Dino-Socks!

We may never figure out what happens to the socks that go missing from the dryer, but here's an art activity for all the single socks, and dinosaur lovers, out there!

Materials

• Sock
• Cardboard
• Felt
• Scissors
• Pipe cleaners
• Fabric glue (or hot glue)
• Construction paper
• Permanent markers, paint
• 2 Styrofoam balls
• Wool or string

On a heavy piece of cardboard, have your child (with your help) trace an oval about the length and width of his/her hand. Cut out the oval and fold in half.

Have your child put the sock over his/her hand and then fold the toe end of the sock inwards. Remove the sock, but maintain the fold.

Using fabric glue, glue the folded oval into the sock fold, so that the cardboard oval forms the inside of the dinosaur's mouth. Set sock aside to dry.

Using a marker, draw circles on the Styrofoam balls to make eye balls (if you want, paint the Styrofoam balls before hand to give your dinosaur more menacing eyes).

Now create all the parts of the dinosaur, using felt, construction paper, wool, pipe cleaners, etc. Some suggestions include:

• Folding pipe cleaners in half and sticking them through the sock (from the inside out) to create spikes. Once positioned, glue pipe cleaners in place.
• Use pipe cleaners to create arms or claws and follow the same technique to position and glue them into place.
• Create a long forked tongue with felt or cardboard and glue it into the inside of the dinosaur's mouth. Try making the tongue longer than the mouth, so that it dangles when the dinosaur's mouth is open.
• Make eyelashes for the dinosaur using construction paper and glue them to the eyeballs.
• Use construction paper to cut out rows of nasty (or not so nasty) teeth.
• Design any other features you can think of.

Once all your bits and pieces are ready, glue them to the dinosaur's body. And voila, your child's very own Dino-sock!

By Rochelle Strauss