Crafts: I is for Iron

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What exactly makes Minecraft such an intriguing game to both children and adults? I don't know if I have the perfect answer. The fact that the game allows for such creativity may be one of the reasons. It also inspires our children outside the actual game. They love when I create Minecraft-themed crafts for them to complete such as E for Enderman and R for Redstone. It even encourages trips to sites where people can learn more about mining like Eckley Miners' Village.

Iron Ore

Iron ore is an important mineral block found in Minecraft. When smelted, it becomes an iron ingot which can be used to craft tools and armor. In the real world, iron ore or iron minerals range from dark grey, bright yellow, a deep purple to red. None of them actually have the beige color of iron ore in Minecraft.

There are four main types of iron ore deposits:

• magnetite deposits 
• titanomagnetite deposits 
• massive hematite deposits 
• pisolitic ironstone deposits 

While iron ore is used directly to make items in Minecraft, in the real world the majority of iron produced is used to make steel. (In some modpacks for Minecraft, players will use iron to produce steel.) 

And just what is steel used for? An excellent question to ask your children. Perhaps this will even develop into a great research project! Some of the many uses of steel include the building of automobiles, locomotives, beams for buildings, paper clips, tools, and more. 

This lesson lends itself to examining rocks and identifying gems and precious stones.

How to Make an 'I is for Iron' Craft

Materials 

• Construction paper or Craft paper 
• Scissors
• Glue and/or glue sticks
• Markers or crayons  

Steps 

1. Gather all your materials.

2. Trace a large letter I. If your children are ready, have them cut out the letter on their own.

3. Glue the letter I onto the large construction paper.

4. Cut out small beige colored squares.

5. Glue the beige colored squares onto the letter I to create iron ore from Minecraft.

6. After your project is dry, display proudly in your home.

Crafts: R is for Redstone

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For many years our family has enjoyed the game of Minecraft. Our oldest son first introduced us to the game when it was released for the Xbox 360 and now our two younger children play the game as well. It is great for fostering creativity and teamwork as everyone in the family can play in one world and work together to build elaborate towns, farms, and mines. We made multiple crafts including an Enderman-inspired letter E, mosaics based on characters in the game, and we had a special Minecraft Birthday Party for our younger son.

As much as I enjoy playing Minecraft, Redstone is not one of the materials I use beyond building Redstone lamps and minecart tracks. This doesn't mean we can't make a fun craft inspired by it in Minecraft.

Materials

• Construction paper 
• Letter R template 
• Crayons, markers, or paint (you will need paintbrushes if you choose to paint your project) 
• Dot paints or square sponges for paint 

Steps 

1. Prepare the letter R template.

2. Color the letter R gray (or paint it gray).

3. Glue onto construction paper.

4. Make red spots on the letter R. Try to make sure they are not too round as Minecraft is all about squares.

4. Display your letter R after it is dry.

Read Up On Redstone

In addition to this fun craft, there are other ways you can incorporate learning about Redstone into your homeschooling day. Look at one of the many books about the ore in Minecraft. Where can you find it? What are the uses of Redstone? 

In the Game 

If your children are old enough to play Minecraft, you can have them use Redstone in the actual game. They can design a trap using Redstone or create a lighthouse with a 'spinning' light. They can use a silk touch pick to pick up the ore and display it in a Minecraft Museum. 

Extra Craft Idea - Make a 3D Redstone Torch 

Gather together a paper towel roll, red tissue paper, and an electric tea light. After painting the paper towel roll shades of brown, cover the top with the red tissue paper. Place the electric tea light in the top of the Redstone torch if you want the torch active.

Minecraft Birthday: Punch Trees and Party!

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Everyone in our family enjoys Minecraft (okay, maybe Dad doesn't enjoy it as much as the rest of us but he will still play the video game with us if we ask). When we asked our soon-to-be five-year-old what theme he wanted for his birthday party, Minecraft was a top choice.

Food

As our teen had a Minecraft-themed birthday party a few years ago, we wanted to try to serve some different foods this time. Plus – with our 5-year-old's birthday being in June, we were able to grill food outdoors rather than just rely upon indoor cooking like we usually do for our teen's birthday in September.  

We prepared hamburgers and hot dogs for the beef and pork of Minecraft. The other foods in the Minecraft world consist of bread (hamburger and hot-dog rolls), fish (Swedish fish), baked potatoes (potato salad), carrots, and melon (gummy melon candy).

We also had lots of different types of snacks and candies to represent the different ores and other items from the Minecraft game. 

Ores: Lapis, gold, iron, diamond, redstone, emerald, and coal 

Lava and Water: Jello 

Sticks: Pretzel sticks 

Treats and Sweets

We put together an Enderman Cake and decorated cupcakes like the cake from the game.

Enderman cake

Cupcakes decorated like the cake (It's a lie!) from Minecraft

Decorations

As usual, I like to have the children involved with preparing the decorations for the parties. It provides the perfect opportunity to work on arts and crafts, learn new skills, and cooperate to ensure everyone has a fun time. 

Our teen helped with making a Minecraft Birthday Sign

Minecraft Tools 

Our teen drew the templates for the sword, ax, and shovel and I traced them onto cardboard from boxes and cut them out. Then our two younger children and I painted them along with a few torches to decorate the house. Yes, we could have bought the foam ones but it wouldn't have provided as much fun as painting lots of Minecraft objects on the living room floor! 

Minecraft Creatures 

I had been saving old boxes for quite a while in our basement and now was the time to use them! I painted them white and then used both construction paper and plastic tablecloths to create a pig and enderman.

Nether Portal and Photo Background 

At the entry way to our kitchen, I created a Nether Portal with purple and black crepe paper.

My husband and I used a blue tablecloth, white construction paper, and green construction paper to create a Minecraft backdrop for photos.

Other Decorations 

In a previous post, I shared how we created Minecraft Character faces to decorate. We also used Minecraft toys that our sons have gotten as gifts over the years. Our teen and I also created spawn eggs using permanent markers and old plastic eggs. 

Games

The kids played Creeper Toss with Creeper Spawn Eggs and this giant Creeper Head I made from a cardboard box.

The party was a great hit with our son, family, and friends. I love being able to help our children celebrate with fun parties.

 

Crafts: Minecraft Characters

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Do your children enjoy Minecraft? This popular video game has been a part of our family's lives since our teen first asked if he could purchase it for the Xbox 360 several years ago. With the exception of our 3-year-old daughter, everyone in our family has played the game at some point. It came as no surprise that our youngest son wanted to have a Minecraft-themed birthday party this year.

To help decorate for the party we created some Minecraft characters from construction paper. This fun craft was one that we could all do together.

Zombie Pigman

Steve

Creeper

Materials

• Construction paper 
• Scissors
• Paper cutter
• Glue sticks 

Steps

1. Decide which characters from Minecraft you would like to create and gather all the necessary colors.

2. Using the paper cutter, cut the construction paper into one-inch wide strips and then one-inch squares.

3. Lay out the pattern necessary to create your Minecraft character on a full sheet of construction paper.

4. Glue all the squares onto the construction paper. We glued them on row by row to keep it manageable.

If your children enjoy Minecraft, you might enjoy these posts, too.

  

Wordless Wednesday: Enderman Cake

My first time using fondant! 

I linked up the following blog(s):