He has always loved car crafts, and Lightning McQueen is his absolute favorite movie. 

This Disney Cars Craft is the perfect mix of the two.  

Like so many boys, my son loves cars.  Actually, he used to be pretty obsessed with them, especially the ones from the Disney movie.  That’s why we’ve done so many car and vehicle activities over the years.

This car craft for kids that love the movie was a huge hit with him.  I know your kids will love it, too.  

And, if your family loves snuggling up with a few classic movies, check out these Lesson Plans for Disney Movies. 

Disney Cars Craft

This craft for the Cars movie would be fun to do at a party or just with your own fan.

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Materials Needed:

• Cardboard Toilet Paper Roll
• Acrylic Paint
• Construction Paper
• Permanent Markers
• Scissors
• Glue

Start by cutting a rectangle out of the top of the cardboard tube, leaving 1/4 inch on one of the short sides and folding it up.  This will become the car’s windshield where the eyes will be.

Then have your child paint the cardboard tube the color desired.  My son loves Lightning McQueen and couldn’t wait to craft his own, so the red paint started going on pretty quickly.

Let the paint dry completely.  While you’re waiting you might want to try some of these fun learning activities using toy cars.

Once your cardboard tube cars are dry, its time to add wheels.

Cut 4 black circles from construction paper.  We traced around a small roll of tape to make our circles.  

Then cut out 4 smaller white circles and glue them in the centers of the black circles.  These will be the car’s wheels.

Once the paint is dry, glue the 4 wheels in place.

Cut a small rectangle from white paper.  Cut a curved “V” shape at the top to form the eyes.  Then use marker to color the pupils and glue the eyes into place.

We added a small yellow construction paper lightning bolt on each side of our red car. 

Then we used an orange marker to write 95 on the lightning bolt to complete our Lighting McQueen craft. 

We also painted a few other cardboard rolls to create some more favorite characters.

A pair of buck teeth cut from white paper and a brown pipe cleaner as a tow hook created Mater, our favorite tow truck.

And of course we made one yellow, just like the newest race car. 

This simple inspired by Disney Cars Craft was one of my son’s favorites.  I hope your child loves it, too!

If you liked this craft, you’ll also like:

• Craft Stick Mater  by Glued to My Crafts
• Tipped Tractor Cupcakes (and tractor cake) 
• 25 Recycled Crafts for Kids

Originally published July 15, 2017.

The post Simple Cars Craft Inspired by the Movie first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

We had so much building our own version with this rubber band car STEM activity.    

This activity uses recyclables and materials that are easy to find.  It is sure to become one of your favorite STEM activities for kids.  

This rubber band STEM is perfect for learning about potential energy.   

Kids will also enjoy learning about potential energy by making this homemade rubber band gun or a craft stick catapult. 

Rubber Band Car STEM Activity 

Affiliate links have been used below.  See my full disclosure for more details. 

Materials Needed:

• Empty Paper Towel Tube
• 4 Unwanted CDs
• Two 6-Inch Craft Dowel Rods (or a wood skewer cut in half)
• Hole Puncher
• Paper Clip
• Variety of Rubber Bands
• Masking Tape
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Colorful Duct Tape, Markers, Stickers (optional)

 You can find this project and over 50 more fun engineering activities in my new book,  Awesome Engineering Activities for Kids.  

How to Make a Rubber Band Car 

Start by using your ruler and pencil to draw a straight line from one end of the paper towel tube to the opposite end.  This will help make your wheels straight and parallel with each other.

Slide your hole puncher through one end of the paper towel tube as far as it will go and punch a hole on  the line you drew.  Then do this on the opposite side of the cardboard tube.  

Use your ruler and pencil to draw another straight line on the opposite side of your tube and once again use the hole puncher to punch holes at each end of the tube.

Once the holes are made, slide your dowel rods through the holes. 

Check and make sure the dowel rods are parallel with one another.  Your car won’t work if  one axle sticks up while the other is resting on the floor.   

If necessary, you can rotate the tube and make new holes.  

Decorate your race car using colorful duct tape, markers, or stickers.  Just be sure you don’t cover up the holes the axles go through! 

Once your decorating is finished, insert your dowel rods back through the holes.  

You will be using old CDs as your rubber band car’s wheels.  To keep the CDs from slipping off the dowel rod, wrap masking tape around both ends of the dowel rods about one inch from the ends. You will need 2-3 feet of tape for each one, depending on how tightly and smoothly you wrap the tape.  

When you are finished push the CD over the tape.   It should be snug.   If it is wobbly, remove the CD and wrap a bit more tape around the dowel rod and try again.

Now it’s time to make your “engine.” 

Make a chain with 5 rubber bands. Try to use all the same size rubber bands. (We used rubber bands that were approximately 2 inches long.)

Attach a paper clip to the end of the chain.

Carefully wrap the paper clip end of your rubber band chain around the back axle of your car, inside the cardboard tube.  Thread the paper clip through the last rubber band of the chain and pull, making a loop to secure the chain around your axle.

You may need to add a piece of tape to help hold the rubber band tight against the axle.

Now drop the paper clip end back through the tube so the rubber band chain is hanging inside the tube.

If the chain hangs outside the cardboard tube more than an inch, you will need to remove one of the rubber bands and then reattach the paper clip.

Secure the paper clip to the cardboard tube, making sure no rubber bands are rubbing the front axle.

To wind the car’s engine, hold onto your back axle (the one the rubber band chain is connected to) and rotate the axle to wind the rubber bands around it. (If they don’t wind around the axle, try turning it the opposite way.)    We used a similar method in our rubber band boat. 

While still holding the axle, set your car on a flat surface. 

Let go and watch it zoom forward! 

This project may take some tinkering to make it work properly.  That’s part of engineering:  seeing what works and what doesn’t and then making necessary changes. 

If your wheels are wobbly, the car won’t go as far.   Try wrapping more tape around the axles to make the wheels steadier.

If the wheels turn but your car doesn’t move, there may not be enough friction between the wheels and the ground.  Try the car on a different surface.

Extension Activities for this STEM Activity

• What happens if you change the size of the rubber bands you use?   Try using thicker rubber bands.  Or try using rubber bands that are shorter.  Does the size of the rubber bands affect how the car operates?
• What happens if you take off a rubber band or if you add one to the chain?
• Try this project with a friend or family member and race your cars. Whose car goes the farthest?  Can you figure out why?

Why the Rubber Band Car Works

When you twist the rubber band around the axle, you give it potential energy.  The more you twist it, the more potential energy it has.

When you let go the rubber band goes back to its original position, and the potential energy is turned into kinetic energy, causing the back axle to spin. When the axle turns, the wheels attached to it also move, and the car goes forward.  

If you like this Rubber Band Car STEM Activity, you’ll also like:

• How to Make a Coffee Filter Parachutte
• Egg Drop STEM
• Build a Solar Water Still 

The post Make a Rubber Band Race Car! first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

Kids of all ages love STEM activities.  They tend to be very hands-on, allowing kids to be creative and have fun, all while learning.

Even preschoolers can get in on the fun when it comes to STEM. 

Your child will have fun making their very own plastic egg submarine.

Affiliate links have been used below.  See my full disclosure here. 

 Plastic egg activities like this one are lots of fun.

Making these egg submarines with plastic Easter eggs was a huge hit with my preschooler.   

Not only did he have fun experimenting and playing with water, but it was a great activity for the letter “S” in our preschool vehicle activities for the alphabet.

This activity was inspired by this Sink the Easter Egg activity.

Plastic Egg Submarine

Materials Needed:

• Plastic Eggs
• Pom poms, beads, and other small items that fit in the eggs
• Coins
• Clear Tape (optional)
• Game Dice (1-2)

The object of this activity is to figure out how to make your plastic egg sink like a submarine.  (In the fall try our pumpkin sink or float activity.)

I had a collection of beads, pom-poms, pennies and quarters on hand to use to help sink our plastic egg submarines.

We used 4 eggs and rolled a game die to see how many of each object would go into each egg.

Then I asked the preschooler to guess whether or not the submarine would sink or float, and we set each egg in the water.  (If your eggs have holes in the ends, you will want to use a bit of clear tape to cover them.)

We soon discovered that the pom-pom egg floated at the very top of the water.

The one with a few beads was also at the top.

The submarines with pennies and quarters sank part way.

How to Make Plastic Easter Eggs Sink

We tried completely filling one egg with the pom-poms, one with beads, one with pennies, and one with quarters.

Before placing our submarines into the water this time, we put a few of each item (pom-pom, quarter, etc.) into the water.  The preschooler noticed that the pom-pom and some of the beads floated, while the coins sank right away.

We talked briefly about why that may be.

Then we tried our newly filled eggs.

The preschooler was very happy to see the penny and quarter-filled egg submarines sank to the bottom.

When he realized the bead and pom-pom ones were still not sinking, we talked about how the plastic eggs still had air in them, helping them float.

Then we tried filling those spaces with water — success!  The plastic egg subs all sank.  

The preschooler continued filling eggs, watching them sink or float while I prepared lunch.  He asked to continue playing after lunch, too.

This plastic egg submarine STEM activity is a simple sink and float science activity that your preschooler will love.  

You may also want to try some of these other preschool STEM activities.  

Other STEM activities your child will love:

• Design a Boat That Floats
• Build a Rubber Band Boat
• Cardboard Tube Marble Run
• DIY Geoboard 

Originally published April 22, 2014.

The post Plastic Egg Submarines first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

STEM challenges, which many now refer to as STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math), is so much fun they don’t even count it as schoolwork.

Recently we mixed my son’s love of vehicles of all kinds with their love of engineering activities for kids.  This rubber band boat STEM activity was a huge hit and we couldn’t wait to share it with you.

The kids had so much fun when we did the build a boat that floats challenge with our homeschool group, that I knew they’d love engineering these plastic bottle paddle boats.

Rubber Band Boat STEM Activity

Materials Needed:

• Strong Plastic Bottle with Lid Attached
• 2 Wood Skewers or Chop Sticks
• Colorful Duct Tape
• 2 Plastic Spoons
• Rubber Band

Start by helping your child tape the wood skewers to opposite sides of your plastic bottle.  You want to have 6 inches of skewer left sticking off from the bottom of the bottle.   Remember: the tips of the skewers are sharp.  You may want to cut them off before doing this activity with the kids.

Now is the perfect time to let your child get creative with decorating their boat.  Let them cover the rest of the bottle with colored duct tape if desired.  They could also add details with permanent markers.

To make the boat’s paddle, break the bowls off your 2 plastic spoons, leaving 1/2 inch of the spoon handles attached.  To make it easier to break off the bowl, you can use scissors to help score it.  Or you can cut them with a knife.

Use a thin piece of duct tape to attach your spoon pieces together so that one bowl faces up and the other down.

To attach your paddle, stretch the rubber band over the skewer ends at the bottom of the boat.   Then slide your spoon paddle into the rubber band.

Have your child test the paddle by twisting it backwards.  The rubber band should wrap around the paddle.  When they release it, the paddle should spin.

What will happen when the boat is put in water?

Fill your bathtub or a large plastic container with 4-5 inches of water.

Have your child twist up the paddle and set the boat in the water.

The boat should move forward.

If it goes backwards, twist the paddle the opposite direction of what they just did.

If your boat tips or flips over, you can put a little water in the bottle to help give it some weight.

Why does it work?  When you twist the paddle in the rubber band, you are using your kinetic energy to give the rubber band potential energy.  When you release the rubber band the potential energy changes to kinetic energy.

As the rubber band untwists, it turns the boat’s paddles.  The Paddles push against the water and cause the boat to move forward.  This is an example of Newton’s Third Law of Motion: every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

Extensions:

• Try twisting the rubber band as tight as you can.  How does that affect the boat’s actions?
• Try moving the rubber band and paddle closer to the boat’s body. Does it affect how the boat works?  What if you move it farther away?

We had lots of fun with this simple rubber band boat STEM activity.   I hope your child loves it, too.

You’ll also like:

• How to Make a Balloon-Powered Boat
• Bottle Rocket Boat STEM 
• Cardboard Tube Marble Run
• Craft Stick Catapult Peeps Game
• Make a Mechanical Hand with Straws
• How to Make Homemade Marbled Paper

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The post Build Your Own Rubber Band Boat STEAM Activity first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

It’s time to motor on to letter “M” in our vehicle alphabet series!  “M” Is for monster truck!

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of monster trucks?

They’re BIG!

That’s why I couldn’t resist making an over-sized activity sheet for our monster truck day.

Learning Activities with Trucks

I used a large sheet of brown packing paper we had from one of the packages that came in the mail.

At the top I wrote “Monster Truck.”  Then I added 2 preschool learning activities to it.

My preschooler had fun driving monster trucks on the letters at the top.

For one of the activities I drew some large circles and wrote numbers on each of them.

The preschooler counted out the correct number of monster trucks to get stuck in each of the “mud” circles.

For the second activity on the monster truck learning activities sheet I had written the colors: red, blue, and green.

The preschooler matched his monster trucks up to the correct colors on the paper.  

We practiced writing the letter “M” on our dry-erase board, and then my number-loving preschooler decided to count all of his monster trucks!

He and his big sister had fun lining them up and using our homemade number cards to count them.

It was good practice for them both, having to sort through the number cards and determine what the number 21 looked like verses a 23.  (He has quite a few monster trucks!)

Monster Truck Craft

Then it was time for a monster truck craft.

We hit the recycling bin and the kids had fun creating their own monster truck rally courses.

Cardboard tubes, secured to the kitchen floor with tape, made fun “trees” to roll over.

We had cardboard ramps, tunnels, and even a paper plate hoop with construction paper “flames” for the trucks to encounter. 

It was a fun monster truck STEM activity that would be perfect for kids of all ages.

We’ve been having fun with our preschool learning activities with vehicles.  These monster truck activities have been some of our favorites.

Get more kids learning activities like this delivered to your email by subscribing to our newsletter. 

• Painting with Trucks
• Learning Activities with Toy Cars
• Alphabet Activities for Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
• Measuring Volume: Hands-On Activity 

Originally posted January 6, 2014.  

The post “M” Is for Monster Truck first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

We gather together with colorful paper, scissors and glue, and let our imaginations go wild.

The kids make homemade valentines for for their parents, grandparents, and also for friends.

My son loved making these awesome Rocket Valentines.  They are fun to make and kids love that they really fly!

These simple straw rockets are perfect if you’re looking for Valentines for boys.  Not only are they missing the typical hearts and flowers, but being able to make them fly is super cool!

Girls will love these homemade paper rockets, too.  

You may also want to check out these butterfly Valentines.

Rocket Valentine

Materials Needed:

• Construction Paper
• Drinking Straws (We used plastic, but paper straws will work with modification.)
• Orange Tissue Paper
• Glue Stick
• Scissors
• Clear Tape

Start by cutting out the paper pieces to make your rocket.

For each rocket, you will need:

• 1 large rectangle, 6 x 2 inches (15.24 x 5 cm)
• 1 large triangle with 3 inch sides (7.5 cm)
• 2 small triangles, approximately 1 inch high (2.5 cm)

If you plan to make several valentines, you may want to cut out all the pieces ahead of time.  This will make assembly go much more smoothly.

How to Make Flying Paper Rocket Valentine

Once you have your pieces ready, glue 2 small triangles to the bottom of the large rectangle so all their bases line up.  These will be the rocket’s wings.

Glue the large triangle to the top of the rectangle to form the rocket’s cone at top.  

Cut a small square on orange tissue paper and use scissors to snip one side to create a fringe.  

Use tape to secure the tissue paper to the back of the rocket, down at its base.  This will be the flames.

Cut a 2 inch (5 cm) piece of drinking straw. 

If using plastic drinking straws, we discovered using a slightly wider straw, like a fast food straw) helps make the rocket work better.   

If using paper straws, you can try creasing the straw you blow through in the next step.  Or use a wider straw.  

Tape your 2 inch piece of straw to the back of your rocket so that almost half of it sticks off the rocket, and is hidden by the tissue paper flames.  (See picture below.)

Use your finger to flatten the top portion of the straw, where it meets the rocket.  Use a piece of tape to keep the straw flat and sealed closed.  

Add a message to the front of your rocket to turn it into a Valentine.  

You may want to try one of these:

• Valentine, you’re out of this world!
• Blast off for Valentine’s Day!

If you’re only making one, you can easily hand write the message.  To make multiple valentines, you may want to type it up and print out copies to glue on.  

Once your homemade Valentine is finished, you will insert another straw into the piece of straw that is taped to the rocket.  (This is why using a wider straw earlier makes it a little easier.)

Now you have a rocket Valentine that will really fly.

Simply blow into the end of the second straw and watch the rocket fly off.   Blast off!

These rocket Valentines are so much fun for kids to make and receive.   They are definitely our favorite homemade Valentine for boys.

You may also like posts:

• Heart Crafts for Kids 
• Heart Gifts, Cards, and Treats Kids Can Make 
• 20 Adorable Homemade Valentines from The Educators’ Spin on It
• Melt the Frozen Heart Valentine’s Day Science 

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Originally posted: Feb 4, 2015

The post Straw Rocket Valentine That Really Flies first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.