04/16/2012 - Zoe's Cuckoo Clock

I went into Zoe's room after her rest and she tells me that I have to help her make a cuckoo clock...how could I say no to that? What was going on in that little head of hers when she should have been napping?

Reclaimed Material: game board, plastic lid, splash sticks, wooden stick, rubber band
Other Material: modeling clay, masking tape, straight pin, googly eyes
Tools: scissors, box cutter, glue, awl, X-acto knife, Sharpie marker, ruler, paint and brushes

How I did it: Since I started this project right when the 3 year old was ready to rock and roll and asking me every 5 seconds if it was time for her to paint yet, I had to distract her with random tasks like pre-clay modeling and painting on wood scraps until I put the house pieces together. I measured out two 5"x5" squares and three 5"x2" rectangles from the game board and used the box knife to cut them out. I used the masking tape to build an open top box with the three rectangles as the sides and let Zoe work her painting magic. While she worked on that I started on the roof of the house. I cut another 5"x5" square then cut it in half diagonally. I cut two 5.25"x2" rectangles for the top of the roof and one 7"x2" rectangle for the base. I cut the door for the cuckoo with the X-acto on one of the triangles, then made a slit on the other that lined up with the door. Next I taped the roof together and handed it off to Zoe to paint. I modeled a little bird (again using Zoe's paint, but with her blessing this time) and glued it onto the wooden stick.

The plastic lid that I used happened to have twelve notches around it, so I didn't have to measure it out. I used the Sharpie to mark the notches and make the numbers. I cut down the splash sticks for the clock hands then used the awl to start the holes for the pin to go through. I didn't punch it all the way through because the hole would have been too big. I poked the pin through the holes I started and through the clock face and glued the whole thing onto the game board box. I pushed the pin all the way through and bent the pin so it wouldn't stick Zoe when she stuck her hand in the box. The rubber band I used was just a circle I cut from an inner tube and I put it around the door that was cut out. I slid the stick under the rubber band and pulled it out the back through the slit I made and Zoe began "cuckoo-ing" it.

What I would do differently: This is obviously not a working clock...but it is a great teaching tool. It is amazing what kids pick up because Zoe immediately called the clock hands the "little hand" and the "big hand". After we finished this project Zoe decided we needed to make a cuckoo horse next. What I would do differently is figure out a sturdier cuckoo option.