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Popcorn Activities for the Classroom

Aside from being a healthy snack, children can do some entertaining activities with popcorn. When planning activities for students in the classroom, you can use the inexpensive snack to create crafts, educational activities and popcorn-themed games. With several bags of popcorn and some activity ideas, you have what you need to get started.

Easy Activities
- For an easy activity, give each student a bowl of popcorn and have her try to balance the popcorn on her finger. The children can also glue pieces of popped or unpopped popcorn to a picture of a corn stalk. Let the children make colored popcorn by popping fresh popcorn in class. While the popcorn is still warm, mix in a half a cup of dry tempura paint and shake well. The children can use the colored popcorn to make a popcorn collage on black construction paper.
Holiday Crafts
- Students can create spooky popcorn hands at Halloween with popcorn and clear plastic gloves. Give each child a clear glove. Have her drop a piece of candy, such as a Hot Tamale or candy corn, in the bottom of each finger and thumb to resemble fingernails. Fill the hand with popcorn and tie off at the wrist with a rubber band. Help the children make a harvest necklace for Thanksgiving by stringing popcorn, dried cranberries, raisins and dried apricots on fishing line. The children can wear the craft as a necklace or hang on a tree outside for wildlife to enjoy.
Popcorn Games
- Make a bingo card using current spelling words or math problems in each square. Call out the words or answers to the math problems and have the children mark their cards using popcorn. The first player to get a bingo and yell "popcorn," wins the game. For another popcorn game, give each player a popcorn ball and plastic spoon. Mark a starting line and finish line 25 feet apart. When you say "Race!" the children must place the popcorn ball on the spoon and race to the finish line. The first player to cross the finish line wins the game. Players cannot use their hands to touch the popcorn ball during the race. If a player drops the popcorn ball, he must go back to the starting line and start over.
Educational Activities
- The children can also use the colored popcorn as an educational activity. Give each student a bowl of colored popcorn and have her make a pattern on her desk. For a number activity, tell the students to separate all the different colors of popcorn and count each group. Try a prediction activity, by asking the students how much popcorn they think will fit in a cup, a bowl or a large jar. The student who guesses closest to the correct amount wins the activity.

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