A Cereal Chute and a Giveaway!

It is no secret that we love finding creative ways to play here at Smart School House and this cereal chute is bound to get your kids moving and excited! It is officially Froot Loops tested and 100% kid approved! We found this DIY craft in the book 101 Kids Activities.

Hands-on activities are incredibly important for kids to regularly participate in. Hands-on activities help kiddos develop a deeper understanding of scholarly concepts (science, social science, and even language arts). Lucky for YOU we have a giveaway that will provide tons of ideas for nurturing brilliantly creative kids! Along with this incredibly fun cereal chute tutorial, the authors of 101 Kids Activities, Holly Homer and Rachel Miller of Kids Activities Blog, are here to give one lucky winner a FREE copy of their newest book! Your kids are going to love you for this…

For this Cereal Cute you will need:

• A variety of 2¼-inch (5.5 cm) PVC connectors
• Drill
• Plastic funnel (we used a large plastic scooping spoon)
• 2-inch (5 cm) -diameter suction cups—one for each connector
• Container that for the floor
• Measuring cup(s)
• Dried beans, beads, seeds, cold cereal, etc. We used cereal because my kids are younger and might still put beads and seed in their mouths.

Directions:

1. Choose a variety of 2¼-inch (5.5 cm) PVC connectors. We used seven connectors—three straight, two obtuse angles, one T piece and one right angle—and a plastic funnel.
2. Drill a hole in the plastic funnel and each of the connectors. Fill each hole with a suction cup.
3. On a window or a sliding glass door at kid level, arrange the first version of a “fall wall”—create a path or two that cascades from the top, emptying into the container sitting on the floor windowsill. Test the chain reaction with a cupful (or scoop full) of Froot Loops. Froot Loops are colorful, yummy, and add happiness (true story!).
4. Kids can work together to change the path of the falling material and experiment with measuring cups of different ingredients to find out how things fall.

Modifications for Younger Kids

Depending on the age of the child, choose an ingredient that is safe for play. Wash the Play Wall elements in the dishwasher, clean the space around the bottom and allow only cereal as the ingredient for those who are likely to put things in their mouth.

 Modifications for Older Kids

Create a smaller “target” inside the windowsill container with a measuring

cup for them to fill with a specific amount of a specific ingredient. Have older children design a pathway that divides into a specific number of trails at the bottom. Give older children a challenge to “fix” the path designed by a smaller child in two moves.

Isn’t this the coolest? My kids Stella and Mitch played for over an hour with this cereal chute and their screams of laughter could be heard down the road!