your “insanely excellent project,” and I love your “new look!”