Colorful Acorn Caps
The best crafts for entertaining children (whether camping or dealing with yucky weather) are really easy, take a little more effort than a quick run to the closest, and allow for some creativity once the basic skill is learned. This Colorful Acorn Caps craft has all these elements!
FYI: Oak trees do not produce all the same acorns. This photo shows a sampling of the different acorn caps I collect from the oaks in the West Davy Crockett Lake campground in the Caddo National Grassland (Texas). And oak trees don’t always produce the same quantity of acorns each year. A couple of years ago I could find hardly a handful of acorns. This year we could have picked up bags full.
This is definitely a craft that such be started in the Fall when the oak trees are dropping their acorns. Take a walk through the woods with a child and have the child collect acorn caps. This is a great time to talk about nature, the upcoming winter, and all the changes you are seeing. It is also a good time just to enjoy your time together.
Back home, whenever, get out some colored markers and Elmer’s glue. Cover your work surface, just in case. And you might want to take a paper plate, full it with sand, marbles, or whatever to hold the acorn caps upright.
Now, color the inside of each cap thoroughly with the colored marker. The amount of marker you use will determine the richness of color when done so go for it. Squirt the colored cap full, and I mean to the rim, of Elmer’s glue before the ink dries. Set filled cap(s) on plate, in the sand, and let dry overnight.
In the morning what a cool surprise awaits. The glue will have hardened over the ink, leaving a colorful enamel-like finish on the inside of the acorn cap.
Fill a bowl with the colorful acorn caps and set out for all to see. Your child can explain how they were made and enjoy the attention. Use the acorn caps to play a game of Memory. Just put all the acorn caps, open side down, on a flat surface, and take turns picking one up and trying to find another that matches the color. When a match is found, the player gets to hold on to both caps. The one with the most caps wins. Or, create your own game.
