Wacky Wednesday: Dramatic Play

Wacky Wednesday

Dramatic Play

Today make some great masks, outfits and more so that you and your children can pretend they are in the movies,  in a broadway show, on a TV show, singer, in the jungle or more.  

Crafts:

• Black Cat Mask: White paper plate, pencil, scissors, black and pink paint, elastic cord

1. Draw a cat face with ears and nose on paper plate.  Hold the face up to your child and then mark where the holes for the eyes should be.  
2. Cut it out and paint it black.  Let dry. 
3. Paint the end of the nose pink. Let dry.
4. Cut white strips from the left over paper plate for the whiskers of the cat and glue them on under the nose section.  
5. Punch a hole on each side of the mask for elastic to go through.

• Check Box Camera: Cardboard toilet paper tube, paint, check box, construction paper, double-stick tape, foil or other shiny embellishment, markers, pencil, scissors, small, viewfinder-like embellishment, transparent tape, craft knife

1. Cover outside of the check box with construction paper and tape into place.
2. Cut TP roll to 3" long.
3. Paint the TP roll.  Let dry.
4. Using the tp tube as your guide, trace a circle in the center of the check box, then cut it out with a craft knife.
5. Slide the TP tube into the circle cut from the check box, making sure most of it is sticking out.
6. Cut a small square of foil and tape to the upper, right-hand corner of the check box to create the flash.  Note, if you have chosen to use another embellishment instead of the foil, tape this to the upper, right-hand corner of the check box.
7. Tape small viewfinder-like embellishment next to the flash.
8. Using markers or construction paper, create other camera buttons and features as desired.

• Bag Costumes: Large, brown grocery bags, scissors, string or yarn, markers, crayons, paint, buttons, scrap material, glue

For Costume Top:

1. Turn the bag upside down.  Cut a circular opening on top for the head.
2. Cut out openings on the narrow sides of the bag (hear the head) for arms.
3. Decorate the bag for the character portrayed.  Use markers, paint, crayons, buttons, and any other scrap materials available.

For a Costume Bottom (Skirt): 

1. Stand the large bag upright.
2. Cut the bottom of the bag completely off to put the feet through.
3. Cut the skirt to the desired length.
4. Decorate for the character portrayed.
5. Gather the top of the skirt at the waist with a string or yarn.

For a Costume Bottom (Pants):

1. Stand the large grocery bag upright.
2. Cut the bottom of the bag completely off to put feet through.
3. Cut about halfway up each of the wide sides of the bag to form the legs.  Tape along the inseam of the legs to close up.
4. Decorate for the character portrayed.
5. Put feet and legs in and carefully pull the pants up to the waist.
6. Use string or yarn, to gather the bag around the waist.

• Wear It On Your Head: Grocery bags, white bags, ruler, scissors, stapler, construction paper, pipe cleaners, pencil, glue, markers, hole puncher, yarn, cotton balls, ribbon, paints, plastic wrap, cardboard tubes, rubber band

To make a Spaceman Mask:

1. Put a grocery bag over your head.  Place your hand on the bag where it covers your face.  Remove the bag, leaving your hand on that spot.  Draw an oval-shaped window where your hand was, then cut out the window.  Glue a piece of plastic warp over the window.  Cut a hole in the bag below the window.  Decorate the mask with markers.
2. For antennae, curl the ends of a pipe cleaner around the pencil.  Fold it in half and staple it to the top of the mask.  For each "ear" snip slits around one end of a short cardboard tube.  Cut a matching hole in each side of the mask.  Insert the tubes, slit end first, then flatten the slits against the inside of the mask and glue them in place.  On each side of the mask, cut out a U-shaped piece at the bottom so the mask can fit comfortably on your children's shoulders.

To make a Colonial Wig:

1. Cut a grocery bag in the shape of a wig with a ponytail in the back.  
2. Spread glue over a section of the wig, and press cotton balls onto it.  Continue until the entire wig is covered.  Let it dry.
3. Tie a ribbon in a bow around the ponytail.

To make the Eagle Hat:

1. Find a white bag that will fit on your child's head.  Cut one of the narrow sides down the middle to the bottom of the bag, then cut straight across the bottom.  Fold in the resulting flaps and glue them down.  Fold the opposite corner inside.  Glue this down.
2. From construction paper, cut out two sides of a beak.  Glue them together along the top end.  Glue the beak to the hat, and glue the top of the hat closed.  Let it dry.
3. Use a marker to draw eyes.  Fold up the bottom of the bag for strength, then punch holes along this border.  Lace yarn ties through the holes.

To make a Lion: 

1. Turn a bag upside down.  Make a hole for your child's face, put a bag over their head.  Place your hand on the bag where it covers their face.  Remove the bag, leaving your hand there.  Draw an oval shape at that spot.  Cut out the oval.
2. Cut arm holes in the front of the bag.  
3. Cut out a circle the size of the oval from a piece of orange construction paper.  Then fringe around the circle like a lion's mane.  Glue onto bag.
4. Make a tail from rolled up paper and staple onto bag.  Add yarn strips onto the end of tail and hold on with rubber band for the fur on the tail.

• To Make a Cap:  Paper plate, paper bowl, paint, button, glue

1. Cut a brim from the center of a paper plate or from a section of the rim.  
2. Make tabs where the brim will attach to the cap part.
3. Fold tabs up and glue to the inside of an upside-down paper bowl.
4. Paint cap. Let dry. 
5. Glue a button to the top.

• Masks and More: Cardboard egg carton, masking tape, paint, pom poms, plastic foam egg cartons, markers, glitter, craft stick, construction paper, paper towel tube, plastic wrap, pipe cleaners

To Make Noses:

1. For each nose, cut a cup from a cardboard egg carton and trim it into the shape you want.  
2. Decorate the nose as described below.  To wear it, put a loop of masking tape in the craft nose so it sticks to your nose.  (If this doesn't work for you, punch holes in opposite sides of the nose and tie on a string that fits around your child's head.
3. To make a tiger, paint it orange. Let dry.  Add black strips down the sides.
4. To make a pig, paint it pink.  Let dry.  Add two black dots for the nose.
5. To make a mouse, paint the cup gray.  Let dry.  Add a pink pompom to the end.

To Make the Stick Mask:

1. Cut the lid from a plastic-foam egg carton.  
2. Draw a mask design, including eyeholes, onto the lid and cut it out.  
3. Color the mask with markers.  
4. Outline the edges with glue and sprinkle on glitter.  
5. Tape a craft stick to the back of the mask as a handle.

To Make a Tube Mask:

1. Remove the lid from a plastic-foam egg carton. Hold it to your child's face and place two fingers where their eyes are.  Remove it from their face, leaving your fingers there.
2. Draw eyeholes, then cut them out.
3. Decorate the lid with construction paper cutouts.
4. Cover a paper towel tube with paper and add cut paper decorations.  Glue it to the back of the mask for a handle.

To Make Groovy Glasses:

1. To make the frames, cut a two-cup section from a plastic-foam egg carton.
2. Cut the bottoms from the cups to make eyeholes.
3. Color a piece of plastic wrap with a marker and cut out two circles for lenses.
4. Glue the lenses to the inside of the frames.
5. Color the frames with a marker.
6. Poke holes at opposite sides of the frames.  Insert the end of a pipe cleaner into each hole and twist it around the frame to secure.
7. Try the glasses on, bending the pipe cleaners over your child's ears.  Trim the sticks to fit their head.

• Photo Bracelet or Watch: PomPoms(ten 10mm Green and fourteen 5mm Red,) Two blue 6mm pipe cleaners, blue fun foam, photo

1. Cut out a circle out of blue fun foam.
2. Glue green pompoms around the picture. 
3. Bend two pipe cleaners back and forth to form waves.
4. Glue one pipe cleaner on each side of the foam picture.
5. Glue red pom poms onto the pipe cleaners.
6. Twist the end of the pipe cleaners together. 

• You can buy other items for playing like play high heels, boas, microphones, sunglasses, swords, crowns, jewelry, purses, play phones, make up, hair accessories.  Dollar tree has lots of these items for only a $1. Or check out the $1 section at Target.  They have hats, gloves, and more there right now.
• Set up a vanity table with a mirror in their rooms with a big gold star on their door with their name on it for their own dressing room.  Put make up on the table, jewelry, hair accessories, and mustaches made from sticky foam paper.  Just cut out different shapes and sizes for your child to wear.
• You can put pieces of paper with different themes written on them in a bowl.  Then your child can pull out a theme and act it out.  Ask your child different themes they would love to do.
• Your child can use umbrellas(to pretend its raining), cardboard boxes(for cars, boats, trains, sink, washer and dryer, etc.), blankets (for superheros), apron, pots and pans, utensils (chef), broom (pretend they are cleaning ).  Stuffed animals for an audience.  Water bottles to pretend they are drinking.  
• You could even video tape your child while they are acting and pretend they are really in a movie.  Then you could watch it back with your child later, with popcorn.
• You could have a small notebook and write autographs on the front and ask your child for their autograph.
• If you have a tension bar you can put it in the doorway and hang a sheet over it and they can use it as a stage curtain.  Or thumb tack up the sheet.  
• If you your child has a doctors kit they can use that too.

Snacks:

Microphone Mania: 

1 package(18 1/4 ounces) white cake mix, plus ingredients to prepare mix

2 packages (12 cones each) colored flat-bottomed ice cream cones

1 can (16 ounces) white frosting

Food coloring

Candy-coated chocolate sprinkles and colored candy dots

24 (10-inch) licorice whips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare cake mix according to package directions.  Spoon about 1/4 cup batter into each cone.  Stand cones in 13x9-inch baking pan or a cookie sheets. (For easier handling, use pans with sides.)
2. Bake about 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.  Cool on wire racks.
3. Trim frosting desired colors, frost cones.  Decorate with sprinkles and candy dots.
4. Poke a hole in bottom of each cone with wooden skewer or tip of knife.  Insert licorice whip into hole for microphone cord.
5. Makes 24 microphones.

Wacky Wednesday: Dramatic Play