Milk Jug Moments!

It’s summer time and that means outside play, but what do you do with all the cool things you find outside? How do you carry them around when you’re little and have more to find? Make milk jug scoops that you can put all your rocks, leaves, gardening tools, and other smaller exploration finds! This is a fun, but very messy craft you can do with the kids and the best part is it doesn’t cost much and you will find yourself with a repeat craft when the ones in use get too beat up or you have a lot of milk jugs lying around. Again, this is a very messy craft, so skip it if you're not good with messy. My philosophy is that sometimes life is messy so if you learn to clean it up when it gets messy while you're young it won't be as big of a deal! That and some of the cutest pictures are of a kid with a big smile of pride in something they created and a big mess to show of all the hard work!

You’ll need:

Decoupage
Foam brushes
Milk jugs (gallons are best)
Construction paper, old magazine cut outs, or news paper cut outs (whatever you have in the house)
Scissors
Tupperware or something to hold the decoupage for the kids

First, clean out the milk jugs and let them dry. Once dry with scissors or a knife, carefully, cut the top off of the milk jug leaving the handle. The opening can be as big or small as you want it as long as the handle is still attached. Next, disinfect it as milk can coat the inside and spoil. Running it through the dishwasher or using bleach/water is a great way to disinfect. Allow the milk jug to dry.

Have the kids put on paint clothes or a smock of some sort, I use old shirts. Have the kids cut out the shapes or clippings from the newspaper/magazine. Next, show them how too lightly coat the cut out press it on the milk jug then coat the outside of the cut out on the milk jug. Allow them to decorate as they see fit, but have them leave the inside uncovered since these will be outside toys and whatever goes inside will just get torn up from use. Once, they are done allow the decoupage to dry following the instructions on the bottle, give it one or two more coats for extra coverage.

Have the kids wipe off the table, put the unused scraps in a bag for future use with other crafts, and wash their hands. Sometimes, clean up is the most important part of a project. Once the decoupage is dry your outside portables are ready to go! If you want to add to the project, have the kids decorate with cut out pictures of themselves or paint over the now dry shapes and magazine cut outs, be creative, maybe what is needed is some glue on jewels or string! Have fun and watch the little minds work as they construct these jugs!

This assignment is a great recycling project opening conversations for creation from already made items to colors. Don’t forget to write down anything said in the Kids Journal!!! Don’t be afraid to do this project again and again, maybe even use it inside to hold some smaller toys that don’t have containers, a pink one with lace would be a great Barbie accessory holder or a red one covered with tires that have broken off toys could be a good hot wheels holder! In closing, to quote the cartoon movie Robots, “See a need, fill a need!” When you yourself needing something in your house before you hop online or in the car to buy something, look around and see if you can find a way to fill the need yourself! You will be surprised how much you can solve yourself just by looking around or in the recycle pile or junk drawer. The best part about solving your own needs is getting to create the solution along the way!

Abby