Monday, October 20, 2014

Simple Kindergarten Classroom Birthday Idea:
Play-Doh Layer ‘Cake’

I recently tapped into my inner-Martha to create a simple Play-Doh Birthday Layer ‘Cake’ for my son’s 4th birthday. The best part: no baking involved! Just cardboard, tape and a whole lot of little Play-Doh cans.

My son’s school does not allow parents to send food to celebrate their child’s birthday in the classroom. Instead, small little favors (e.g. pencils, erasers, stickers) can be sent along for classmates to help mark a child’s birthday.
I decided to take another route; one that I hoped would be fun for the kids while also helping out the classroom teachers, who are often short on art supplies.

I sent a Play-Doh birthday ‘cake’ made of 80 small cans of Play-Doh with 30 sheets of stickers inserted inside.
Based on the arts and crafts ‘masterpieces’ my son brings home daily, he and his classmates seem to be voracious crafters. They even use Play-Doh to make letters, numbers and shapes. I hoped our gift would help the teachers restock their shelves while also offering something novel to the class.
This was an extremely easy project that cost less than $15 in materials (a bit more if you decide to include items such as stickers inside the cake).

If you wish to try this at home, you’ll need:
·    Small Play-Doh cans. I purchased an 80-pack of Halloween Play-Doh at Cotsco for $12.99.
·    Cardboard for creating layers. I used some old boxes that had been lying around the house.
·    Lots of clear tape.
·    Cellophane wrap and ribbons.
Step 1: Use plates to draw different sized circles on cardboard. Cut out these circles. They will help you to create tiers. If you want to insert something inside the cake (I included sticker sheets), cut out smaller holes inside the cardboard circles.
 
Step 2: Use clear tape on the bottom of the Play-Doh cans to stick them to the largest cardboard circle. I did a second layer on top of the first using more clear tape on the bottom of the cans.
Step 3: Tape another cardboard circle on top of the two rows of Play-Doh cans, building another layer. As you get closer to the top, you’ll be using fewer Play-Doh cans.
 
Step 4: If you wish, insert additional items inside the inner circles as the ‘prize’ inside the cake.
 
Step 5: Embellish as you wish with cellophane wrap and ribbons.
The whole project took me, a novice crafter, about 45 minutes to complete.

I hope this idea provides some inspiration for a fun and simple way to celebrate your child's birthday in their Kindergarten classroom.

9 comments:

  1. This is such a creative idea with such small cost! When I first started reading I thought it would cost a small fortune in Play-Doh. I couldn't believe how little it took to build, amazing!

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  2. Replies
    1. Thanks for the share! I love your blog and hope your readers enjoy the idea!

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  3. Super cute and easy! My kind if project.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Jennifer! The best part is that it looks much fancier than it actually is!

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  4. This is such an awesome idea! Thanks for sharing. :)

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  5. I am so doing this when my daughter is school age. This is a great idea Helen! thanks for sharing!

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