Homemade PVC Pipe Canons - Tutorial

My six year old wanted a pirate party for his birthday this year, and I decided I wanted to make canons so they could have a real pirate “battle”. I looked around online and couldn’t find a tutorial for anything that was really functional. I found a lot of tutorials for how to make something look like a canon, but nothing that would actually shoot anything.

After scouring the web, I decided to simply make my own. With the help of my lovely sister, Christy (who has an awesome blog over at My Homemaking Experiment), and my physics minor (I knew going to college would come in handy some day!) we figured out the mechanics of the canon we wanted to make, as well as the materials we needed.

With our planning completed I took off to Lowe’s to pick up the PVC pipe. We ended up making five canons, so I bought a 5’ section of 2” PVC pipe and had the guy at Lowe’s cut it into 12” sections for me. Then I bought 1” PVC couplers to use for the inside of the canon (to eject the canon balls from the canon).


Material List: (this is for one canon)

• 1 ft long 2” PVC pipe
• 1 1” PVC coupler
• 2 7” x 1/8” 1/4 lb rubber bands (or any other long, strong rubber band)
• 2 screw in eyelets
• 1 6” piece of wood – dowel, tongue depressor, etc
• string

Tool List:

• drill (you’ll need a bit the size of your eyelets, and another bigger bit for the holes for the rubberband and string)
• pliers
• scissors
• hacksaw (if you are using a dowel)

Instructions:
Step One
Drill holes with your small bit (the one the size of your eyelets) approximately 1 1/2” from one end of your PVC pipe tube. The holes should be directly on opposite sides of the tube.

Step Two
Screw the eyelets into the holes.


Step Three
Using your larger drill bit, drill four(4) holes in the 1” coupler piece. The holes should be toward the ends of the coupler, and the holes on each end should be directly opposite each other on either side of the coupler.

Step Four
String the rubber bands through the holes on one side of the coupler. To “tie” the rubber bands, simply loop them through the hole, then put one end of the rubber band through itself.

Step Five
Prepare your piece of wood. If you are using a piece of dowel, you will probably need to use a saw to cut notches in the wood at either end of the dowel. If you are using tongue depressors (what we used) then you can probably just cut the notch with scissors. We ended up also hot gluing the string to the sticks, which was kind of a pain, and they keep coming apart. I will be replacing them with dowels.

Step Six
Thread the piece of string through the end of the coupler opposite the rubber bands.

Step Seven
Tie the ends of the string to the ends of the dowel/stick. Your “inside piece” of the canon should look like the photo on the right below.

Step Eight
Use the pliers to open the eyelets slightly. Thread the loose ends of the rubber bands through the eyelets on each side of your PVC tube. Using your pliers, close the eyelets so the rubber bands don’t fall off.

Step Nine
Drop the stick attached to the string through the PVC tube, then follow it with the coupler piece, and then the rubber bands. Follow the photos below:

Then pull the stick out the bottom as shown below. Position the stick perpendicular to the PVC tube.


That’s it! You now have made a PVC pipe canon!

We used plastic golf balls (which I eventually spray painted black) as the canon balls. I also spray painted the canons black as well.

Here is a video demonstrating our finished canon! The kids had a blast with them, and they were pretty cheap to make. Probably a few bucks per canon.

And here is the video of what we actually used the canons for. (the video is double time, they weren't actually shooting the canons that fast - ha!)

If you make this canon, I’d love to see photos or videos of how it worked for you! If you have questions, feel free to ask.

Homemade Happy Meal

My five year old has been bugging me to make homemade kids’ meals for the past week or so. I think it’s because we never buy kids’ meals at the fast food joints – it’s much cheaper for me to just get the 4 piece nuggets and value fry – not to mention I don’t have to worry about them getting some crappy cheap toy. Today I finally had the time to get everything prepared, so we had chicken nugget kids’ meals!

We invited some friends over for lunch after kindergarten and got to work.

I printed out templates for the french fry boxes from this website. The template had two boxes on each page, which was perfect because we did one for french fries, and one for chicken nuggets. I pulled out the crayons and stickers and let the kids decorate their boxes (before they were folded and taped – I figured it would be easier that way).

For the bags we used brown lunch bags and the kids stickered and colored those as well. Decorating their paper goods may have been their favorite part.

While the kids were decorating, I got busy making lunch. I cut a bunch of Russet potatoes into shoestring fries (by hand – you could also use a fancy kitchen gadget). I rinsed them in hot water and dried them off before putting them in the oven. Supposedly that makes them crispier, but you probably have to not use so much oil. Oops.

Chicken nuggets are easy – I cut some chicken breasts into bite sized cube, doused them in some scrambled eggs, and tossed them in a baggie full of flour and seasoned salt. Shake and bake? Then I fried them in a little oil in a frying pan on the stove. you could use a deep fryer, or you could even do them baked styled in the oven (how I usually do them, but since I was doing fries too I figured the stove would be easier).

Once the food was cooked, we loaded up the fry boxes and the bags, I served up some ketchup, we doled out juice boxes, and the kids felt like they were at their favorite fast food joint!

I meant to let the kids pick out some toys or crayons or something for their kids meals. Or books, like Chik-fil-A. Next time.

This may become a tradition (once a month?) because it really was a lot of fun, and it made lunch time that much more enjoyable!

What’s your favorite lunch time tradition?

Play Food

V has been feeding me play "food" and bringing it to me in a cardboard "magic box".




This is ice cream. Mint maybe? Or cotton candy?




Donuts and "square apples" - I am unfamiliar with that type of apple. Now Braeburn, Gala, Fuji - I know those. But square apples are completely new to me.

Pretend play is really important for kids. It is linked to the development of a lot of cognitive skills in children, including self-regulation (which any mother of a tantrum-throwing two-year-old would agree is a very important skill).

A number of researchers have focused on the relationship of play to specific cognitive strategies such as self-regulation, narrative recall, divergent problem solving, and rule understanding. Following Vygotsky (1978), who theorized that young children use private speech in play to regulate their behavior, eventually transforming this private speech into self-regulation through internal thought, Krafft and Berk (1998) compared the private speech of preschool children in Montessori and traditional play-oriented programs and found that more private speech occurred in the play-oriented setting, especially during pretend play with fantasy characters

How often do your kids engage in pretend play? Do you ever join in?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Scrubbits

Meet a Scrubbit!

This week in our co-op preschool we have been learning about personal hygiene. If you read my post on our Egg Teeth yesterday, you know that Tuesday we learned about brushing our teeth and washing our bodies (we even pantomimed taking a shower – it was fabulous – kids are awesome actors!)

Well, that left washing hands, taking care of our fingernails, and keeping our minds clean for today. For a craft, we made little Scrubbit creatures for the kids to put on their bathroom counters to remind them to “scrub it!”

Our co-op preschool is basically the 3 and 4 year old Sunday School class from our congregation, so since we are all Latter-Day Saints (LDS, or more commonly, Mormon), we do a lot of talking about gospel principles. Since the kids sang “The Lord Gave Me a Temple” in the Primary program last week, I thought it would be the perfect song for our theme this week. I was surprised at how well the kids remembered all the words! They never cease to amaze me, this little kids.

Want to make your own Scrubbit? First, go download Janeen Brady’s “Cleanliness” CD and book  - you won’t regret it. In fact, get all of her music (especially the “Standin’ Tall” series) it is the best, and I plan to get my kids very familiar with her music. Just kidding, you don’t have to do that first.

How to make a “Scrubbit”

Materials: You will need to grab some cheap sponges (I got six for about $2.50 at the big box store), some pipe cleaners, some pom poms, and of course, googly eyes. Also, you’ll need some glue – I used hot glue because it’s fast and easy (although I had to make sure none of the little munchkins got too close – they were pretty good about it).

Now turn on the music and have fun making these Scrubbits as the Scrubbits from the music teach your kids about hygiene!

Direction: Use something to poke holes in the sides and the bottom of the sponge – I used sharp, narrow scissors, but a chopstick, a pencil, really anything with a point would work fine. Cut the pipe cleaners into four pieces, even, or make the arms a little shorter, it doesn’t really matter. I let the kids shove the pipe cleaners in the sponge, but later I ended up hot gluing almost all of the arms and legs on, so you can decide which you want to do. Then glue on the eyes (some of the kids wanted pom poms under their googly eyes – I did what they wanted, it’s their Scrubbit, after all). After that I just let them loose with the markers. They had a blast drawing mustaches, ears, armpit hair (that one was my kid), and other fun accessories (including “boo boos”). I also glued pom poms on for feet, but you could use something else, or just leave the pipe cleaners.

What hygiene crafts have you done with your kids? Do they have a fun little friend that helps them “scrub it” when they are washing their hands, or brushing their teeth? Are you going make this craft? If you do, please share you photos!

Disclaimer: I was not compensated in any way (and will not be compensated in any way) for mentioning Janeen Brady’s products in this post – I was raised on them and I believe in their effect on kids, and I use them with my own kids. I mentioned her products because I love them, and I think you will, too!

Wednesday Wanderings – LDS Church History Museum

Remember to link to your Wednesday Wanderings post! It doesn’t have to be something that occurred on a Wednesday, nor do you have to write about it on a Wednesday – just link up to a post about somewhere you went!

Several months ago, we went to the LDS Church History Museum in Salt Lake City, UT with some friends. We spent our time in the children’s exhibit - A Book of Mormon Fiesta: A Latin–American Celebration – where we learned about all sorts of faithful Latter Day Saints from Latin America.

The exhibit was a lot like a children’s museum, but with a gospel focus. The kids loved it, and so did I!

This dump truck was a big hit. The kids loved putting anything and everything they could find (mostly puppets from the “rainforest” area) in the back. The story about the dump truck was fun – there was a man who would drive his dump truck to church because they lived so far away from the chapel, and they would often pick up people on their way to church and give them a ride in the back of the truck! How fun would that be to ride to church in a dump truck!? Okay, probably not as much fun as riding in my comfy car – but still, I bet the kids had a blast!

And of course, we better plant a garden! They had carrots that were shaped like a pyramid, round onions, and the potatoes were a rectangular block, so the kids would “plant” them into the shape that matched! Educational and fun! Not to mention great for learning about gardens. I think he ended up feeding some of the carrots to this lizard puppet.

And then Baby and I had to dress up and dance! They had little videos that would teach you some basic steps to a Latin dance, complete with costumes for dress up! Baby didn’t really like having the dress on, but at least I got moving!

The museum was a lot of fun, and on our way out, we passed by a life-size replica of the angel Moroni statue that graces the top of every spire of the LDS temples. Vince knew exactly what it was (we’re blessed to live very close to several temples, and pass them frequently).

Ratings:

Value –   Can you say “For freeeeeeeee!” (if you don’t get it, go watch Adam Sandler’s Bedtime Stories – seriously, it’s a cute movie – I have no idea how they got Adam Sandler to do it, but it was fun and clean!) You may have to pay for parking if you don’t want to walk super far (it’s in downtown Salt Lake City), but hey, $2 isn’t bad.

Location –   Four stars because a I have a love-hate relationship with downtown areas. Love – the culture, the sites, the fun, the buildings, the actions. Hate – parking, keeping my kids from darting into busy roads, pollution, etc. But there is definitely more love than hate.

Fun Factor – So much fun! And we got to talk about the gospel, the Book of Mormon, and the examples of some really great Saints!

Now it’s your turn!

<a href="http://wherelearninghappens.blogspot.com/search/label/Wednesday%20Wanderings" target="_blank" title="Wednesday Wanderings"> <img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XN9cFvIDM48/TNLiY9vRmeI/AAAAAAAARLk/J7tJ80ASC9E/s800/wedwandslayers.jpg" alt="Wednesday Wanderings" /></a>

Toys For Life

I just bought this IKEA toy at a thrift store for $2.50. Even at over 50% savings, that’s probably more than I should have paid for it – but every time we go to IKEA, it’s the one toy I have to pry my kids away from. I’ve been meaning to grab one, so I was thrilled when I found it at the thrift store.

I love non-plastic, whimsical looking toys for my kids. And I love toys that help their physical and mental development. These hammer toys are so simple, but they can (and do) actually get a lot out of them. Not to mention that they could hammer for hours on end, and it’s not nearly as annoying as them banging pots and pans (another favorite pastime).

I should write a post soon about toys, but for now, I’m just going to link up to a few of my favorite toy-related posts:

A Parent’s Tip Sheet for Owning Fewer Toys – by Josh Becker from becoming minimalist

Seeking Simplicity: Child’s Play is a Job Well Done – from Kitchen Stewardship

Classic Toys – by Tsh at SimpleMom

Why Fewer Toys Will Benefit Your Kids – by Josh Becker from becoming minimalist

Era Uma Vez

We’ve been getting quite a bit of snow lately, and a while ago, while Baby E napped, Mr E took Little E out to build a snowman. When I went out, this is what I found! A Mr E sized snowman!

Little E loves building snowmen, and playing in the snow in general. Later I found out that he was disappointed in the big snowman, though. We were at the grocery store and Little E saw the bulk carrots in the produce aisle and wanted to buy one so we could make “a E-sized snowman.” Because he couldn’t reach the face of the big snowman he had made with Mr E. He wanted to make a snowman that he could reach so he could put the carrot in on his own. Cute kid.

A few weeks ago, Little E wanted to build a snowman, but there was no snow outside. Then he asked for a big carrot, which we also didn’t have. Then I told him I could make him a carrot. So I pulled out the construction paper and made carrot noses for the babies. It took a little convincing for them to let me tape them on, but after they figured out that it wouldn’t hurt and they would look like snowmen, they consented.

Then we sang this song:

http://judahhimango.com/FlashAudioPlayer/player.swf

Era uma vez um homem de neve (Once upon a time there was a snowman)
Um homem de neve alto assim (A snowman tall like this)
O sol derreteu o homem de neve (The sun melted the snowman)
Até ficar bem baixinho assim. (Until he was small like this)

 

You do the actions and stand up really tall, and then crouch down on the ground as the snowman melts.

Here are the words in English:
Once there was a snowman, snowman, snowman,
Once there was a snowman, tall, tall, tall!
In the sun he melted, melted, melted,
In the sun he melted, small, small, small.

There is something magical about snowmen and playing in the snow. Maybe because it only lasts such a short time (unless you have below freezing temperatures for a week or more... then it sticks around for a little longer). Maybe because it brings out the kid in us. Either way, we love the snow, and Little E can’t get enough of his snowmen!