Paper Plate Umbrella Craft

Materials:

• paper plate
• crayons or markers
• scissors
• circular punch (optional)
• flexible drinking straw
• tape
• stapler
• newspaper (optional)

Directions:

{Umbrella by Mia, Age 4}

1. Fold a paper plate in half and cut with scissors OR use a circular punch to make a scalloped border along the straight edge, leaving you with two identical pieces.
2. Color the back (non-eating) side of each half using crayons or markers.
3. Cut about 1 inch off of the bendy end of a flexible drinking straw. Save both pieces.
4. Tape the longer part of the straw inside of one half of the plate and then bend bottom part of the straw to form the umbrella's handle.
5. Tape the shorter part of the straw to the top part of the inside of the paper plate half.
6. Staple the two paper plate halves together to make the umbrella. (If you want more fullness, crumple a bit of newspaper and stuff it inside before stapling.)

Extension Ideas:

• Add raindrops cut from blue construction paper. (You can also buy a teardrop shaped hole punch at use that in place of scissors). Next, use a small hole punch to make a hole in each raindrop and attach them to the bottom of the umbrella by tying on various lengths of fishing line (or blue string or yarn).
• "It's raining cats and dogs!" Affix cat and dog stickers to construction paper, cut around them leaving about 1/8" to 1/4" border. Use a hole punch and fishing line to hang the stickers from the umbrella. If you don't have cat and dog stickers, you could cut out pictures from magazines and glue them to the construction paper.
• Use any left over parts of bendy straw as beads and make some jewelry.