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Make a homemade boat toy with your kids for a rainy day craft activity that teaches your children about the usefulness of recyclables. Reusing recyclable materials is always better than recycling them in bins, as the recycling centres use energy to process them into new material. Use these items to assemble a small toy boat that will actually float on water.
Lay a milk or juice carton on its side so that the glued-together tab at the top of the carton is vertical.
Cut along the edges of the top side of the carton with a utility knife to remove the panel and create the open top of the boat. This is the boat's basic shape. An adult should perform this step.
Wrap the boat, inside and out, with masking tape to make it paintable.
Cut a triangular sail from white paper and use clear tape to attach it to the dull end of a bamboo skewer like a sail. Allow the kids to decorate the sail with crayons.
Wrap a gelatin box in masking tape to cover the colourful branding and glue it flat inside the bottom of the back, against the flat end. Allow the glue to dry for 30 minutes.
Insert the pointed end of the bamboo skewer into the gelatin box, but not through the bottom of the boat.
Allow the kids to paint the entire boat with craft paints to decorate it. Let the paint dry before using the boat on water.
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