Do you have a little one that loves mermaids? We have lots of fun creating our mermaid tails .My little one really enjoys to dress up and pretend. This was a great activity to create props for her role play, by encouraging her to be creative with the materials and experiment with the paint while discussing what she was using and why she had chosen it.
So let’s get to it to create your mermaid tails you will need the following resources.
- Cardboard
- Paint
- Scissors
- Collage materials
- Glue
- Ribbon
- Glitter or sequences
- Sponges
- Marker pen
- Hole puncher
Firstly draw out the mermaid tail on to the cardboard. Depending on the age of your child they might be able to do this independently. Then cut round it to create your mermaid tail.
Create a clear space where your child can freely get messy. Provide them with the paints. Encourage them to use the sponges to dip into the paint then dab on to their tail. By using the sponges you will create a textured pattern on your tail that will look like scales. If your child is older they might wait for paint to dry then draw on scales with a marker pen. Once the tail is completely painted set aside and allows too dry for half an hour. A great time to stop for a break while it dries.
Once you feel it is dry it’s time to decorate! This was her favourite part. I gave her lots of glitter and a variety of sequences. She used the glue to spread across her tail. Then began placing her chosen treasure as she likes to call it on to her tail. This was a great opportunity for us to discuss what she was doing what she had found and what the different colours were. Once they have completed decorating their tail you must leave it to dry over night as glue always take a little longer to dry.
Now it’s time to dress up.
Shake off all excess glitter and sequences be careful as little ones tend to overdo it will the glitter especially. Next it’s a job for the adults using the hole puncher create two holes on top of the tail. Thread through the ribbon. Creating long strings you will later use to fasten-on your little ones legs. I created a little bow to go at the front of the tail as I thought it looked quite cute.
We put on colourful tights and our swimming costume and had lots of fun pretending to be mermaids.
There you go it’s that simple hours of fun and a create way of using materials in the house to create props for your child’s role play. I hope you all have as much fun as we did creating your very own tails.
There are LOADS more Messy play and craft ideas over at our blog.
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