Make a Call of Duty Black Ops Medal Afterschool Activity

 Make your own Black Ops Call of Duty Style Medal

Call of Duty Black Ops and Ghosts are so popular with teens and their gaming Dads too. We've been posting  a ton of Call of Duty birthday party activity themes or after-school boredom busters. Enjoy!

I know, how can you get bored when you have your video games to play?

Well, sometimes you mess up and lose your tech time. Grounded. Don't leave your soldiers all alone. Remember when you used to get dressed up and play make believe? Yep. Now they call it role-playing, and it is cool to be a nerd.

Get your own Official Black Ops Medal

This post contains affiliate links.

We made our look-alike (shh, I know it's a stretch, don't hurt my feelings!) medal with recycled cardboard from a cereal box, blue felt, aluminum foil, some Sharpies, and Tacky Glue.

Official Call of Duty Black Ops Prestige Medal.

How to Make a Call of Duty Medal

We took the image above, printed it out in black and white and then traced it to make a template. It's not an exact match, but it makes a fun Call of Duty activity for kids.

After, we cut out our images, we traced them onto the cardboard. There are 5 separate cardboard pieces making up the medal.

Next, we covered each piece with foil by wrapping the cardboard cut out and rubbing over it with fingers to reveal where to make the cuts. No need to glue the foil down, just wrap the edges so they fold over the back.

Then, we stacked each piece as pictured and glued them down with tacky glue.

Take a break, let it dry. Later, we took the Sharpie and colored the bottom layer. We used brown, but gold looks best. Then, we drew the features of the skull.

Finally, we cut the felt in an odd bow tie, folded it in half, glued it at the top, and then to the wings at the top of our cardboard medal.

If you make a Call of Duty template pattern stencil (see what I did there? That's weird, right?), and cut the pieces out prior to the party, it makes a quick, fun activity for a boys' birthday party.

Need a stencil pattern template - whatever you want to call it, you can find it here as a FREE PRINTABLE CALL OF DUTY pdf on our Mediafire page. If the link isn't clickable, I haven't scanned it in yet. Hold on. I'm getting to it.



Recommended Reading:


Call of Duty: Ghosts Signature Series Strategy Guide 

Free Printable Coloring Pages inspired by Call of Duty

Call of Duty Art Lesson

Army Birthday Party with Call of Duty Theme

What does Non-GMO, Organic, and Fair Trade Mean?

GMO, Non-Gmo, Organic, Fair Trade? What does it all mean?

Lately, I've been getting a lot of social media marketing work from companies with a non-gmo platform. This would be a good topic for a homeschool research paper. You've heard organic and nonorganic- is this the same thing? How are Fair Trade and GMO related? Let's talk about that. Let's learn about that, okay? Enjoy!

What does Non-GMO, Organic, and Fair Trade Mean?

Chaotic Confessions: The first time I heard non-gmo, I was all like, "Yeah, I've heard of that, I know what that is." and I did... sort of. I knew it was something an ecologically minded, environmentally friendly, bleeding heart should support, but I didn't know why- exactly. 

It is okay... you can admit it too. When you don't know something, never be afraid to ask. What is the worst that can happen? Someone will laugh at you. Guess what, most of the time they don't know the answer either, they're just trying not to get found out! I get laughed at all the time, but I also know a lot of things others don't, because I am willing to look stupid uneducated/naive. You wouldn't believe all of the amazing things you can learn, if you aren't afraid to ask!

GMO - this is how we see it, but it is really G.M.O. which stands for a Genetically Modified Organism. That sounds bad. It doesn't mean every GMO is bad. They were designed for good. That's the idea anyway, but like all things political, people seem to be either for or against them. Yeah... I'm just going to tell you the facts.

Genetically Modified Organism - Wikipedia says a whole lotta stuff! The simple answer is it is what it says it is, an organism that has been genetically modified using science and engineering techniques. In a manner of speaking, most are designed to avoid herbicides or to act as insecticides. Here is a better definition of GMO.

Glofish are genetically modified organisms. They glow, because some scientist made them glow. (My kids want one, the only reason we don't have any yet is because we are still learning to keep fish alive.)

Genetic modification involves mutation, insertion, or deletion of genes. Remember Dolly, the cloned sheep? That's weird, right? I don't know. A lot of people want to clone (or do clone) their pets. If it were legal, you know people would clone loved ones. I miss my dog.

Cloning food though, when there isn't enough? Modifying plants so they grow where they won't normally...  It seems like their heart is in the right place. 

What's the problem? The fear of the unknown, of unpleasant genetic mutations, of making cancer causing things. And then, there's the whole we aren't God thing, we won't touch that one either. Just listing it here for the whys and why nots.

So, if that is what a GMO is, then what is a Non-gmo? The opposite, of course. If you visit the Non-GMO Project, you can find products that are GMO free. Hearty Naturals 100% Organic, Extra-Virgin Coconut Oil is also Non-GMO.

Is this the same as Organic and Non-organic? Well, it can be. It mostly is, but Non-organic things could be either GMO or Non-GMO depending on how they are made or manufactured. The scary part here is... some things are sometimes considered Organic, when they have direct contact with GMO's. Get it? Got it? Good!

For example, your organic milk from your free range cow was fed a GMO grain or even a GMO grass. So, although your milk isn't processed in a non-organic way, the cow ate genetically modified food. That can't be right? Can it?

The idea behind organic is that it is all natural. You find an apple tree never treated for bugs, the apples aren't as big because it also isn't genetically modified in any way = Organic.

When mothers are breastfeeding, they are told not to take certain medications, because the medication may find its way to the milk supply... If your cow eats a chemical, you eat a chemical.

That's a brief, easygoing definition of GMO vs. Non-GMO and Organic vs. Non-Organic. You should Google for more information.

Now, on to Fairtrade. People who tout organic and non-gmo also tout fairtrade products. What is Fairtrade? It is based on international trading practices and people who create products from marginalized countries. It works to help sustainable development and improved trading conditions. No children working for 5 cents an hour or day to make our clothing. No woman from a third world country tricked into selling her handmade goods for pennies on the dollar. The true definition is more complicated than that, but you get the idea. Respect others, respect the Earth. Compassionate Essentials is a fair trade market selling handmade jewelry.

Ahh... did you catch the word sustainable up there? Have you heard the word sustainability and wondered what it means? It seems like such a big, scary word, but it is really simple. Sustain means to keep going, to comfort, to help, to assist, to support. Help yourself to live, support yourself by growing a garden. Sustain the environment by recycling. Go green! Sustainability? Will it be able to continue without being completely destroyed? If you grow an organic garden vs. a massive farm plot that utilizes GMO's, you can save our natural resources. If all the factories and technology are destroyed will you be able to sustain your life and that of your family? Recycling helps save trees. Get it? Got it? Good!

You may also want to visit Green Rainbow Revolution, a company dedicated to offering Non-GMOs.

Recommended Reading:

Fair Trade

Seeds of Deception

Compassionate Essentials Blog

7 Unique Egg Carton Craft Ideas: Not just for Easter

These 7 Egg Carton Crafts aren't just for Easter!  

These Unique Craft Ideas with Egg Cartons make Great Pinterest pins and will keep the kids busy too.

Easter is coming and we expect you will have lots of extra egg cartons to recycle. We won't! We have ducks and chickens and we are always in need of new egg cartons. I decided to spare just one and make some fun preschool Easter crafts with egg cartons. I also took a tour around the Kid Blogger Network and Pinterest and found a few more things to do with egg cartons.  Enjoy!

• Red Ted Art is my favorite blog! Maggy is a creative genius. I highly recommend her post about How to Make Fairy Blossom Lights from Egg Cartons.

Egg Carton Fairy Lights from Red Ted Art blog.

These egg carton crafts can be made year round to help recycle all those pesky cartons. They just beg to be used up, just like the drink carriers at fast food restaurants.

• This one is perfect for anytime, but EXCELLENT for Halloween. Mayhem will adore this one. We made a bunny (see below), sure, he's cute, but we didn't think very far outside the box. You can find this little egg carton kitty over at Storknet.com.

Egg carton craft for Halloween.

• Are you looking for a truly unique, Easter art project for your classroom? This one from Unicorn Hat Party blog artsy enough for older elementary school kids and easy enough for preschoolers.

Egg Carton Art Project for Kids.

• How about an Egg Carton Pirate Ship craft? This one from Craft Project Ideas blog is fairly easy, little ones might need some help, but make two and you can have a race in the bathtub! If your bathtub isn't easy to navigate a baby pool or a wallpaper tub make a perfect ocean for your creation.

Egg Carton Pirate Ship Craft for Kids from Craft Project Ideas blog.

• Here at Kids Creative Chaos, we've got some of our own egg carton crafts or things to do with egg cartons too. How about making a mini-garden for your kitchen window?

Egg carton gardening with kids.

• We also made mini-masks, maybe you could try it on your cat like we did with our mini-chef hat? Perhaps, you could tape it to a popsicle stick or wooden craft stick and call it a puppet, or a little mask for your face?

Egg Carton Mask - just add a craft stick.

• Then we made cute bunnies from egg cartons. They aren't very original (though I thought they were when I started making them), but they are an easy, cute Easter craft to make with preschoolers.

Egg Carton Bunny Craft for Kids.

Egg Carton Bunny back, we used scraps, but you could add a cottonball tail.

Mayhem's egg carton "Rainbow" bunny. He lost an ear, poor thing.

Recommended Reading:

What Is Easter?

Make a Phineas Mask with an Egg Carton

Happy Easter, Mouse! by Laura Numeroff

Fun Things to Make at Home

Donate your car for Kids? Teach Philanthropy and Giving

Did you know you can donate your car for kids? 

Begin to teach your children about philanthropy at an early age to build a lifetime of giving. Donate your car for kids. Enjoy!

We give tons of things to Goodwill every year. You probably already know you can donate your vehicle to Goodwill and get a tax credit (write-off), but I bet you didn't know lots of other organizations are hungry for that old car too. It doesn't have to run. They can sell it for scrap where it will get recycled. Scrap Metal is a hot commodity so the charity can get a significant financial donation from your old car- probably more than most of us could give otherwise.

Gotta an old, race car? Maybe a crashed up derby car?
Yeah, they'll take it off your hands at no cost to you. 

Here are the 3 reputable charities where you can DONATE YOUR CAR FOR KIDS (to Charity):

Unicef - Donate your car for kids
Your car donation makes a personal difference from birthing kits 

to help women have safe deliveries, to delivering vaccines to 

children worldwide, to portable School-in-a-Box kits to make 

classes possible almost anywhere.


Donate your vehicle to Make-A-Wish® Wheels for Wishes
They even pick your vehicle up for you! Proceeds from the sale of your vehicle donation benefit your local Make-A-Wish® and help grant wishes of children diagnosed with a life-threatening medical condition.

The Ronald McDonald House Vehicle Donations
Donate a vehicle you're not using, and the One Car One Difference® program will auction your donation vehicle for cash for Ronald McDonald House Charities. Supporting more than four million families a year, RMHC and its local Chapters ensure families have the stability and resources to keep their child healthy and happy.

There are many other organizations in your local community anxious for your donation. I help fund raise for Santa's Elves of Indy. Every Christmas we collect toys and clothing for children in need. If you are in Indiana, visit the Santa's Elves Facebook page and comment or leave a message. We'll make arrangements to pick up your old, abandoned vehicle. No need to wait, we accept donations year around.

Donating to most of these organizations is a tax deduction, but be sure to check with your tax preparer.

What are you waiting for a child somewhere needs Bessie, it's time to let her go!


Recommended:

Visual History of the Automobile*

Community Service Ideas






ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

KCC Kids Make Native American Art and Crafts in honor of the Wampanoag Indians contribution to Thanksgiving

Studying Native American Art and Crafts? 

Get crafty with Alex Toys and celebrate the Wampanoag Indians.  Without them, we'd have nothing to celebrate. Here are companion activities for your lessons on Native American History.

Native American Footprint Headband Craft

Mayhem wanted to go outside and collect stones and leaves in her pouch like a real  hunter-gather. "Indian Dress" paper grocery bag tutorial.

What a fun word, Wampanoag. Here is a site with fun facts about the Wampanoag. We learned some Wampanoags are from Natick, Massachusetts where the Daddy was born.


Wampanoags today  See the real Mayflower here. See our version here.  Daddy is not Native American, but Mommy is related to Pocahontas about five different ways- her Indians are known as the Powhatan or Virginia Algonquian. One day, we'll write a post about this relationship.

Tie Dye Fashion Groovy Tote Kit from Alex Toys ~ Fun way to learn about dyeing clothing.

Alex Toys has great products for your Thanksgiving celebration or to help teach Native American ways and honor their contribution to our country in the classroom.

I wanted to teach dyeing with the Tie Dye Fashion Groovy Kit and teach weaving with their Native American Loom, but the projects seemed a bit daunting for a six year old, eight year old, and an OCD Mom. So, I kept  putting it off. 

We'll do that post next week. We can do it tomorrow. It just has to be done by Thanksgiving...

The Tie Dye kit by Alex Toys is awesome, super easy, and nearly mess free ~ we did most of it in a tub in the kitchen sink.

Soaking items to dye before tying off with rubber bands and twist ties.

Knotting off patterns with bands included in the kit and recycled bread bag twist ties.

Projects ready to dye. The included, Groovy Tote and some of our old, stained t-shirts.

I've done some tie-dyeing in the past, but this was so much easier. Although, the kit was for one tote bag we had enough dye to dye several things. I wish we had prepped more items. We decided to use some of the dye to make super messy, water color paintings in the sink.

Leave lots of white space for better contrast and to keep colors from bleeding together.

This is our only mess! How great is that?

Squirting dye on paper and blending with plastic spoon.

Secure your items in plastic bags for 24 hours.

Patience is a virtue. Enclose in plastic bags for 24 hours to set the dye, remove bands, lay flat to dry for another 24 hours, and then wash and dry.

The bag was included in the kit and we did three shirts and several paintings.
All bottles are still half full! This would be great for a birthday party or classroom. 

Tie Dye Paper Art  ~ Less Squeeze is Best

Tie Dye Paper Art ~ Learning Phase

The loom? Oh my the loom, it was far too daunting for this post. See our weaving experiences in Jake's Journey in Art ~  Home-school Weaving. 

Native American Fruit - Persimmons

Weaving is tedious work that takes time. Imagine if you were a Native American making clothing to keep warm.

Popsicle Stick Indian Craft for Preschoolers

Next month, celebrate the spirit of giving with Santa's Elves of Indy as we collect, wrap, and donate gifts for those needing a little extra help this Christmas season.

AlexToys.com donated these toys for our unbiased review.
Tweet

Top 10 Reasons to Hate Juice Packs, Recycle Plastic Bottles

Recycle Plastic Bottles for Lunch

Recycle Kid's Trash to Ease Mommy Woes. Hate Juice Packs? We're always looking for new ways to recycle plastic bottles. The juice pack mess really sparked this idea. How do you teach your kids to recycle? Enjoy!

How do you teach your kids to recycle? 

Ways to Recycle Plastic Bottles

Here are 10 reasons to hate juice packs:

1.  Straw wrappers. Everywhere.
2.  "Mommy, I can't get a straw in here!" (But they want to, try really hard, and squeeze juice everywhere.)
3.  Little dots of juice turned dirt magnets on the carpet. Everywhere.
4.  One box takes up a lot of fridge room and only lasts one day. Expensive, considering.
5.  Pouches in landfills. Everywhere.
6.  Half-full pouch tossed in trash because kids too lazy too squeeze out last drop.
7.  "I don't like Kiwi Strawberry." "I don't like lemonade." "Wah!" (Complaints)
8.  "Look, it's a volcano!" Everywhere.
9.  Added sugar.
10. Instant Balloon toys, need I say more?


Solution:
Recycle mini-soda bottles, fill with healthy drinks of your choice or even Kool-aid. Saves money, the environment, and Mommy headaches. 

Reuse Plastic Bottles: Kid's choose their favorite flavor and reseal for later.


Store recycled mini-plastic bottles in the bottom of fridge door for easy access: 
Allows for preschooler independence!

Of course, water bottles work too; maybe try it for lazy grown-ups or portion control.

Recommended Reading:

Uses for Plastic Bottles

Recycle!: A Handbook for Kids by Gail Gibbons* 

Recycle a Bottle into a Valentine Card Holder

ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products. *We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here.Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Wordless Wednesday: Make a Recycled Pumpkin Snowman

Need pumpkin decorating ideas? 

Okay, he's not a recycled pumpkin just a leftover- "Make a Snowman Jack-o-lantern". Jake likes to keep his pumpkin in the house to protect it from would be smashers. He's been doing this since he was one. As long as no one uses them as a kickball or a chair, they last until spring, at which time we toss it in the garden and pray for pumpkin babies. Use Velcro to attach felt/foam shapes, and change his face. Enjoy!

No Snow, Pumpkin Man, made from a Snowman Kit.

Do You Want to Build a Snowman?

Creepy-eyed Pumpkin Man for Halloween.

A picture is worth a thousand words. One of these days, I'm going to start using my new camera, but it seems like such a chore when my phone is so handy. I guess my phone pictures are only worth five-hundred words! :-)

Let your picture tell the story, thanks for linking up!

Recommended: 

The Biggest Snowman Ever*

Pumpkin Decorating Ideas

Creative Snowman Ideas for Preschoolers

Easy Felted Snowman Snowball Craft for Christmas Tree Decoration

Snowman Christmas Ornament Decoration 

To make this easy, snowman holiday ornament, we purchased a plain, white, felted ornament and then glued on an orange pom-pom nose, googly eyes, and black foam pieces for the mouth. He has a little gold hang tag for hanging on a Christmas tree or a tree branch in a pot for a fun, winter theme indoor tree decorated with Snowmen. Enjoy!

Snow Simple Christmas Tree Ornament.

Recommended Reading:

Snowman Crafts for Children

Snowmen at Christmas Book*

Snowmen Treats









ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Unique Classroom Valentine Craft: Pig Valentine Decoration

Pig Valentine Classroom Craft

Looking for a unique classroom valentine decoration? We made a cute pig (or turn it into an Angry Bird) from a recycled satin Christmas bulb ornament. This is an easy and fun Valentine craft for elementary or preschool kids. Enjoy!

Hang the craft on a Valentine tree or make a mobile. When Pigs fly...  Oink you excited to get started?

Unique Classroom Valentine Craft: Pig Valentine Decoration

To Make Valentine Pig Ornament, You Need:

Felt, Foam, Feathers, Pipe-cleaners, Glue, Ribbon, a Straight Pin, and a Satin Christmas Ball Ornament.

Note the spiraled pipe-cleaner for his tail.

Use the straight pin to 'pre-drill' (punch) holes into the ball where the tail and feathers will go.  Add glue to the tip and insert into holes.  Cut out eyes, ears, and nose and attach with glue. Tie a ribbon through the hanger. Design your own Valentine Tree with a wire hanger or attach to a back-pack zipper.

Creative Tip:

Attach a note that says, "I'll stop loving you when pigs fly" or "Oink you going to be my valentine?"


Recommended Reading:

OLIVIA and the Perfect Valentine: She's a Pig!*

Valentine School Parties Activities*

ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

JAWS?

Just Add Water System

With all the messy crafts and kid's cooking projects we do on a regular basis, I could start my own landfill with empty bottles of cleaning supplies. So, when the opportunity arose to review a greener alternative landed in my inbox, I jumped on it. I'm so glad I did!

JAWS is awesome. You get an empty bottle, an insert-able cartridge, and a refill pack. Jaws doesn't have an offensive odor and it hasn't irritated my allergies like other products do.  When you've cleaned all those messes and need more cleaner just head to your local Marsh for a new cartridge to insert into your old bottle.  Just add water...

I'm giving away a full-size bottle of all the products with refill cartridges!

Comment below for 1 entry.

For 2 entries Like Kids Creative Chaos on Facebook.

For 3 entries Like Jaws on Facebook.

For 4 Entries Like Playconnection on Twitter.

Snowman Craft for Kids out of Egg Shells by Mama Mia

Snowman Crafts for Kids Eggshell Snowman

One of my old blogging buddies came up with this cute snowman craft. You could make a whole day of learning with preschoolers or homeschoolers with this little project. For a science lesson, discuss the properties of an egg, boil some eggs, remove the shells, eat the eggs, and craft with the shells! Imagine the possibilities if you colored your eggs with Easter egg dye first. You can make egg shell mosaics for an art lesson for kids. We've got a flock of chickens, so I am always looking some activity to do with eggs.

Preschool snowman craft with egg shells from Mama Mia's Heart to Heart.

Recommended Reading:

Snowman Surprise

Sneezy the Snowman