Homemade Piggy Banks

Super Tot loves the gold coins in our St. Patrick's Day Sensory Bin.  They are the first thing he plays with when we get it out, so I thought I would make him a little bank to go with them. I started off making a standard pink pig.  

I used an empty plastic container I had on hand and simply glued on a button nose, google eyes, and some ears & a tail cut out of pink craft foam.  I glued the same foam around little wooden blocks (I only had primary colors, so paint wouldn't work), then glued them onto the bottom.  Lastly (though I should have done this first), I cut a slit using a craft knife.  I wasn't being careful, so the plastic actually split, but I put a dab of glue over the split and it was fine.  

Super Tot was having so much fun with it, when Princess asked if I would make one for her, too.  I decided I would make another, but that I would make this one green, to go along with our St. Patrick's Day bin! 

For the green pig, I found another empty container that just happened to have a green lid!  It was perfect!  I used a green button for the nose, the same google eyes as the first pig, green craft foam ears/tail, and blocks for the legs that were already green.  I was more careful cutting this slit, so it was perfect.  

I love that the green pig has a twist off lid for Super Tot to open and close!  The pink pig's just presses into place.  Super Tot really enjoyed it, too!  I now have the green pig in our Sensory Bin, but will keep it with our regular Tot Tools once we switch out the Sensory Bin.

These were super easy to make and only took me a few minutes each.  

For more fun ideas, click on the button below!

Save the Rainforest, an article by Princess

Princess is 9 years old

Princess has a passion for writing and a heart for caring for the Earth.  She is learning to type this year on an old-fashioned type writer, which she just loves.  She enjoys practicing in her spare time and has been typing up articles about "Going Green" and "Saving the Rainforest."  Below is one she wrote on Friday.  She is a gifted writer, but I continue to be amazed at her writing style and always love reading what she writes.  Whether it is a story, news article, or essay, her passion for writing is evident in everything she writes.  Enjoy!

Save the Rainforest!! by Princess

Did you know that animals’ homes are being cut down every day?  That is actually happening.  You may find the rest of this article hard to read.  But, don’t worry.  With your help, this may very well have a happy ending.  Well, take a deep breath and here we go!  I will start with saying that areas of the rainforest the size of baseball fields are cut down every second.  Can you imagine?  What if someone came to your house, tearing it down and taking all the materials used to make it?  Don’t worry, though.  Because you can help!  You!  Yes, that was not an error!  Y-O-U!  Here’s what to do:

DONATE MONEY

You can donate money in lots of ways.   You can have a special jar called a “Giving Jar.”  In it, you can put spare change, or just money that you want to donate.  When the jar is full, you can donate the money to an organization that helps the rainforest.  You can also adopt a rainforest animal at www.wwf.org.  

SHARE INFORMATION

Tell you friends all about everything you read in this document.  Tell them about the cutting down of the forests.  But mostly, tell them what they can do to help.

Remember, with a little money and lots of love, we can give this story a happy ending!!!

I will be posting more of her articles in the future and hope you enjoy them as much as I do!