Project Round-Up: Do Your Own Thing!

Every kid wants to fit in. And every kid is a little bit worried they don’t.

Like Clancy in “Zebra Stripes,” a story from The Willowbee Tree series – starting first grade, certain he won’t find his people, until a wise old zebra teaches him that everyone is absolutely unique, just like everybody else. Isn’t that the loveliest kind of contradiction?

This month we’re leaning all the way into that idea. Need some inspiration for helping your kids explore what makes them, well, them? Here we highlight eight Sparkly projects for embracing your own particular brand of wonderful.

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Make a Shrinky Dink Self-Portrait

Inspired by Clancy’s story above, this one’s a celebration of uniqueness you can actually hang off a backpack. Trace a favorite photo onto shrinky dink plastic, color it in however you like, then bake it down into a tiny, one-of-a-kind version of yourself.

Make your own self-portrait zipper pull here.

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Build a Fairy Face

Take a nature walk, gather petals and stems and stray pinecones along the way, then arrange them into a face. Flower fairy, earth fairy, something else entirely – nobody’s fairy face comes out looking like anyone else’s.

Grab the free printable and get started here.

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Shape an Air-Dry Clay Trinket Dish

This one was inspired by “The Caster’s Secret,” a By Thistle By Thimble story about a young woman who quietly claims her own place in a craft that wasn’t supposed to be hers. Stamp your clay with a doily or spoon, paint it whatever color your heart desires, and end up with a dish that’s unmistakably yours.

Learn how to make your own trinket dish here.

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Create a Beach Mandala

Loosely translated from Sanskrit, mandala means circle, and represents wholeness. Build one out of sticks, shells, and whatever the tide left behind, then add one small personal touch that’s entirely your own. It won’t last, but for a while, it was exactly what only you would have made.

Build your own beach mandala here.

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Paint a Collaborative Chalk Mural

Doing your own thing doesn’t have to mean doing it alone. Inspired by the Martin & Sylvia: Saturdays! story “Important to Us All,” this mural invites everyone to add their own piece, and somehow the whole thing ends up more interesting for it.

Start your own mural here.

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Design Your Own Breakfast Fruit Pizza

A whole wheat crust, a swipe of honeyed mascarpone, and then complete creative control. Let the kids arrange the fruit into a face, a pattern, or a happy mess. Either way, it’s their pizza.

Get the recipe here.

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Make Toppings

A Martin & Sylvia family favorite, born the morning one small early riser got hungry and started experimenting. Lay out the options (nut butter, honey, coconut, whatever’s in the cupboard) and let everyone build their own combination. No two plates are ever quite the same.

See how Toppings got started here.

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Learn Johnny Boy’s Favorite Ice Cream Flavors

Johnny Boy Nebraska, of Life as a Martian, has strong and very specific opinions about ice cream (butter pecan, forever). A fun read for kids who are still working out their own favorite things, one interesting flavor at a time.

Read Johnny Boy’s list here.

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