As August winds down, the months of summer fun for families from New Iberia to Morgan City slowly fade away. Most are making plans to start a new school year. As a homeschooling family, this is the time of year to plan fun lessons and activities that incorporate both learning and fun.
I decided to do that with our craft for this week on Good Day Acadiana. I've always loved lighthouses, and growing up in New Orleans, we often headed to the lakefront on Lake Ponchartrain for weekend fun and I loved the to see the lighthouse while we were there.
With August 7 being National Lighthouse Day, I thought crafting lighthouses from simple items around the house would be a great craft for the kids to do, and they can learn about the significance and history of lighthouses at the same time.
Alex Worstell and I had fun making these lighthouses on the show this week! Check out the post on the Macaroni KID New Iberia Facebook page to see what we did:
What l liked about this craft is that it brings fun to learning and kids can use their imagination to craft their own lighthouse scene. Using simple items from around your home, you can create this craft with your kids at home. Here's what you'll need:
Craft Your Own Lighthouse
My daughter Mia and I grabbed a few items from our craft box and got to thinking. The easiest way to create your lighthouse is using small paper or plastic disposable cups. You will also need the items below:
- Mod Podge
- Hot glue
- Paint and paintbrushes
- Packing peanuts, straws, or cotton swabs
- Small piece of cardboard
- Bottle cap or cork
- Construction or other decorative paper
- Other decorative items such as beans, noodles, small rocks or seashells, stickers, glitter, sequins, and/or beads
Your lighthouse will be made from three to four small plastic cups. Turn your cup upside down and then glue your packing peanuts to the inside of the cup placing one on each side. You can also use a piece of a straw or cotton swabs. Let them dry and cool off.
Next, cut out a section of cardboard for your base from an empty delivery box. This will be your island for your lighthouse to stand on. We used rocks and seashells on our island. We also painted an ocean scene, with a path to our lighthouse. This is where your child's imagination can run free!
 Image by Tracie Ysaguire |
I also glued together a stack of packing peanuts to create a wave on my island. It will slowly start to come together.
Now take your cups, three to four, and hot glue one cup (without any packing peanuts or straw sticks in it) upside down to your cardboard island. then, add some hot glue to the top of that cup and glue another cup on top of that. You may have to hold or press it in place. Then, repeat that process until your lighthouse is stacked.
It may look a little wonky right now, but you'll fix that! Take a piece of construction paper and cut out a few strips. Glue them around the pieces of cups where you can see the straws or packing peanuts sticking out. I liked using the packing peanuts over the straws since it allowed the lighthouse to sway a bit. You can watch a clip of one of our segments as Alex and I created her box in the studio:
Once all of your strips are in place, you can begin to add the final touches to your lighthouse. We used a piece of cork for the lookout tower and lights at the top. You can also use a bottle cap for this. We painted our lighthouse and added a few final touches like bricks, a door, and used some scraps from our wine cork for sand. My daughter used a few cotton balls and pom-pom balls to create a bush on her island and added a small bridge using a another scrap of the cardboard.
I also found some great information, including the history, location, and details of the lighthouses we have in Louisiana from the National Park Service website. Did you know we have several lighthouses in our state? They are:
Chandeleur Island Light (1896)
- New Canal Light (1901)
Pass a l'Outre Light (1855)
Pass Manchac Light (1857)
Point Au Fer Reef Light (1916)
Port Pontchartrain Light (1855)
Sabine Pass Light (1856)
Ship Shoal Light (1859)
South Pass Range Lights (Rear: 1881, Front: 1947)
Southwest Pass Entrance Light (1962)
Southwest Reef Light (1858)
Tchefuncte River Range Rear Light (1868)
West Rigolets Light (1855)
You can also find out more information on other lighthouses around the country on Lighthouse Friends. You can select the state from the drop down options and choose what type of information you are searching for including tours, maps, trivia and history information, and much more!
Join us next time on Good Day Acadiana on Wednesday, August 21, 2024, from 7:00 am to 9:00 am for more fun, inexpensive kid's crafts you can make at home.
You can also catch the live stream of News 15 Today online. Or, catch up on our past crafting segments with Alex Worstell on News 15 KADN on their YouTube Channel.
Happy Crafting Acadiana! |
