My son absolutely loves cartoons. Cartoon Network and Toon Disney are the home of some of his favorite shows.
So the idea of actually making his own cartoon was too good to be true.
Flip books have a long history in the making of some classic movies like Bambi and Snow White:
The origins of Animation
This is a great activity for a rainy afternoon (yeah, it was pouring outside!) or when you have a few hours with your child and not much to do.
Since I’m not an animator, the idea of drawing dozens of pictures, each slightly different from the other,was a bit too much to consider doing.
SO, I went searching for an easier way. Turns out, some of these sites have prepared flip books you can print out :
Printable Flip book of a Kangaroo Astronaut
Coco the clown doing back flips
Things you’ll need:
3×5 cards
Glue
Scissors
Pencil (to number the cards)
Patience!
Things they’ll learn making it:
Putting things in order ( there were 27 cards!)
Using scissors (cutting on the lines)
How cartoons are made!
Steps
Number the 3×5 cards in each corner
Go to the website and print the pages
Take turns cutting out each frame
Glue (glue stick is best) each frame to the corner of the 3×5 card (keep track of the order)
When done, have your child work with you to put the 3×5 cards in order. If you have a paper binder clip, use it to hold the cards together.
Gently flip through the cards at a steady pace.
Enjoy the show!
Here is a short video clip of the Kangaroo Astronaut flip book (see link above)
Flipbook
My son was fascinated with the end product and kept asking over and over “Why does it look like a movie Daddy?”
The long answer is “persistence of vision” and it’s a great way to start a short biology lesson about how the eye works:
Persistence of Vision
This past week my wife’s washing machine started acting up…making wierd noises everytime the spin cycle started. How is that relevant you ask? Stay with me…
Well after fixing the machine, the repair guy left the old motor behind in a small cardboard box. For the first couple days I leave the heavy box sitting on our enclosed porch just waiting for garbage day.
This weekend I’m home alone with my son and he happens to notice the box when we wander out onto the porch.
“What’s that daddy?”
“A motor.”
“Should we take it apart?”
His eyes lit up like Christmas morning as I brought it inside and began to remove screws and brackets holding the motor together.
Soon the motor was in pieces on our living room floor (…Yes dear, I put some newspaper down first…). We spent the next 15 minutes talking about how the motor worked!
Why is it like a magnet?(one of his favorite toys),
Why do magnets stick only to iron?
How does an electromagnet work?
Moments later we were on the computer searching Yahoo for videos of a Van De Graff generator generating giant sparks. We ending up spending the next 30 minutes looking at every video on this great site we found (you’ll need broadband):
Physics experiment videos
The exploding marshmellows were one of my favorite:
Exploding Marshmellows
SO…the next time something mechanical or electrical breaks in your house just don’t throw it in the trash.
Take it apart in front of your kids! You’ll be amazed at the curiosity for things scientific you’ll ignite in your kids.