October 2007 Popcorn Month Crafts

October has been designated Popcorn month.  What a great thing for a frosty, crisp October day or evening!  Warm, fragrant popcorn to eat or kernels to make into crafts!

Popcorn Rain Stick


Many countries and ethnic groups use to believe that if they shook sticks with seeds in them it would encourage the rain Gods to bring rain to their parched lands.  The children will love making their very own rain sticks, and popcorn is just the ticket for making the "rain noise".
 

Materials Needed:

Cardboard Paper towel cylinder
popcorn kernels
Paint
paint brushes
glue
scissors
scraps of material
rubber bands or tape

Directions:

1.  Paint cardboard tube and let dry.
2.  Cut two circles out of scrap fabric, big enough to cover the open ends of the cardboard tube.
3.  Place one fabric circle over tube end and secure with a rubber band or tape.
4.  Add popcorn kernels to tube (About a tablespoon full).
5.  Secure second fabric circle over open end of tube with rubber band or tape.
6.  Hold tube in the middle and shake or turn to make "rain noise".

This craft is good for bilateral coordination, the paint can be a tactile activity if you have the child paint using their fingers, and touching the corn kernels is very tactile. Graphic skills can be addressed, by having the child write letters or words on their rain stick. We use tape for children under age 5 and rubber bands for children older than 5 (a real good bilateral task to secure it to the tube with the rubber band)!

Corn Stalks


Materials Needed:

Crayons
Construction Paper
Scissors
Glue
Popcorn kernels

Directions:

1.  Draw a  partially opened corn husk on construction paper.
2.  Cut out the corn husk.
3.  Color in the corn cob  and husk.
4.  Spread the cob area with glue.
5.  Put popcorn kernels on the glue, let dry.
6.  Finished corn cobs can be stapled to a bulletin board that has green and yellow crepe paper streamers stapled on to form the stalks, or grouped in a paper basket or as a bulletin board border.

This activity is great for pinch grasp for the individual kernels of corn.