How to Make a Model Ship

Open the tops of 2 milk cartons completely. Wash and dry both so milk residue is not left inside. Set one carton aside, then tape the spout opening closed on the other. Lay the caton on its side, with the taped spout section vertical to the working surface.

Cover the top half of the carton with white construction paper, as if you were wrapping a gift box. Tape the paper into place. Cover the bottom half of the carton with black construction paper in the same manner.

Use the ruler and a ballpoint pen to draw an 8-inch by 4-1/2-inch rectangle on the black construction paper. Since the paper is black, press firmly downward with your pen as you're drawing. You'll create an indentation that will be easy to see. Cut the rectangle out with scissors.

Lay the carton flat on its side, white side up, with the spout positioned vertically again. Wrap the rectangle around the bottom of the carton, centering it on the length of the paper. Tape it into place. You'll have about 2 inches of overlapping black paper on both sides of the carton, and about an inch of excess showing above the white upper part of it. This will make the model look like a pirate ship.

Roll a piece of Play-Doh into a ball about the size of a golf ball. Split it in half so you have two domes. Measure the top of the ship lengthwise, and stick the domes to it side-by-side at the center. You will be securing the ship's masts in these Play-Doh domes. Set the ship aside.

Cut the bottom 2 inches from the other milk carton, and cover it with white paper. Turn it upside down and set it on the top of the ship so that it covers the Play-Doh domes. Tape it to the ship. This is the cabin. Poke 2 holes in the top of the cabin with scissors, positioning them right above the domes. The holes should be big enough to accommodate a plastic drinking straw. Ask your child to draw windows and doors on the cabin with permanent markers. Have the youngster color 3 yellow portholes onto the white sections of both sides of the ship.

Cut 2 5-inch by 4-inch rectangles and 2 3-inch by 2-inch rectangles from yellow paper. Poke 2 holes in one of the rectangles with scissors. The holes should be big enough to squeeze a drinking straw through. Make 1 hole about ¼ inch from the top, the other ¼ inch from the bottom of the rectangle, at the rectangle's center point. Repeat this for the other 3 yellow rectangles. These will be the ship's sails.

Stick a drinking straw through the bottom hole of one of the 5-inch by 4-inch paper rectangles. Stick the straw up through the hole at the top of the back of the rectangle, and scoot it down the straw a few inches. Bend the rectangle lengthwise a little so that it looks like a billowing sail. Add a 3-inch by 2-inch rectangle directly above it, threading it with the straw in the same manner. One of your masts now has sails. Poke the other end of the straw through one of the holes in the top of the cabin, securing it in one of the Play-Doh domes. Repeat this step to make the other mast and sails.