We can learn in family while having fun. This is the philosophy in our kids club smilecatch. Activities able to develop your children while having fun.

1. FUN ACTIVITIES TO DO
WITH CHILDREN

2. create an earth piñata
Do your kids love to do games?
Give them a global geography lesson, with careful environment
thoughts and, in the end, watch them having fun destroying it all.
And this time - no worries - it’s ok.
Want a fun way to get your kids into recycling?
Make an earth piñata from reused and recycled household items.
Play & Learn.
Make a piñata of the earth and fill it with natural materials for a
fun game that also makes the perfect centerpiece for a party,
picnic or family day at home.

3. an earth piñata...why?
Start a recycling talk
Creating an earth piñata is a great way to start a conversation
about recycling and encourage your kids to think like global
citizens.
What will they learn?
They’ll learn about continents, oceans and nearby natural habitats.
Plus, they’ll start thinking about how to recycle and reuse things at
home.
Ecologic Theme Party
It’s also an excellent excuse to host an ecologically centered event
that delights all ages. Who can resist a piñata party?

4. fun earth facts
• The earth is about 4.5-5 billion years old.
• About 70% of the earth is water and only about 30% is
land.
• The average person generates over 4 pounds of trash
every day and about 1.5 tons of solid waste per year.
• Over 75% of waste is recyclable, but we only recycle about
30% of it.
• Recycling one glass bottle is enough to light a traditional
light bulb for four hours.
• Recycling 100 cans could light your bedroom for two
weeks.
• Every ton of paper that’s recycled saves 17 trees.

5. Materials
You will need:
• 2-3 balloons (balloons from birthday parties work, but
perfect globes need round balloons)
• Flour
• Water
• Salt
• Measuring cup
• Whisk for stirring
• Mixing bowl
• 2-3 newspapers
• Child-safe scissors
• World map
• Blue and green crepe paper
• Blue and green paint, glitter (optional)
• An apron or old shirt (one per person)
• Ribbon
• Glue
• Piñata filler: natural items from outside, such as dried
flowers, seashells and pinecones; candies and food that will
last (like nuts)
• A solid stick from outside (for piñata whacking)
• Blindfold (also for piñata whacking)

6. Materials
Preparation time:
15 minutes to gather the materials and prep the paper-mache paste
Activity time:
• 60+ minutes over 2 days, you need downtime between steps
to let the piñata and paint dry
• 15 minutes to paper-mache your piñata (and clean up)
• 20 minutes to find piñata filler outside
• 20 minutes to paint your piñata (and clean up)
• 5 minutes to fill your piñata
• After you cover the balloon with paper-mache, it will take
approximately 24 hours to dry
• After you paint your piñata, let it dry for a few hours before
filling it up and cracking it open
Location:
Your home and backyard or neighborhood

7. prepare the paste
1. Make Paper-Mache Paste
All you need is flour, water and a dash of salt. And an
apron—this activity can get messy!
1. Spread out a few sheets of newspaper on a clean
surface like the kitchen table.
2. Set out everything you’ll need: flour, water, salt,
measuring cup, mixing bowl, whisk, blown up balloons (have
a few extras in case they pop accidentally) and newspapers
torn into one-inch strips.
3. Tear up the newspapers into 1″ (2.5 cm) wide
strips as part of your prep, so they are ready to use and
your paste doesn’t have time to dry out. You’ll need enough
to cover your balloon with 4 to 5 layers, so aim for at least 20
strips.

8. prepare the paste
2. Make Paper-Mache Paste
4. Add 1 part water to 1 part flour in the mixing bowl.
Stir and add a dash of salt. Using 1 cup of flour to 1
cup of water provides enough paste for 1 medium-
sized piñata.
• Whisk until your paste is smooth, thick and creamy.
• Note: There are two other paste variations —one
uses glue and the other uses wallpaper paste.

9. Create the piñata
3. Create the earth piñata cast out of
paper-mache
• Dip the strips of newspaper into the paper-mache
paste. Squeeze off the excess paste. Then lay the strips
flat on the balloon.
• Cover your balloon with 4 or 5 layers of newspaper.
Be sure to leave a round hole uncovered at the
bottom (at the tied end of the balloon) so you can fill it
up later.

10. Create the piñata
4. Let it dry
• Set your piñata out to dry in the sun or in a
room with great ventilation. It will need to dry for about
24 hours.
• Note: If you live in a cooler climate, you may want to do
only 2 or 3 layers, let your piñata dry, and then add 2-3
more layers. (You can refrigerate the paste in a sealed
container if necessary.)
• Be sure to place your piñata in a safe place to
dry. We lost one to a pair of piñata predators–a toy
poodle and a toddler.

11. Prepare to Fill the earth
5. Gather Filler items outside
While your piñata is drying, head outside with your family to find
treasures to fill it with.
Ask your kids to look for pinecones, leaves, flowers (preferably
already on the ground instead of picked), seashells and other
interesting natural resources in your yard or neighborhood. You can
gather stuff too!
While you are out on this nature walk, take the opportunity to talk to your
kids about nature, recycling and any other outdoor family activities you
can add to your to-do list.

12. Make recycled confetti
6. Or Fill it with confetti
You can also use edible filler for your piñata.
To stay with the environmental theme, fill it with nuts, dried
fruit or individually wrapped natural candies from your
home or local store.

13. Decorate it!
7. Decorate the earth piñata
• Once your piñata is completely dry, bring it inside. Pop the
balloon and remove it from the cast.
• Tidy up the bottom with your scissors. Be sure to leave a
hole that’s large enough to fill the piñata.
• Cover the piñata in blue tissue paper and glue it in
place. To teach your kids more about the ocean, have
them the label the oceans with a marker or paint.
• Alternately, you can paint your piñata blue. Wait until
the blue paint is dry before going on to the next step.

14. Decorate it!
8. Decorate the earth piñata
• Next, pull out your world map and your green tissue
paper. (You can also find world map printouts on the Internet.)
• Cut out shapes from green tissue paper that roughly match
the continents. Glue these over the blue base. Have your kids
use markers or black paint to label the continents and any countries
that are important to your family.
• To get your kids thinking more about the earth, ask them to draw
small pictures of family, friends or animals around the
world. Glue these onto the piñata where the people or
animals live. We added grandparents, sharks and lions to ours.
Note: Allow the glue and any paint to dry before
you fill up your piñata.

15. Fill the earth
9. Fill your earth piñata
• Once your piñata is fully decorated and completely dry, fill it up.
• Add the natural items first.
• Next, wrap your edible items in tissue paper and tie them up with raffia,
twine or ribbons so they won’t get dirty. Then, add them to the piñata.
• Alternately, you may decide to create two piñatas; one natural and one
filled with edible items.
• Next, glue two pieces of ribbon over the open end of the piñata and
then use a long strip of ribbon or rope to hang it up. You can hang it from a tree,
play structure or patio cover. Make sure there’s room for the piñata and
the stick to swing in a wide arc without hitting something (like your house!).

16. Play time!
10. Smash the earth
• You can use your piñata for a party or a fun night with the family.
• Find a large, sturdy stick for cracking open the piñata. Use a fallen
branch from outside or an old broom or mop handle or a baseball bat from
indoors.

17. Play time!
11. Play rules
• Hang the piñata, so it’s suspended from a tree, patio cover or play structure.
• Have everyone line up, youngest first.
• Note: keep this line a reasonable distance from the piñata, so bystanders don’t get
hit.
• Blindfold the first person. Turn him around three times. And let him have three
tries to hit the piñata.
• Variation: For younger kids you can skip the blindfold and allow them to hit it
more times.
• Each person takes a turn until the piñata breaks.
When the treats hit the ground, everyone scrambles to
get them.

18. See you in next games!