Welcome to another Wacky Workshops project, tips to help you turn screen time into a creative adventure.

We all know that we need to limit the time we allow kids, and ourselves, to watch television if we want to have healthy, balanced lives.

However, we can turn that screen time into a great opportunity for creative activities.

Several years ago, one of my Wacky Workshops students was obsessed with the Indiana Jones movie series, especially Raiders of the Lost Ark.

He was describing to me how much he loved the boulder scene when Indiana Jones narrowly escapes being crushed by a giant rock.

I suggested we try and recreate the scene, using craft items, so he could re-enact it whenever he wanted.

We used an old box and then created an elaborate ramp for a large marble (representing the boulder) to slide down.

This homemade movie scene in miniature provided that student with a wonderful opportunity to use creativity to recreate his favourite scene and then play it out whenever he chose.

More recently, I’ve been using screen time as an opportunity to encourage creativity in the Goddesses.

A CREATIVE ADVENTURE MAKING MOVIE CHARACTERS

After taking the older Goddesses to see the movie Pete’s Dragon, we all had some fun making dragons. You can find instructions in my post,  How to Make Your Dragon.

The Good Little Dinosaur made me and one of the Goddesses quite emotional and inspired us to create our own happy ending.

Our latest obsession is the Wizard of Oz. All of the Goddesses have watched this classic with me and it has inspired some amazing craft work.

We made the Emerald City using cardboard rolls covered in green paper, glitter and metallic sequins.

We glued this to a green plastic tray and added small, torn pieces of yellow paper to represent the yellow brick road.

Next, we made the tin man, using cardboard rolls wrapped in foil and a tin can. A plastic bottle made the head and a plastic funnel wrapped in foil made the perfect hat. I was just lucky to have a little heart magnet that worked perfectly for the tinman’s newly acquired heart.

The lion was made with yellow painted cardboard rolls and a foam ball for the head. We cut a circle from orange paper and gave it a fringe to represent the lion’s mane.

The scarecrow was made with straw and material scraps. You can find fun instructions for making a scarecrow here.

It was easy to make a scary witch by painting a wooden spoon green and glueing on black wool ‘hair’ and making a hat and cape from black cardboard.

A paddle pop stick and black cardboard make the perfect witches’ broom.

A CREATIVE ADVENTURE WITH WIZARDS AND WITCHES

We used another wooden spoon for the wizard and glued on lots of stuffing for his hair and beard. Admittedly, the wizard from the land of Oz does not actually look like this but we opted for the more traditional style of wizard. That’s the beauty of this kind of creative exercise. There is no right or wrong and you can make it work for you.

Dorothy was made from a wooden doll cut out and her cute little dog, Toto, from cardboard rolls.

We keep adding to our scene – the good witch is yet to come.

Once you start on a project like this, the ideas just keep flowing. The other day one of the Goddesses showed me a cardboard roll and said it would make a good “wind force”. It took me a while to understand what she meant but I finally got it – the tornado that took Dorothy and her house to Oz.

We covered the roll in lots of stuffing and attached it to the wall, along with Dorothy’s house and the famous red slippers.

By allowing movies to inspire us, we are creating whole new worlds of play and wonderful opportunities for the imagination.

WHAT MOVIE CHARACTERS AND SCENES WILL YOU MAKE FOR A CREATIVE ADVENTURE?

Imagine the fun you could have creating your own ice palace from the movie Frozen. The ideas for fun creativity using the movies Finding Nemo or the Little Mermaid are limitless. How about some of the amazing creatures from the Star Wars movies?

A favourite with the Goddesses at the moment is Trolls. You can make your own Poppy (the happiest Troll ever born) and Branch puppets using just a few materials.

A craft stick provides the body and something for little fingers to hold onto as they play out the fun Troll adventures.

Cut out a Troll face from thin cardboard or a craft foam sheet. I actually covered cardboard in pink felt.

Add coloured wool for the hair and pipe cleaners for the arms and legs.

A simple triangle cut from blue paper makes Poppy’s dress and some orange and green paper makes the vest and shorts for Branch.

What movie will inspire you to get creative?

Follow my Wacky Workshops Facebook page for more craft inspiration. Check out The Wacky Workshops Page. If you live in the Lower Blue Mountains area, you may want to join the group.

Happy crafting and have a gleeful week, Tamuria.