Faux Indian Corn

When we were at the store the other day, my son spotted the beautiful Indian corn on display.  He was so fascinated with all the colors.  We bought some so that we could explore them closer. 

 One year, while teaching, we discovered that if you put the corn in a little water, it will eventually sprout.  We even planted it and grew some stalks of Indian corn.  When T and R had finished examining the corn, we found a shallow, rectangular tub and put the corn it it. They are diligent about checking it everyday for sprouts.  We then took some pieces of brown paper bags and crumpled it up and straightened it out several times.  We did this to make it softer to work with and give it the "husk" feel.  Then we got our colored buttons and put them inside the "husks" to imitate the Indian corn.  We tied the ends up with a little pipe cleaner.  I think these tiny replicas are beautiful!  You could also use some left over candy corn or real corn kernels for this project.  Great science and fine motor activity.