We can start making it with a fixed objective: how to save enough money to buy some roller skates, a cassette or a video game. The fact of having been able to make a piggy bank with their own hands will stimulate the child to use it and learn the effort that is required to earn money.

 

To make a money box, which in this case will take the form of a traditional pig, the following items are required:

� A balloon
� Two toilet rolls
� Sellotape
� Scissors
� White glue
� A large paintbrush
� Cardboard
� Acrylic paint or watercolours
� Felt tip pens
� A newspaper

 

We begin by blowing up the balloon, which is what will give the body of the piggy bank its shape, and tie a knot at the end. Then we take a sheet of newspaper and screw it up into a ball so that it can be used for the head. If it looks too small we will need to add more sheets of newspaper until it is in proportion with the body. Once we have achieved the size we want, we cover it with sellotape so as to give it a smoother surface and we stick it to the balloon using another piece of sellotape.

 

Next we take a piece of cardboard, which can come from any box of biscuits or cereal, a milk carton or even the cover of an old notebook, and cut out two triangles to make the pig�s ears. The corners can be folded in a little to make them look a bit more realistic and then we stick them to the head with sellotape. In order to make the legs we just need two cardboard toilet rolls. We cut them in half and attach them, with sellotape, to the bottom of the pig�s body.

 

Once the basic shape is ready, it�s time to get our hands dirty. We mix equal amounts of water and white glue together in a bowl and stir them well. We then start placing pieces of toilet paper all over the pig and spread them with the water and glue paste we prepared earlier. Using the paintbrush, we make sure that the paper is firmly stuck all over the pig: the ears, the legs, the head, every last bit. Once the body has dried we add another layer of paper and glue to make the piggy bank more solid. We can also add some eyes made of two little balls of toilet paper, which we cover with the glue paste and stick to the head.

 

When it is all dry we have to turn our pig into a piggy bank and to achieve this we paint a slot on its back big enough for both coins and notes. Then we cut the slot open and pop the balloon, which has now finished its job as a mould.

 

At this stage the only thing that remains is to paint the piggy bank. As it is a pig it can be painted pink and then, with a felt tip pen, we can add details such as a smile, some eyelashes, eyebrows, a tail... whatever we can think of.