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Eighteen Things You Can Do With a Paper Cup and Then Some
By Julie Pirkle
Looking for simple, yet fun, preschool ideas for activities, crafts and games you can create with an ordinary item commonly found in your home? You’ve come to the right place! The Preschool Rock Moms Internet radio show series “The Idea Sandbox” selects one item found in the home, and in 15 minutes, the hosts of the show come up with imaginative preschool activities, crafts and games to do with that item – right off the top of their heads!
On the August 17th show, Preschool Rock Moms’ radio hosts came up with 20 activities, crafts and games to do with a paper cup.
The Idea Sandbox Item – Paper Cups
1. Paper Cup Stackers
Have an entire bag of paper cups to spare? Let your preschooler test his/her stacking skills by building a paper cup pyramid. Preschoolers will be filled with excitement and anticipation seeing how high their paper cup pyramid can get before the cups topple over.
2. Paper Cup Shakers
Three things preschoolers love: music, noise and shaking things up. Combine these three preschool loves by creating a paper cup shaker. Fill a paper cup with uncooked beans, rice or pasta. Cover the top of the cup with a piece of foil, adhering the foil with a rubber band. All that’s left to do is shake, shake, shake. A word to the wise: Instruct your preschooler to shake the cup in the upright position only.
3. Paper Cup Purse
Preschoolers will have fun decorating paper cups with crayons, glitter and stickers to create a unique mini purse of sorts. Once they’re finished dressing up their cup, attach a ribbon or pipe cleaner to the sides with tape or glue to create a handle. Let your preschooler fill their purse with small trinkets or candy. The paper cup purse makes a great party activity and favor as well. 
4. Paper Cup Bug House
Does your preschooler love to venture into the great outdoors to catch bugs? Arm them with a paper cup to collect bugs, rocks or other outdoor treasures.
5. Paper Cup 3-D Art Sculptures
Arts and crafts lovers can get creative by crafting a unique paper cup sculpture. Preschoolers can create unique masterpieces by gluing buttons, feathers, magazine pictures, etc. to an upside down cup.
6. Christmas Paper Cup Bell
Create a special holiday bell with a paper cup, a jingle bell and some yarn. First, decorate your paper cup with glitter. Next poke a tiny hole in the bottom of the cup and insert a 3-inch piece of yarn. Tie a knot on the end of yarn that extends outside the paper cup to keep it in place. Tie the jingle bell to the end of the inside piece of yarn. All that’s left is to jingle your bells!
7. Paper Cup Garage
Need a place to park your Hot Wheels? Lay your paper cup sideways on the floor, and drive your car straight inside.
8. Paper Cup Garden
Pour some potting soil and seeds of your choice into a paper cup. Water and within a few days, depending on what you planted, your own paper cup garden will sprout. For extra fun, before you plant your seeds, decorate your paper cup(s) with stickers or a personal drawing. Grass seeds, lima bean seeds and flower seeds are just a few ideas of things to plant in your very own paper cup garden.
9. Mini Candy Cup Party Favor 
Use bathroom-size Dixie cups to create an easy and festive party favor for your preschooler. Fill one cup for each party guest with M&Ms, jellybeans or other small candies, and then wrap in cellophane or plastic wrap and tie with a ribbon. A paper candy cup filled with candy corns makes a great Halloween treat as well!
10. Pouring and Dumping Tools
Paper cups are the perfect vessel for preschoolers to pour and dump water, sand or whatever else they’re playing with.
11. Paper Cup Ball Catcher Game
Preschoolers will get a kick out of trying to catch a small bouncy ball in a paper cup, while improving their hand to eye coordination. To make a ball catcher, poke a small hole in the bottom of a paper cut. Insert a 12-inch string into the hole. Tie a knot to the end of the string that is outside of the cup to secure. Attach a bouncy ball to the end of the string that comes out of the cup’s opening by tying a tight knot around the ball or adhering with super glue or other adhesive.
12. Paper Cup Paint Holders
When your preschooler’s painting his/her next masterpiece, use paper cups to pour a smidge of each color of paint for easy and clean paintbrush access.
13. Paper Cup Circle Stamp
Paper cups make a perfect circle stamp. Dip one end of a paper cup in paint and stamp onto paper to create circle art.
14. Paper Cup Telephone Game 
Play telephone with a fellow preschooler by making your very own paper cup telephone. Poke a small hole into the bottom of two paper cups. Insert the end of a long piece of string into one of the paper cups and tie a knot on the inside of the paper cup to secure. Do the same thing to the other paper cup with the other end of your string. You’re ready for your first call!
15. Paper Cup Chatter Box
Preschoolers love to talk and talk and talk. Make your preschooler his/her own personal paper cup chatter box. Poke a hole in the bottom of a paper cup. Insert a long string into your hole and secure with a knot on the inside. Tape the other end of your string to the wall to create a paper cup chatter box that your preschooler can “answer” whenever they feel like squawking.
16. Paper Cup Bowling
What could be more fun to a preschooler than throwing a ball and knocking things down? Make your preschooler his/her own personal paper cup bowling set. All you need is 12 paper cups and a lightweight ball. Stack the cups like bowling pins and aim for a strike!
17. Paper Cup Workshop
Preschoolers love to hammer. Construct a mini workshop with a paper cup and a golf tee. Poke a hole in the bottom of a paper cup with the golf tee. Then arm your preschooler with a toy hammer and let him/her hammer the golf tee into the paper cup over and over again. Not only is this activity fun, but it refines motor skills too!
18. Bathtub Cups
Playing in the tub is definitely a favorite preschooler pastime. Let your preschooler take some paper cups into his/her next bath to fill and pour bath water for oodles of fun. When there done, use the paper cup to rinse shampoo out of his/her hair.
More Disposable Cup Activity Ideas
1. Styrofoam Cup Toothpick Art
Preschoolers will have a ball pushing toothpicks into the outside of a Styrofoam cup to create fun shapes and designs. Make sure younger preschoolers have plenty of adult supervision during this activity since the end of a toothpick is quite sharp.
2. Clear Plastic Cup Sand and Pebble Art
Layer colored sand and/or pebbles in a clear plastic cup for a unique showpiece. Ready for a change? Shake it up and create some abstract art!
Preschool Rock Moms Internet Radio Show – The Idea Sandbox
The Idea Sandbox – Paper Cup
Come play in the idea sandbox with us. At the beginning of each show, we will name one item found around the home, and for 15 minutes we will give you tons of ideas for crafts, activities and games you can do with that item – all off the top of our head! We want to hear your ideas too, so call the show to share! Listen to the show now!
Share Your Paper Cup Ideas
We want to hear your ideas. Visit www.PreschoolRockMoms.com and submit your paper cup ideas in the Comments Box for the Idea Sandbox – Paper Cup Show.
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