KIDDOS: Robot-o-Mania

One of our fun weekly playdates for our Sun and Fun Playgroup last month was a robot-themed party at my house. I stole the idea to make robots from this blog and started collecting materials, both from the garbage and the tool shed.

I set up the supply station in my garage. We used a variety of cans, from old pie tins, pots, baby formula cans, and soup cans for the bodies. The accessory parts were displayed in an old game box tray as well as my muffin tins and included things like buttons, bolts, Monopoly game pieces, bottle caps, plastic bread clips, bobby pins, paper clips, wire, magnets, and beads. There were also Sharpie markers, pipe cleaners and stickers.

The kids had a blast picking out their bodies and crafting their versions of robots, aliens, and UFOs.

The parents had a station set up with hot glue guns and applied the items as directed by the kids. We had so many supplies and such fun creating, that the kids each made 2 or 3 robots a piece. In fact, I made 2 or 3 myself. And Eric made one that night when he got home from work. We now have a whole heard of recycled sci-fi characters lining our fireplace mantel.

While the kids created, the parents ate and ate and ate and talked the afternoon away. After the robot making, we made popcorn and watched the movie WALL-E, which happens to be one of my favorite kid films of late. It was a really fun, creative afternoon and a great way to get kids experimenting with found materials in an unusual way. The whole event cost nothing to put together but a little time and imagination and turned out to be one of our most memorable January days.