Yvonne writes: I have to admit… I love crafts! I enjoy crocheting, knitting, and teddy bear making, just to name a few of my favorite activities. My daughter is a bit young to teach how to do those crafts, so I like to try to find other fun challenges for her to complete. Putting together crafts uses a child’s hands and mind, and stimulates his or her imagination in fun and creative ways.
Yesterday, my daughter and I made a fun helicopter out of a used soda pop bottle… it was a lot of fun to make, and now that it is finished, there is a great deal of interesting, imaginative play that she can participate in with her new toy.
Here’s how you and your students or children can create your own soda pop bottle helicopter:
What you will need
Here are the “ingredients” that you will need to make your helicopter:
- A clean soda pop bottle with the bottom cut off
- A cork, from a wine bottle or similar
- An empty paper towel roll or two empty toilet paper rolls
- Several pieces of colored construction paper
- Paint
- Glue or paste
Instructions
Here is how to put together your craft:
- Cut the bottom off of the soda pop bottle; see the image to figure out approximately how much of the bottom of the bottle you should cut off. Parents and teachers should do this step because it’s kind of difficult to achieve without the right kind of scissors. This will serve as the body of the helicopter.
- If you’re using an empty paper towel roll, cut it into two equal-sized pieces. If you’re using two toilet paper rolls, do not cut them. These pieces will serve as the landing “feet” of your vehicle.
- Have your child paint the soda pop bottle and the paper towel roll pieces or toilet paper rolls any colors they would like.
- After the paint on the craft dries, your child can then glue the paper towel roll pieces or toilet paper rolls to the bottom of the soda pop bottle.
- Cut out windows for the helicopter out of construction paper and glue them onto the soda pop bottle.
- Glue the cork onto the top of the soda water bottle. This will serve as the focal point for the helicopter’s blades.
- Cut out propellers from construction paper and glue them on top of the cork. Popsicle sticks will also work as helicopter propellers.
- Fly your helicopter around the room like a crazy person!
And there you have it, a fun and easy craft to do on a cold or rainy afternoon. If you need help visualizing how your helicopter should look, check out the images of my daughter and her own finished craft – just click to enlarge. Happy flying!
