Yogurt Cup Crafts

Yogurt is a yummy snack—easily accessible for kids to grab from the refrigerator and dig into with a spoon. Did you know the small plastic yogurt containers come in handy for a variety of household uses, including lots of fun children's activities? Get your kids to think in creative ways, allowing them to take what may not appear to be average art material and turn it into something aesthetic and meaningful to them. So, go ahead and get out your craft supplies full of odds and ends, and together create a cool piece of art or innovative game. Parents of younger children can help with steps involving scissors. Try a few of these ideas for fun!

Barbershop Grass People

Here's a new twist on planting grass seed. Cut a leg from an old pair of pantyhose. Fill the toe of the stocking with potting soil mixed with grass seed. When it's the size of a small ball, tie a knot in the stocking, put it into a yogurt cup, and moisten it with water. Place your cup in a sunny window and invite the kids to watch for growth.

In the meantime, think of ways to decorate this soon-to-be hairy creature. Kids can cover the yogurt cup with paper and add facial features cut from construction paper or glue on wiggly eyes or faux gems. Older kids can even name their grassy creatures and write stories about them. Watch the grass grow, and when it becomes overgrown, supply your children with safety scissors to give their "grass heads" a haircut. Let the grass grow again for another fun trim at a later date.

Water Cups

Letting your children play freely with water allows them to explore and discover. It develops their senses. Make different numbers and sizes of holes in the bottom of several yogurt cups. Let the kids fill them with water, holding the cups over the sink or in the bathtub. They will enjoy watching and feeling the water sprinkle out. Invite them to guess which cup will drain fastest. For variety, let them try their cups in the sandbox or at the beach.

Nose Puppet

Puppets are friendly creatures to make and interact with. Cover yogurt cups with construction paper and glue or tape the seam. Cut a small circle out the side to make a nose hole (if the edges are sharp, cover them with tape). Encourage your children to draw faces onto the cup using crayons, markers, glitter pens, or whatever you kids enjoy. Have your child stick a finger into the cups and out the hole as the nose. Make up a story or sing songs with your puppeteers.

Cup Toss

Place a Ping-Pong ball into a yogurt cup. Let the children try tossing the ball up and out of the cup and catching it again; they can do this alone or with a partner. This is a simple game, and when the kids get tired of playing, they can put their cups into the recycle bin.