As a mom with two kiddos that have Autism, I would like to acknowledge those families and children who struggle with Autism and fitting into society.  This simple project is a great way to start a conversation with kids about differently-abled children and acceptance. This is a fun classroom project to make for Autism Awareness week.  For more information about Autism, signs of early detection, and the importance of early intervention, check out Autismspeaks.org.

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What you'll need:

• Puzzle Piece Pattern

• Clear clean plastic – check for the recycle stamp 6 on the plastic.  We used the large plastic cover on a foil lasagna pan

• Permanent markers (like Sharpies)

• Scissors

• Hole punch

• Ribbon or elastic cording

• Beads – Red and white Pony beads

• Aluminum foil

• Oven or toaster oven

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

How to Make it:

1. Use the charm sheets and trace the puzzle designs onto the plastic with black Sharpie markers.  You can add words to your puzzle pieces at this time.  We put words that show how someone with Autism should be treated.  We chose words like Love, Kindness, Friendship, hope, Acceptance.

2. Before coloring your pictures, turn your design over and apply marker to the opposite side of the plastic that you traced your design on to.  This will keep your design from smearing. We chose the Autism Awareness colors:  Light blue, royal blue, yellow, red, and green.

3. Cut out your images. Use your hole punch to make a hole at the top of your image.  You will need this so that you can thread them onto cording or ribbon later.  You can still make a hole with a small drill bit after they have completely cooled later, but it will be more difficult because these images will shrink to about 1/3 of their original size.

4. Take a large sheet of aluminum foil and fold it in half.  Bend all the edges up to make a lip around the sides.  You are making a tray to put your plastic shapes on.  You can bake your images on a sheet tray but, they get more direct heat using this method.

5. Once you have your plastic images cut out, hole punched, and colored with a permanent marker, place them on your aluminum tray and place them into your preheated oven on the lowest shelf.  Your shapes will curl up wildly at first but will eventually flatten out.   Your images should be ready to take out after 3 minutes.  Let them cool completely.

6. Once cooled, thread them onto elastic cording or ribbon to create necklaces or charm bracelets.  If for whatever reason the hole on your image closed up too small or you need to make a new hole, wait until your image is completely cool and have an adult drill a hole with an electric drill bit.

7. We made our bracelets using, pony beads and our plastic charms.  Try out different combinations of beads for the look you like best.