Making Magazine Picture Collages with Your Kids

Crash! What was that, you wonder? (but you're a little afraid to go and check...) The kids have only been awake for an hour, and they're already bored. Today, you're facing one of a parent's most annoying adversaries - the rainy day. You're a smart person, and that means that you realize that when those little munchkins can't find anything to do, every breakable object in your home is in serious peril. You need to act fast. You need...a great rainy day craft idea!

Lucky for you, I have just the project for this situation. Now, you may be thinking that the last thing you want to do is to pile everyone into the car and head to the craft store in search of supplies. No problem! I'm going to bet that you have everything you need for this craft already in your home. Here's our plan:

1. Gather all of the old magazines and catalogs that you have in your home. (Wow - you get to do a little cleaning out while you craft!) You'll also need some scissors, glue sticks (or school glue or tape), and paper. If you don't have construction paper or card stock, just use the inside of a cereal box or the back of something from your recycling bin.

2. Have your kids flip through all of the catalogs and magazines, and cut out pictures of things that they like. If your brood is of the younger variety, you'll probably need to do the cutting. Take this opportunity to talk to your kids. Ask them why they like the pictures that they select. When I do this project, my preschooler never ceases to amaze me with the pictures she likes and her reasons for picking them. I find that I'm always entertained along with (or sometimes more than) my kids.

2. Uncap those glue sticks and let your kids make collages. You can get really creative and cut a piece of cardboard into the shape of their first initial, and use that as a base. However, we usually just glue pictures to a regular sheet of paper (and sometimes the table, ourselves, the bottom of our shoes...).

3. When everything is dry, hang those masterpieces on the fridge where they belong.