As the season of giving approaches and we try to move from “more stuff” to “savings account” gifts for our kids, I went searching for a cool bank we could make without breaking the bank. And I found it in our beijingkids archives! Enjoy this Maker’s Corner from 2013 that can start your kids on the road to understanding how to save their kuai.

One of the tools for teaching children to save money is to give them a piggy bank to stash their pennies. Today’s kids might wonder what a piggy bank is, or why it’s called what it’s called. After all, how many pink pig-shaped saving banks are in stores these days?

Rather than expect kids to want to display and treasure a fat pink piggy bank bought from the store, Keystone Academy’s Visual Arts teacher has combined recycling and her son’s interests to create a spaceship savings bank!

Ten-year-old Gabriel demonstrates the craft for us with few materials for a simple decoration, but there is room to either simplify or complicate this craft. Use a thicker colored paper instead of tissue paper and draw the windows or use glitter pens and stickers to make a space shuttle so colorful saving money can’t possibly be overlooked!

Estimated time: 60 minutes’
Suitable for: 7+

Materials:
1. Empty plastic water bottle
2. Colored paper
3. Tissue paper
4. Scissors
5. Permanent marker
6. White glue
7. Glue stick
8. Craft glue
9. Plate
10. Brushes
11. Circular objects in different sizes

Prepare the body of the shuttle.
1. Cut a hole in the plastic bottle.
2. Paint white glue on the water bottle with a brush.
3. Cover the plastic bottle with tissue paper.
4. Brush over the paper. Leave it to dry.
Prepare the shuttle trappings.
5. Trace a big circle on colored paper, cut the circle out, and fold it in half to then make a cone.
6. Trace and cut three bigger and three smaller circles with different colored paper.
7. Create fins out of colored paper by first folding the paper two times. Then, draw the shape of the fin and cut two out at once.
8. Fold the straight edge of fins to create a place to put glue.

Prepare the shuttle for launch.
9. Glue the cone on the cap with craft glue.
10. Glue three fins on the shuttle.

11. Glue two circles together to create windows. Attach the windows to the body of the shuttle with glue.
12. Decorate the rocket with permanent makers by drawing ladders, nails, symbols, or signs.

This article originally appeared in the September 2016 Issue of beijingkids magazine. Click here for your free online copy. 

KEEP READING: Gratitude Journal 2020: “We Won’t Take for Granted Our Health”

Photos: Dave’s Studio

Who doesn’t love a good Christmas craft? While searching for some fun ways to decorate our house, we remembered this round-up from our archives. The best part? You probably already have the materials you need! Click each link for the full instructions.

3D Paper Reindeer

Idea from Easy Peasy and Fun

Help Santa Claus deliver his presents and add more reindeers to the pack! And if you got some extra, don’t let them graze on your Christmas tree.

Reindeer Christmas Card

Idea from Easy Peasy and Fun

A Christmas gift isn’t complete without a card. This card will add a personal touch to your message… that “Ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas!” Just make sure that your reindeer’s nose is red!

Christmas Pop-up Card

Idea from Red Ted Art

I really love this kind of craft. I mean – who’s not gonna fall in love when you open a card and a cute Christmas tree pops up? Why not put some small baubles in your pop up card?

Origami Winter House

Idea from Krokotak

Ohh, this brings back good memories of my mom’s much-prized winter houses with LEDs. Actually, when I saw this one I wanted to make my small winter village!

Paper Snowflakes

Idea from Etsy.com

Don’t wait for Beijing snow to happen when your kids can turn your house into a winter wonderland! Use the paper scraps from the previous projects.

Popsicle Christmas Trees

Idea from One Little Project

If a Christmas tree at the corner of your house isn’t enough to put your baby in a holiday mood, why not make little ones and add them to your baby’s mobile?

Mason Jar Centerpiece

Idea from Homesteading.com

This is an ingenious way to make use of the jars and other big bottles you’ve collected after holiday shopping for edible stuff!

KEEP READING: It Costs Nothing to be Kind to Your Delivery Person

Photos: Easy Peasy and Fun, (2) Red Ted Art, Krokotak, Etsy.com, One Little Project, Homesteading.com

With Thanksgiving this week and winter holidays on the horizon, we’re diving into our 14-year archives for all the good goodies and crafts to share! Have an idea? Email cindyjenkins@beijing-kids.com!

Thanksgiving is a day to share with our loved ones while being grateful for all the blessings in our lives. Celebrating it with a DIY craft not only adds an extra element to your seasonal decorations but also gives a personal touch when you welcome your guests.

Tiger Xu, a Year 2 student from House of Knowledge, along with his teacher Sarah Green, made a turkey treat box. It was great fun for both of them, and the craft just got them more excited about the upcoming festival.

Follow the instructions below to make this cute and easy-to-make craft, so you can spend some precious fun time with your children, and surprise your Thanksgiving visitors!

What You’ll Need

– Pencils
– Scissors (straight and scallop-edged)
– Four circular items of different sizes
– Cardstock, in any colors you like
– Plastic wiggly eyes
– A cup for treats
– Adhesives (double-sided sticky tape and a glue stick)
– Any kind of sweets which fit the treat cup

Instructions

Step 1. Place the circular objects on the cardstock and draw around them. Cut out the resulting circles. Use the scallop-edged scissors to give all but the smallest a wavy edge, or scallop them by hand. Draw concentric circles using the cup and the next largest object, and cut out to make a ring of the card.

Step 2. Cut out two long rectangles, and snip out a triangle from one end of each to make the feet. Also, cut a small triangle for the beak, using the same color card as the feet.

Step 3. Stick the three scalloped circles one on top of the other, with the bottom edges aligned. Then add the small circle for a head.

Step 4. Fill the treat cup with sweets and stick the cup onto the circles. Stick the ring of card around it.

Step 5. Add the wiggly eyes, the beak, and the feet in order to finish off the turkey, and then you’re ready to treat your young guests!

KEEP READING: Long Distance Holidays: Making Memories Over Zoom

Photos: Uni You

This article originally appeared in the beijingkids November 2018 Beijing Makers issue

Getting a gift for dad doesn’t have to be reserved for a single day in June. However, finding that perfect gift can be tricky. The typical “dad” gifts like watches, golf clubs, and iPads will always be there, but if you want to give something really special to a special dad, there’s nothing more precious than a homemade gift of appreciation.

For this issue, Year Four student Diego, along with his Year Two brother Carlos,  make their very own trophy for their dad, David Mayers, Harrow Beijing Key Stage 1 Leader. Mayers proudly pointed out “[The trophy] is made of love”!    

What You’ll Need

• Paint
• Cups
• String
• Balloons
• Flour
• Scissors/box cutter knife
• A ruler
• A paint brush
• A pencil
• A marker pen
• Double-sided tape/glue
• Empty bottles

The trophy idea is originally from Harrow Beijing art teacher Karenann Matthews-John

Instructions

Paint the white cup with the yellow paint from inside to outside and up to the brim.

Take the plastic bottle and cut off the upper portion using scissors. Paint the outside of the upper portion of the bottle and the rim of the bottle cup.

Take a piece of paper, and cut it twice lengthwise, to make two strips both 5-6 cm wide. Fold both strips of paper evenly 3 times.

Use a ruler and measure about 4 cm from the top and bottom; mark it with a pencil. Glue the strips of paper on both sides of the painted cup, so that they look like the handles of a trophy.

Put double-sided tape or glue on the lid of the painted bottle and stick it to the bottom of the cup.

Pour flour into an empty water bottle (to make it easier, use a funnel). Blow air into the balloon until it’s about the size of a child’s head, and place it over the lid of the bottle.

Pour the flour into the balloon, and let the air out. This is a very difficult step, so proceed with caution and adult supervision.

Tie the balloon into a knot after all the air is out. Glue or tie the string onto the lip of the balloon and place it into the cup. Put the balloon in the cup.

Paint your dad’s face on the balloon and create the best trophy ever!

Photos: Uni You

This article appeared in the beijingkids November 2019 Beijing Baba issue

Mother’s Day is the perfect opportunity to show our love and thanks for the most special lady in our life through heartwarming gifts. Crafting together with mom would be a fun way to enjoy family time.

For this issue, we invited Jenny Sabin and her 8-year-old daughter Penny, who attends the Canadian International School of Beijing (CISB), to make a creative and adorable caterpillar necklace. Jenny told beijingkids that Penny even got her purple nail polish ready the day before shooting to match the caterpillar’s antennas. With laughter and bright smiles, Jenny and Penny presented us with this unique necklace.

Materials You’ll Need

– Red, yellow, green, and purple construction papers
– Green macaroni (or similar tube-shaped pasta)
– String or yarn
– Glue
– Single hole punch

Step 1

Cut out red paper circles about 1 inch in diameter for the body, and punch a single hole in each one.

Step 2

Cut out two circles from yellow construction paper and two smaller circles from green construction paper for the eyes. Cut a little green mouth and then two purple antennas.

Step 3

Glue the mouth and antennas onto the face, and make a hole in the face to string them all together later.

Step 4

Cut the string or yarn to the required size. Thread one piece of macaroni onto the string or yarn and add one red circle. Repeat the pattern.

Step 5

Add the head when the caterpillar is the right length. Tie the string together to form a necklace.

This article appeared in the beijingkids May 2019 Identity issue.
Photos: Uni You

Easter is a time of spring festivals and a peak time for crafts. Celebrating it with a lively DIY craft brings spring sunshine to each and every corner of your home. With this project, children can join in the fun.

Victoria Läuppi, a 6-year-old student from Swiss School Beijing, along with her teacher Cecile Ottiger, made a felt Easter bird. Teacher Cecile told beijingkids the felt bird would certainly brighten any home this spring. After finishing the felt bird, Victoria named it “Lucy” and made her a home on a tree branch. She also thought it would make a lovely earring for her teacher!

What You’ll Need

– Pencils
– Scissors
– Thick white paper
– 2mm thick colored felt
– 1mm thick felt in a different color
– Googly eyes
– Glue
– Colored thread
– Hole punchers (if needed)

Step 1 (Body)

Draw the bird motif on the thick white paper, then cut it out. Put it on the 2mm felt, draw a line around the template, and cut that out as well.

Step 2 (Wings)

Follow the same procedure for the two wings on 1mm thick felt of a different color. (You can fold once to get two wings with one cut.)

Step 3 (Eyes)

We stick one wobbly eye on each side of the bird.

Step 4

Glue the two wings evenly on each side of the bird.

Step 5

Use a hole puncher or scissors to make a hole near the edge of the bird’s back. Then, pull a colored thread through it and make a knot. Now you can hang your birds on a branch or from a floral wreath!

This article first appeared in the beijingkids April 2019 Exploring Beijing issue.
Photos: Uni You

Food scraps and yard waste are ideal organic materials for compost which offers a natural alternative to chemical fertilizers. So instead of throwing them away, we should use them for composting, which helps fuel plant growth and make your garden thrive.

There are many different ways to make a compost pile. If you don’t have space for an outdoor compost pile, you can compost materials indoors using a special type of bin, such as recycled takeout containers.

We invited Daniel Lim from Homegrown School, which promotes food sustainability education, and Gabby Wilson, a Year 5 student from British School of Beijing, Sanlitun, to show how to make an indoor compost pile using takeout containers. Follow Dan and Gabby along with our instructions, and learn how to grow an indoor vegetable garden. It’s free, easy to make, and good for the environment!

What You’ll Need

– Composting worms
– Three takeout containers
– A soldering iron or a sharp instrument to puncture holes
– A face mask to protect yourself from fumes released by soldering iron on plastic
– Reused plastic forks and spoons for picking up worms and scooping
– Bedding materials that are soft and moist: coco coir, black and white newsprint, recycled paper napkins
– Water
– 3-4 same-sized stones and a scoop of dirt (can be garden soil, playground sand or even aquarium sand)
– Spent coffee grounds (alternatives: pulp from juicing except citrus fruits, tea leaves)

Instructions

1. Make holes all along the bottom of the two containers and around the top of their walls. The bottom holes should be large enough for the worms to travel up and down through them. The ones around the walls are for ventilation and can be smaller.

2. Put the stones into the container without holes and stack one of the containers with holes on top of it. It should sit nicely with a gap between them.

3. Soak paper materials in water from another container, and loosely scrunch them up into a ball so that they are damp but not dripping. Fill the bottom of the worm farm with the scrunched up paper balls.

4. Grab a handful of the expanded coco coir, soak it in the water and cover the paper balls. Add a scoop of dirt and coffee grounds to the top, and mix everything up with the plastic utensils to make the bedding light and fluffy.

5. Put the worms in together with the vermicompost it came in and gently mix the vermicompost into the bedding. Cover the top of the container to keep it moist.

6. After setting it up, keep the worm farm at room temperature, and leave it for a few days to let the worms settle in. You may want to leave the container top off and shine some light to encourage the worms to burrow in. When the material at the bottom is dark and rich in color, your compost is ready to use.

Some tips
– Regular mixing or turning of the compost will help maintain the compost.
– The secret to a healthy compost pile is to maintain a balanced ratio of carbon and nitrogen. If the worm farm starts to smell bad, mix in high carbon bedding materials to balance the nitrogen.
– If your worm farm is too wet, add dry bedding materials to soak up excess moisture. If it’s compacted, use the fork to break it up.
– For how to use the worm farm, please contact Daniel (WeChat ID: dadan8) for tips. He is also offering online courses on growing indoor vegetable gardens and how to start a food-waste-to-compost production line.

This article first appeared in the beijingkids March 2019 Sustainability issue.
Photos: Uni You

Homemade snow globes are great decorations at any time of the year, while the miniature wintry scene makes it an especially great gift for Christmas, for both the young and the young at heart.

Our 6-year-old maker, Kim Ju Ah, along with her art teacher, Veronika Kotova from Art+798, gave an impressive demonstration of how to make your own snow globe, using Kim’s favorite Hello Kitty figurine as a centerpiece.

All the materials are easy to get, and almost any jar works for this project, so wash out your empty marmalade or olive jars, and follow our step-by-step instructions below, plus your own imagination, to create a winter wonderland in your jar! Complete with a special date or message, these snow globes make a lovely gift for any recipient.

What You’ll Need

– Glass jars
– Ceramic or plastic figurines (metal ones are prone to rust in the water)
– Distilled water
– Liquid glycerin (available at drugstores)
– Glitter (shimmering powder)
– Glue gun (or you can use clear-drying epoxy as an alternative)
– Ornament tips (available at many floral-supply stores)
– Oil-based enamel paint

Instructions

– Paint the jar lids in seasonal colors (white for Christmas for example). Use glue gun to glue the inside of the lid, wait for the glue to dry before putting the figurine in the center.
– Add distilled water to the jar, filling it almost to the top. Add shimmering powder of whatever color and amount you’d like, and a few drops of glycerin according to the jar size. Use a stick to stir and make the glitter float instead of sticking to the bottom. Add ornament tips to the figurine for more decoration.
– Screw on the lid tightly (be careful not to dislocate the figurine). Turn the jar over and give a little shake, and enjoy the inside snow!

This article first appeared in the beijingkids December 2018 Charity and Goodwill issue.
Photos: Uni You 

Thanksgiving is a day to share with our loved ones while being grateful for all the blessings in our lives. Celebrating it with a DIY craft not only adds an extra element to your seasonal decorations but also gives a personal touch when you welcome your guests.

Tiger Xu, a Year 2 student from House of Knowledge, along with his teacher Sarah Green, made a turkey treat box. It was great fun for both of them, and the craft just got them more excited about the upcoming festival.

Follow the instructions below to make this cute and easy-to-make craft, so you can spend some precious fun time with your children, and surprise your Thanksgiving visitors!

What You’ll Need

– Pencils
– Scissors (straight and scallop-edged)
– Four circular items of different sizes
– Cardstock, in any colors you like
– Plastic wiggly eyes
– A cup for treats
– Adhesives (double-sided sticky tape and a glue stick)
– Any kind of sweets which fit the treat cup

Instructions

Step 1. Place the circular objects on the cardstock and draw around them. Cut out the resulting circles. Use the scallop-edged scissors to give all but the smallest a wavy edge, or scallop them by hand. Draw concentric circles using the cup and the next largest object, and cut out to make a ring of the card.

Step 2. Cut out two long rectangles, and snip out a triangle from one end of each to make the feet. Also, cut a small triangle for the beak, using the same color card as the feet.

Step 3. Stick the three scalloped circles one on top of the other, with the bottom edges aligned. Then add the small circle for a head.

Step 4. Fill the treat cup with sweets and stick the cup onto the circles. Stick the ring of card around it.

Step 5. Add the wiggly eyes, the beak, and the feet in order to finish off the turkey, and then you’re ready to treat your young guests!

This article appeared in the beijingkids November 2018 Beijing Makers issue
Photos: Uni You