These Cork Projects are from a book by Sabine Lohf called Things I Can Make.           (Chronicle Books, 1994.)

 

 

 

I’m assuming you’ll be amassing a collection of corks these days. Otherwise, this first project is off the table for you. Never mind, read on.

You make a slit in a cork into which you stick the cardboard animal you’ve created. For the competitive types, I’m thinking it would be fun to fan them in the sink or tub. The object would be to (a) get to the finish line first or (b) to capsize your opponent’s piece. For everyone else, just enjoy the sight of these whimsical animals bobbing on the water.

 

In my childhood home, we had an edition of this game called Hasch Mich! It’s such a simple idea, and it’s actually really fun. If you don’t have corks, you could turn dice or small blocks into “mice.” The trick is to attach the yarn or string tail very firmly because it will be yanked on. The “cat” has a small plastic bowl and tries to clap down on a “mouse” before it can be pulled away. The way we played it, you got or bean for every successful evasion, but you had to turn it back in if you pulled your mouse off the board for a “false alarm.” This leads to some wonderfully dramatic antics on the part of the “cat;” but it can also engender expressions of annoyance from the “mice.”

 

I think kids will have a lot of fun with this catapult and egg carton game. You’re bound to have a couple of plastic spoons at your house. The cork elves are super cute, but you could use dried beans or cotton balls instead. It could be fun to let kids experiment and see which launches work the best. Or you could assign points for the different cups of the egg cartoon to incorporate a little math.