Something You Can Do

What can you do with old newspaper? What can you do with the $5 Grandma sent? What is a good way to remember our “turtle lesson”? Read on and see! Note: this is a project that can be quite messy, so check with Mom or Dad before you start—and be sure to clean up! Now you can make a paper maché

Turtle Shell Bank

What you will need:

• a round balloon
• newspaper torn in 1-inch strips
• flour and water to make paste
• poster or craft paints and paint brushes
• a piece of cardboard and hot-glue gun

1. First find a place where you can make a mess. Paper maché is messy!
2. Now mix up the paste. Put flour in a bowl and stir in enough water to make it creamy. Use this for dipping the newspapers in.
3. Blow up the balloon so that is about 10 inches long. Tie it closed. You will make the shell over one side of it.
4. Begin laying newspaper strips (dipped in paste) side-by-side to cover one side of the balloon. Lay the second layer across these in the other direction.
5. Keep laying newspaper strips until the shell is five or six layers thick. Try to keep them smooth and make the edges rounded. Clean up your work area when you are done!
6. Let your turtle shell dry on the balloon until it is stiff.
7. Now you can pop the balloon and take off the shell. To paint it, find a picture of a painted or pond turtle to copy. Remember to wash out the brushes!
8. Finish your bank by gluing it to the cardboard. Ask someone to cut the coin slot on top and a flap at one end to take out the money.

What to do with your Turtle Shell Bank:

• put your money in it so that you learn to save and not be a “spendthrift”
• ask Jesus to help you be a cheerful giver and use your money to help others
• learn about what true treasures are (write down answers to prayer and how God has helped you) and start storing up a lot of those!