need a craft idea

[Kim in Appalachia]

Hi everyone.  I've been absent on the boards due to being in school.  I am in school to become an Occupational therapy assistant.

We have a project this summer.  We need to come up with easy, inexpensive craft ideas for the Dr. Pepper museum's inclusive children's day.  The idea is that the crafts are doable/enjoyable/ and non-triggering to children on the spectrum.  

Crafts are not my thing.  I raised 5 kids, and we did do some craft activities while homeschooling, but mostly, i avoided them. 🙂

Some info on the museum: There is a room with a slanted floor (used to drain out liquids), there is an old 1950's (or so) green truck, there is a room with lots of big gears and a well (sealed, though a classmate came up with the perfect one for that).  There is also just a lot of space with information and no real purpose.  

So far, my ideas involve a lot of work. What I would love to do would be a felt project, that involved old trucks, horses, and train (there is a large wall mural that has all 3 one it).  But that project would take an enormous amount of work.  I would have to personally cut out all the the items, and I think that would be too much.  But maybe I could scale to down?? I don't know.  I also had an idea for balls and cones for the slanted floor, but that's not really a craft.  

Any help will be appreciated. 

 

[AmandaVT]

Hmm - I'm not super crafty but a museum near us had something similar-ish a couple of years ago. What about a build your own gears type of craft? 

[happi duck]

For trains, trucks, and horses kids could choose one to make using gemetric shapes.  The shapes could be precut from cardstock.  The base page could be cardstock printed with the museum logo and a sentence about trucks, trains, horses (I'm assuming that's about delivery?).

You'd need the printed cardstock, geometric shapes, gluesticks and samples.

Can kids use the slope?  Maybe provide a lump of homemade playdough and let kids form a ball or a cylinder to roll down the slope? Maybe try to come up with shapes that roll and shapes that don't? Maybe give kids a choice of scent to knead into their own piece?  Color would be too messy but would be fun too...maybe a light color?  For scent or color I'm thinking the kid makes a "bowl" leader puts a drop and makes sure the edges of the bowl cover the drop and then the kids squish it together. 

If a group project is possible a paper mural could be fun with preprinted parts to color in or preprinted frames for drawing in.