Does anyone else have a preschooler obsessed with the PBS television program, Wild Kratts? My 4-year old daughter adores this show and to be honest I learn a lot while watching too. We were recently watching about the amazing creature powers of the puffer fish. My daughter was instantly inspired and went screaming to the kitchen, “Mom I wanna make a puffer fish!” Well that’s hard to turn down. Now… what to use to make a puffer fish of all things? The week prior I had stocked up on art supplies and did have a styrofoam craft ball. That was a good first step. I handed over all of our typical materials and let her imagination take it from there. Have you ever let your child’s imagination take the lead to see what they can come up with? What sort of creature would they build? Here’s how we made our puffer fish:MATERIALS: Styrofoam craft ball, pipe cleaners, cabob stick (or anything with a small point to poke holes), pom poms (googly eyes would be adorable), white school glue, scissors, yarn. See instructions below.INSTRUCTIONS: Carefully poke holes in the styrofoam craft ball. Cut pipe cleaners into small lengths and poke into holes. (Little ones might need help with the first two steps). Glue on pom poms or googly eyes (glue the googly eyes to the pom poms for a cute look). Add glue to the styrofoam ball and layer yarn (cut into manageable lengths) onto glue, working in sections. Cover all visible styrofoam. Color the center of the pom poms if you’d like. Bend one pipe cleaner into a smile for the mouth. Make your best puffer fish face and enjoy silly craft time together! Do you have other fun craft supplies? Great! Turn your child lose and see what they come up with. Other ideas for materials: Make your puffer fish out of kitchen supplies. Dried beans and pasta with spaghetti spikes would be fun! Layer cereal onto your ball and use toothpicks. Make an edible creature with an apple as the base! Cover it in peanut butter, add raisins or grapes for eyes and cut pretzels sticks for the spikes. HAVE FUN!