Ever wondered how a submarine can control when it rises and sinks in the water? Build a Cartesian diver to find out! Named after French philosopher and physicist René Descartes, this classic science experiment is a great way for kids to see the principle of buoyancy at work. And with such a simple set-up, it's a fun and inexpensive way to dive into physics!

What You Need:

Empty plastic 2-liter soda bottle and cap Several unopened packets of soy sauce or ketchup Drinking cup Water

What You Do:

1. Start by asking your child to form a hypothesis, or best guess, on how she can get the packet to sink in the bottle and why that method will work. Forming a hypothesis is one of the first steps in the scientific method.

2. Ask her to fill up the plastic bottle with water, leaving a few inches of space at the top.3. Before placing a packet in the bottle, test out your packets to find one with an ideal

amount of air inside. Fill the drinking cup about 3/4 full with water and place a few packets inside. Some may sink to the bottom, while others float at different levels. Look for one that just barely floats above the water line. You may have to try several packets before you find one that works.

4. Have her fold the chosen soy sauce packet and insert it into the bottle. Fill the bottle with water all the way to the top and help her screw the cap on hard and tight.

5. Have her watch as you squeeze the sides of the bottle. (Adult hands can create more pressure than younger hands.) See the packet sink to the bottom! Let go of the bottle and watch the packet rise back to the top.

6. Discuss what happened to the soy sauce packet. Explain to her that the contraption she made is called a Cartesian diver. The sauce packet is the "diver". It has a small air bubble inside it that causes it to float in water. When you squeeze the bottle, however, pressure inside the bottle increases, compressing the air bubble inside the packet and causing the packet to sink (see below for a more detailed explanation).

7. Ask her to repeat her hypothesis. If she guessed anything about air pressure, congratulate her on a job well done. If her hypothesis was incorrect, reassure her that scientists guess wrong all the time. That's why they have to experiment!

What's Going On?

According to the principle of buoyancy, when an object's weight is less than the weight of the water it displaces, it floats. In this experiment, the density of the soy sauce packet is offset by the low density of the small air bubble inside it, causing it to float. When you squeeze the bottle, however, the increased pressure causes the air bubble to shrink, increasing its density. Since the air bubble is now too dense to keep the packet buoyant, the packet sinks to the bottom.

Fish and submarines use a similar method to rise or sink in the water. Fish have a small air sac in their bodies that they can compress or release, and submarines have buoyancy tanks. Filling a submarine's buoyancy tank with air causes it to rise, and filling it with water causes it to sink.

By Beth Levin

Beth Levin has an M.A. in Curriculum and Education from Columbia University Teachers College. She has written educational activities for Macmillan/McGraw-Hill and Renaissance Learning publishers. She has a substitute teaching credential for grades K-12 in Oregon, where she lives with her husband and two daughters.

Warning all grownups: get your sense of humor ready for this science experiment, which demonstrates fundamental physics of air pressure. You can do this in a lab, of course, or with technical worksheets, but we love this goofy “magic” trick with a kid and a grownup…and an audience, too, if you dare.

What You Need:

2 plastic drink bottles, 1-2 liters in size, clean and dry Latex balloons Pin or tack

What You Do:

1. Behind the scenes, begin with one plastic drink bottle and the tack. Without showing anyone in your potential audience, press the tack into the plastic to make a small hole in the bottom of the bottle. Widen it so that your hole ends up about 1/8” across…if it's a little bigger, that's okay too.

2. Now you'll need two volunteers—preferably one who's a kid and one who's a big, burly teen or adult. Give the big guy the bottle without a hole, and give the kid the bottle with the hole. Now have each volunteer place a balloon inside the neck of the bottle and stretch the opening of the balloon over the top of the bottle, so that the opening is covered completely. 

3. On the count of three, challenge the two volunteers to blow up their balloons. Get ready for some fun: the little kid's balloon should inflate just fine, making an attractive decoration inside the bottle. But the other one will just not inflate!

4. For a little extra fun, invite another volunteer to try, using a different balloon. You can also offer the bottle with the hole in it, but sneakily hold your finger over the hole…if you do that, the other balloon won't inflate either!

What's Going On?

When we blow up balloons, we move air into a compressed space and inflate the latex. But when the balloon is placed inside the bottle, and there's no way for the bottle's air to escape, the pressure inside the bottle is greater than the pressure that occurs from blowing on the balloon…and the balloon just won't blow up. When there's a hole at the bottom, however, the compressed air can escape, and the balloon can expand. It's good science…and for an elementary school kid, it's also some magical fun.

By Julie Williams

Julie Williams, M.A. Education, taught middle and high school History and English for seventeen years. Since then, she has volunteered in elementary classrooms while raising her two sons and earning a master's in school administration. She has also been a leader in her local PTA.

Sensory experiences are the way your child interacts with the world, developing  her fine motor skills.  This project encourages your preschooler to touch, smell and taste what she is working with.  Edible play dough is a great way to give kids the freedom to enjoy an educational and developmentally stimulating activity, without having to worry about what will happen if they eat the materials!  Not to mention, it's a great way to get your child involved in the kitchen to practice important measuring skills for future cake batters and cookie doughs to come.

What You Need:

1 cup of creamy peanut butter

1 cup of honey 1 cup of powdered milk – or more to reach the desired texture Bowl Spatula Measuring cup

What You Do:

1. Make sure your child washes her hands.2. Have yourchild help you measure 1 cup of peanut butter into a bowl. Then, measure 1

cup of honey and 1 cup of powdered milk and add to the mixture as well. 3. Mix more powdered milk into the mixture as needed to acquire the texture of play dough.4. Use cookie cutters and clean fingers to play with the play dough. Let your child fully

experience this tactile and yummy project. It's perfect for developing those sensory and motor skills and it won't be long before she figures out that it tastes good too. This edible play dough is also a protein-packed treat. However, it's still important to monitor how much she eats because too much of a good thing can still cause a tummy ache!

By Jessica McBrayer

Here's a quick and easy recipe for homemade play dough that doesn't involve any cooking! Just mix, knead, and you're ready to play. This bright and colorful modeling clay is a great instant toy that is simple enough for your preschooler to help make!

What You Need:

1 cup cold water 1 cup salt

2 teaspoons oil 3 cups flour** 2 tablespoons cornstarch Powdered paint or food coloring** Bowl and spoon Cutting board

**Note: If you or your child have a wheat or gluten allergy, you can use gluten-free flour instead of regular flour. Also, be sure that any food coloring you use is gluten-free.

What You Do:

1. In a bowl, mix the water, salt, oil and enough powdered paint to make a bright color. You can also skip the added color and leave the dough white.

2. Gradually work the flour and cornstarch into the mixture until it reaches a bread-dough consistency.

3. Pour the dough on a cutting board and knead until ready.4. Now you have brightly-colored molding clay to play with over and over! Store in plastic

containers with lids to play with over and over again.

By MaryAnn F. Kohl

Adapted with permission from "Preschool Art: It's the Process, Not the Product." Copyright 1994 by MaryAnn F. Kohl. Used by Permission of Gryphon House, Inc., Maryland. All Rights Reserved.

Every year on our birthday we have a reminder of how old we are. And if we ever forget, we can always ask our parents! How do you think you find out how old a tree is? When a tree has been cut down, you can count its "rings" in order to tell how old it is, but what about when it is alive? We can't ask a tree how old it is. But there is a way! This activity will teach you and your child a

way to estimate the age of a tree without cutting it down. It doesn't work with every tree but it will with a lot of them.

What You Need:

Tree Measuring tape Marker Pen Paper Helper

What You Do:

1. Help your child find a tree that is at least as tall as a grown up and have your child wrap the measuring tape around the widest part of the trunk. (A grown up might need to help with this part!) The distance around the trunk of a tree is called the circumference. Write this measurement down on a piece of paper.

2. The measurement of the circumference in inches is also the approximate age of the tree in years!

Did You Know?

Every year a new layer of growth occurs just under the bark. Some trees like firs and redwoods may grow more than this in a year, while others like cedars may grow less. This method is a good rule of thumb to estimate the age of a tree.

By Jessica McBrayer

If your child is just learning about shapes, this matching activity is a great way to practice shape identification. Each craft stick will have only half of a shape. She'll have to match up the stick pair an place them side by side to complete each shape.

What You Need:

At least 20 craft sticks (make sure you have an even number and maybe even some extras in case of mistakes)

Markers in assorted colors

What You Do:

1. Place two craft sticks directly next to each other.2. Help your child draw a shape on the two sticks. Try to split the shape equally between the

sticks.3. Repeat step 2 until your kid has created as many shape stick pairs as she wants.4. Have her mix up the sticks.5. Encourage your child match the sticks to create shapes.

The shapes you use don't need to be complicated. Have your child try drawing a circle, square, triangle, and whatever else is easy. Also, take the opportunity to talk about the concept of symmetry and help your child understand which shapes she created for her puzzle game are symmetrical and which aren't. Before you know it your child will be a master matcher.

If you want, you can extend this activity into a shape observation game. How many different circles can she find in your house? What about squares? As she plays games like this, it will become easier and easier for her to recognize different shapes and their special characteristics.

By Jasmine Evans

Maps, in all shapes, sizes, and themes, are a common fourth grade social studies topic. Kids love the textures and shapes of physical maps, the intricate symbols of product maps, and the rainbow colors of climate charts. But it can be another matter all together when it comes to locating themselves within that context. Here's a fun family activity that builds this awareness, while also addressing the pressing environmental issue of our “global footprint.” And if you've got a picky eater around, it just might get him to try some new foods, too!

What You Need:

10-20 foods that your child eats often over a week. Try to include a range of categories, from produce and meat to milk to cereals and snacks.

Wall size map of the world Ball of thin colored yarn Push pins or repositionable tape (available at stationery or art supply stores) Small sticky notes

What You Do:

1. Explain to your child that you are going to figure out how far your food travels to get to you. Start by putting up the world map, and marking your home town on it with a colored marker.

2. Invite your child to explore the kitchen with you, and pull out your 10-20 common food items. Keep them in their containers, or leave stickers on them, for this activity—you want to find out where they're from!

3. Now, one by one, “map” your food: stretch your yarn from your house to the country or state, or even city, where your food was grown or made. Label each string with a post-it.

4. This being fourth grade, your child is studying map legends and learning to figure distance ratios. So take out a plain piece of paper and start a list: for each food, use the

map legend to figure how many miles it came, assuming it came “as the crow flies.” (It may not have, but this will still give us a useful ballpark). If a product came from within 50 miles, it may be too hard to be exact; just give it an average number of, say 20. And if it came from your back yard, of course, you can savor writing a nice round “0”!

5. When you're done, you should have a dramatic map with lines of varying lengths. Leave it up for the week and talk it over. Are there any foods you might choose that are closer to home? Tally your first total of miles...and then, for the next couple of weeks, see if you can beat your score. What is it like to “eat local," and how can you do it more often?

By Julie Williams

Julie Williams, M.A. Education, taught middle and high school History and English for seventeen years. Since then, she has volunteered in elementary classrooms while raising her two sons and earning a master's in school administration. She has also been a leader in her local PTA.

Here's a great idea for recycling those 2-liter soda bottles. Create a mini plant habitat with your kids and learn what it takes to make an ecosystem work. Explain to your children that they'll be providing the water and sun for the little world they're making—its survival is in their hands! Don't be surprised if feelings of eco-responsibility start sprouting right before your eyes.

What You Need:

2-liter soda bottle, cleaned with soap and water

Scissors Soil Small plant that likes humidity Pebbles Small plastic animals Bits of bark Masking tape

What You Do:

1. First, cut off the top of the bottle, down a few inches so that your child can easily reach into it. Save the top.  Put tape around the edge of the area you just cut to cover the sharp edge.

2. Now have you child sprinkle some pebbles into the bottom of the terrarium for drainage. 3. Fill the terrarium ¾ full with soil and make a hole in the soil for the plant.4. Carefully place the plant into the hole and fill around it with soil.5. Arrange some pebbles, plastic animals and bits of bark to make it look like a nature

scene.6. Lastly, water your plant and put the "lid" back on the plant.  Leave the small plastic cap

off of the bottle.  You now have a terrarium!  Make sure to put it somewhere there is light from the sun.

Tell your child as you are working that it is important for plants to have water and sunlight to grow.  Plants turn water and sunlight into energy in a process called "photosynthesis".  The terrarium is a mini landscape like you would find in nature, but the missing parts are rain clouds and sunshine so we have to add those parts. Because we have a lid on the terrarium, it retains a lot of humidity so it will not need watering very often.  Turn the terrarium every once in awhile to give the plant equal sunlight on all sides.

For a little added learning, try a simple experiment by building two other terrariums with different types of plants. Give them the same amount of water and sunlight (explain that the things that stay the same in an experiment are called "controls"). Then track which types of plants grow best in the terrarium. Be sure to make guesses with your child before you start the experiment, and then evaluate those guesses at the end.

By Jessica McBrayer

The water cycle is a second grade science concept with some challenging elements: evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. While precipitation (rain, snow, and hail, for example) and condensation (water droplets collecting on a cold beverage glass, for example) can be seen with the human eye, evaporation is much less visible a process. So how can you make this challenging science concept more visible to your second grader? Try this activity, in which your budding scientist collects information about a puddle that seems to disappear before his very eyes!

What You Need:

Sidewalk chalk, in various colors An outdoor puddle on a paved surface, such as a sidewalk (Important!  Choose a puddle

that is in a location where it is not likely to be disturbed.) A sunny day Clipboard Paper Colored pencils Pencil Watch

What You Do:

1. Find (or create) a puddle of water on the sidewalk on a sunny day.  Have your child use sidewalk chalk to trace the outline of the puddle on the sidewalk.

2. Tell your child that you are going to be checking the puddle every hour to see if it has changed in any way. Ask your child: to predict what will happen to the puddle in one hour, and explain his prediction to think about a way that he could keep track of his observations

3. Give your child a clipboard with paper, and have him create a T-chart (one horizontal line across the top, and a vertical line going down the center). Have him label the left side of the chart “TIME,” and the right side of the chart “OBSERVATIONS.”

4. On the chart, record information about the initial puddle observation. Have your child write the time that the first puddle outline was created.  Then have your child use a colored pencil the same color as the sidewalk chalk outline to draw an illustration of the outline on the right side of the chart.

5. In one hour, come back for another puddle observation. Ask your child: Has the puddle changed? How? Why has the puddle changed?

6. Have your child use a different color chalk to trace the new outline of the puddle. Then have him record the time and, using a colored pencil that matches the new chalk outline, draw a new illustration of the puddle on the chart. (Note: Explain that he should try to record the information as accurately as possible. If the puddle on the sidewalk is smaller, the illustration on the paper should look smaller, too.)

7. Repeat at hourly intervals until the puddle has disappeared.8. Have your child look over the information on his chart, and explain what he notices about

the information he has collected. In general, he should notice that over time, the puddle got smaller and smaller, but basically stayed the same shape. Ask him to consider where the water went.

9. Explain the science behind your child’s observations: With the sun’s heat, water turns from a liquid to a gas. The water in the puddle turned into tiny droplets of water called water vapor. It evaporated, and is now in the air. To challenge your child further, ask him to consider how puddle will be become filled with water again. (It will refill when it

rains. This is called precipitation, and it happens when water vapor condenses in clouds and forms water droplets again.)

By Liana Mahoney

Liana Mahoney is a National Board Certified elementary teacher, currently teaching a first and second grade loop. She is also a certified Reading Specialist, with teaching experience as a former high school English teacher, and early grades Remedial Reading.

It's always fun to recycle household items into a toy that will inspire pretend play. Here is a quick and easy way to turn a used juice box into a police radio complete with antenna and buttons. Your child will have hours of fun and adventure with his police radio and imagination!

What You Need:

Used juice box that is completely empty Dark-colored construction paper Light-colored construction paper Large straw Tape Marker Glue

What You Do:

1. Using tape, wrap the juice box with the dark construction paper just like a gift. Be sure to make note of where the straw enters the juice box; you'll be using it again.

2. Have your child cut some light-colored construction paper into circles and squares that will go on the radio.

3. Glue these shapes to the box to make buttons.4. Draw numbers on the circles, like a volume or channel dial, and

be creative!5. Poke the straw through the paper and into the juice box.6. Secure the straw with a small piece of tape.

Here are some common “10” codes used by police. Your child will love the opportunity to speak just like a police officer!

10-4 Acknowledged or “yes”

10-6 Busy

10-7 Out of service

10-8 In service

10-9 Repeat

10-21 Telephone call

By Jake Friesen

Detective Constable Jake Friesen is a member of the Forensic Identification Unit with the Peterborough Lakefield Community Police Service in Ontario, Canada. Jake is highly trained in many disciplines of forensic science.

How do you tell time without a watch? Use the sun! The sun can be an accurate time telling device as long as you have the tools to help you. The earliest sundial was built in Ireland from 5000 B.C. Later, obelisks were also used as sundials. This simple activity will show your child how to build his own sundial.

What You Need:

Straight stick about 2 feet long 8 or 10 pebbles or small sea shells Watch

What You Do:

1. Find a sunny spot and push the stick straight into the grass or earth. If your backyard doesn’t have any grass or earth,  fill a small bucket with sand and place your stick into the bucket.

2. Start in the morning when the sun is up. At 7:00 am use a pebble to mark where the shadow of your stick falls.  Come back at 8:00am, 9:00am, 10:00am and so on until there is no more daylight in the day. You may want to mark your pebbles with the time they were placed using chalk.

3. At the end of the day you will have created a sundial! Now you can dispense with the watch (but only while the sun shines).

Did You Know?

The length of the shadows will change throughout the year. In the summer the shadows are shorter and the winter the shadows are longer.

The term A.M. stands for "ante meridiem." which means before noon. P.M. stands for "post meridiem" or afternoon. Noon is the time when the sun is at its highest point in the sky.

On a cloudy day you'll be happy to have a digital clock, but a digital clock doesn't give you any clues about the seasons, so both time-telling tools have their uses!

By Jessica McBrayer

Springtime flowers bring plenty of color, and lots of questions from your third grader. Young children often wonder how all of these plants and flowers suddenly appear when the weather gets warmer. “Bean Sprouts” is a simple, hands-on activity that will answer many of your child's questions, and give her a close-up look at what happens when a seed gets plenty of sunlight and water.  After completing this fun science project, your child will have a better understanding of plants – and may develop a green thumb in the process!

What You Need:

Cookie sheet Paper towel Three kinds of bean seeds: we recommend mung, green, and lima

Water

What You Do:

1. Show the bean seed to your child and let her inspect it.  Point out the hard shell that surrounds the actual seed, and the tiny hole that allows water to flow to the plant inside.  Explain to her that in order for the plant to sprout and break through the shell, it will need an ample amount of water and sunlight.

2. Ask your child to moisten 3-4 paper towels and layer them on the cookie sheet.  Next, spread the bean seeds on top of the damp paper towels.  Finally, lay 3-4 more damp paper towels on top of the bean seeds.  With your child, choose a safe spot for the tray, one that gets ample (but not too much) sunlight.

3. Give your child a small notebook for recording her observations.  As her first entry, have her predict how many days it will take for her beans to sprout.  Remind your child to moisten the paper towel and check on her bean seeds daily.  She should observe the seeds and record any changes.

4. After 5-6 days, the beans should have sprouted.  If not, direct your child to keep them covered and damp for a few more days and continue observing changes.

5. Once the beans sprout, follow up with some questions for your third grader.  What was inside the bean? (a seed/tiny plant)  Why do you think it needs a hard shell around it? (for protection)  How did the seed get water?  (the tiny hole)  What would happen to the seed if it couldn’t get water and sunlight? (it wouldn’t sprout)  Where do you see evidence of this simple activity outside?  (seeds get blown by the wind and can sprout anywhere if they get enough sunlight and water).

Note:  If there is room in your garden, give your child a small spot to plant her bean seeds.

By Brigid Del Carmen

Brigid Del Carmen has a Master's Degree in Special Education with endorsements in Learning Disabilities and Behavior Disorders/Emotional Impairments. Over the past eight years, she has taught Language Arts, Reading and Math in her middle school special education classroom.

In Japan, fans are a common symbol used in art and on stage, and are often given as gifts. The fan represents friendship, respect, and good wishes. Teach your child about the customs of Japan with this activity. Make your own fan out of paper, decorate with watercolors, and you've got a beautiful replica of an ancient Japanese tradition. Your child will have fun making this beautiful masterpiece and can use it during play time or on a hot day!

What You Need:

12" x 18" white paper Scissors Pencil Watercolors Paintbrushes Stapler Popsicle sticks Tape

What to Do:

1. Fold the paper in half hamburger-style.2. On the folded side of the paper, draw a large rainbow shape for the fan. This works best if the

shape is less like a semi-circle and more like half a rounded almond.3. Cut out the shape and leave it folded.

4. Lightly sketch out nature-related themes, such as flowers, trees, and animals on the paper. Some popular designs are cherry blossoms, bamboo, and mountains. Look online or in a book to get some ideas!

5. Use the watercolors to paint the images using bold brushstrokes, and set it aside to dry.6. Fold the paper inward from both corners, accordion style with small creases until the entire

paper is folded.7. Pinch the bottom of the paper together to form a fan and staple it together.8. Tape two popsicle sticks onto the bottom to form a handle for the fan, and you're finished!

By Barbara Sweet

Barbara Sweet has a Master's degree in Education and has taught Spanish in grades K-12, as well as a variety of undergraduate college courses. She is also the mother of a nine-year-old son.

First grade scientists get a huge kick out of creepy critters, and those dainty red ladybugs are a special favorite. Here's a science game that explores the effect of air currents on a lightweight bug, and throws in a little measurement as well. In case we forgot to mention it, it's also worth an afternoon of good fun, too.

What You Need:

Black and red construction paper

Black or white “dot” stickers (available at office supply stores)

Plain red or black drinking straws (no bends)

2 pieces of smooth string, at least 10 feet long

Black pipe cleaners Scissors Glue stick

What to Do:

1. Start by cutting out two ladybug bodies in black (see our printable template), and two red ladybug bodies. Glue a red body onto each black piece, and then stick the dots on the wings to create a ladybug. Cut a pipe cleaner in half, and then, in turn, bend each piece in half and poke the ends up through the ladybug's head to make antennae.

2. Now cut a 3” section of straw, and glue it onto the bottom of the ladybug with strong craft glue.3. While the ladybug racing rig is drying, take out the two pieces of string. Attach each one to a

table leg or a chair. Use a yardstick to measure 20 5” intervals (a total of 100 inches), and mark them clearly with a sharpie pen. Once the ladybug is dry, run the string through the straw and attach the other end to a chair or table to make a nice firm tightrope ride.

4. Time to play! For most first graders, the first impulse will be to grab the bug and push. But now's the time for your young scientist to practice a little physical science. Have him stand just behind the bug and blow, using air pressure to send it along the string. How far can the bug go in one breath? Two? Three? Kids can measure exact inches—and practice counting by fives—as they try to be the first to move the ladybug 100 inches down the line.

Adults, don't be surprised if you decide to take a turn or two yourself!

By Julie Williams

Julie Williams, M.A. Education, taught middle and high school History and English for seventeen years. Since then, she has volunteered in elementary classrooms while raising her two sons and earning a master's in school administration. She has also been a leader in her local PTA.

The life cycle of a butterfly  is an amazing process and the concept of metamorphosis is fascinating to children of all ages. Help your child's creativity take flight with this activity that shows the four stages of the butterfly life cycle.

What You Need:

Paper Plate Markers Dry Pasta: Spirals, orzo, small shells, and bowtie Glue Crayons

What You Do:

1. Start off with a plain white paper plate.2. In the center of the paper plate, write the title “The Life Cycle of a Butterfly” in marker.3. Draw a leaf with crayon or marker at the top center of the plate, under the ridged section. The

leaf should be large enough to hold several pieces of orzo.4. Label the leaf “eggs” and glue 4-5 pieces of orzo to the leaf.5. At the 3:00 position of the plate draw another green leaf, labeling this one “larva." Place and

glue a piece of spiral pasta on top of the leaf representing the larva, or caterpillar, phase.6. At the bottom center of the plate draw a brown branch, and label it pupa/chrysalis. Position a

small piece of shell pasta so that it appears to be “hanging” from the branch. This piece represents the chrysalis.

7. At the 9:00 position draw a couple of leaves and some flowers. Place and glue a piece of bowtie pasta on or slightly above the flowers. Label this “adult butterfly."

8. In between each section draw a red arrow pointing to the next stage in a clockwise direction.

Share your creation with a friend and then go on a nature walk and see if you can find any of the stages of this amazing life cycle!

By taramoffitt

When kids bust a pair of jeans or outgrow an old shirt, it's usually followed by the familiar cry “I need a new one!” However, a little history lesson can teach your child that it wasn't always so easy.

During the colonial era, pieces of clothing that had been ripped or damaged were never thrown out. Everything back then was sewn by hand, which meant that a lot of effort went into each article of clothing. To make a pair of woolen pants, for example, a family would have had to shear a sheep, spin thread from the sheered wool, weave cloth with the thread, and then cut and sew the cloth into garments, and there weren't even any sewing machines then...a far cry from today’s drive to the department store!

If you’re like most modern folks, you’re not planning to raise your own sheep or set up a spinning wheel in your living room. But with just a few ordinary supplies, you and your child can make a simple weaving loom to explore some colonial history and celebrate our nation. This is a great project for a summer afternoon, especially if it’s around the Fourth of July and you’ve got some extra yarn in red, white, and blue!

What You Need:

2 straight sticks, each about 14” long and at least 1” thick, or 2 pieces of 1x2” cut wood, each 14” long

2 pieces of ¼” rope, each about 30” (clothesline rope works great) 11 pieces of string, each about 26” long Extra thick yarn or strips of fabric in red, white, and blue Optional: Power Drill with 3/16” or 1/4” drill bit

What to Do:

1. Start with a lesson in weaving vocabulary! Explain the process and names of the special tools used in cloth making to your child. The loom (the contraption you weave cloth on) will start as a series of vertical strings, called the “warp.” Your child will weave in yarn or fabric strips, which are called the “weft.” For this project, your child will be moving the yarn or fabric around with his hands but in more advanced looms, you wrap the fabric around a special piece of notched wood called a “shuttle.”

2. Now it's time to make the loom! Start by laying each 14" stick on a flat, sturdy surface that can withstand some drilling. If you are using a drill, parents will do this next part: make 12 holes along each stick , evenly spaced 1” apart. You may want to have your child lay out the spacing first and mark off where each hole will be to make sure that they all fit. (If you don’t have a drill, don’t worry! You can cut your strings a little longer, and just tie each end of the yarn around the sticks at ¾" -1" intervals so that the twelve pieces of fabric are each attached to a stick at the top

end and at the bottom end.)3. Have your child thread a string through each hole of one of the sticks, and tie a knot securely at

the end to attach it to the stick. These strings will form the "warp."

4. Pull the strings through the wood, and make sure they are all the same length. Then have your child pull warp threads through the holes in the second wood strip, which will be the top, and knot them securely to the second stick.

5. Now it’s time for some weaving! Help your child hang up his loom from a ceiling or trellis beam, using two of the pieces of ¼” rope, and use the other two pieces of rope to fasten the bottom of

the frame to a solid object such as a chair, so that the loom is secure but suspended. And just

like that, you'll have a hanging loom!6. Have your child pull out his weft yarn or fabric strips, and weave them over and under each

warp thread starting on either the left or the right side. For the very first string, leave a tail of about two inches, and have your child weave it through just above the bottom stick, going under

first, then over and so on.7. When he has reached the other side of the loom with his thread, he's ready to start back again.

He will take the same piece of fabric he started with and go back in the opposite direction, weaving right above the row of fabric he previously did. Each piece of yarn should be able to make two passes or two rows on the loom. In each new row, he will start by weaving over if he went under before, and under where he went over before. As you and your child work, help him to use his fingers to push the rows of thread together toward the bottom. Keep going, and you’ll start to see a whole piece of cloth forming!

8. Continue this process with your yarn or fabric strips. For a special artistic addition, you can also add natural materials to your cloth such as dried grasses.

9. When you’re all done, you can leave the weaving on the loom and hang it up as wall art. Or you can remove the cloth from the loom and take the extra tails of warp string on each side and knot them off, two at a time to finish the edges. You’ll have a real piece of handwoven history to enjoy. This handmade cloth makes a great table centerpiece or even a potholder. It’s also a great reminder of the patience and hard work of all those colonial ancestors who helped to shape the history of our nation, making this project an excellent way to celebrate this year's Fourth of July!

By Julie Williams

Julie Williams, M.A. Education, taught middle and high school history and English for seventeen years. Since then, she has volunteered in elementary classrooms while raising her two sons and earning a master's in school administration. She has also been a leader in her local PTA.