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Showing posts with label crafts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crafts. Show all posts

Saturday, March 17, 2012

St. Patrick's Day Activities

Yes, it has been nearly a year since I have posted. I'm sorry about that. Life has been incredibly busy. At the end of last year, I was one of the many teachers laid off from my county. I spent a good part of my summer looking for a job and my husband and I were praying about if/where we should locate. We ended up selling our house and relocating near my hometown so that we could be closer to my parents. Now I'm teaching full-time again and I'm also taking some college courses so that I can add on to my teaching certificate. I'm desperately longing for some lazy summer days!

I hope you enjoy these St. Patrick's Day crafts!

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1. Green Collage



These green collages are a simple activity to do and each one is unique. I simply looked through our craft supply cabinets and pulled out a bunch of different green items. We used green pom poms, foam stickers, sticks, sequins, tissue paper, feathers, etc and glued them onto a green shamrock.

2. Gadget painting


I have mentioned these gadget/cookie cutter paintings before. They are cute, easy, and each one looks different. The kids enjoy the gadget painting. In January we made one with snowmen, in February we made one with hearts, and as you see here we did shamrocks in March. In April we will probably paint with baby chicks, eggs, and bunnies.


3. Shamrock necklace



We were going to make these shamrock necklaces, but somehow time got away from us. I'll save this idea for next year.

4. Tissue Paper Shamrocks

We made the tissue paper shamrocks last year. It is similar to the green collage.

What kinds of St. Patrick's Day activities have you tried?

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Monday, April 18, 2011

Simple Spring Flowers

I was looking for something easy and springy to put on our classroom bulletin board. These flowers were easy and each one is unique.


To make the flowers I had each child paint a piece of white construction paper. They were able to choose which color they wanted. After the paint was dry I took a light colored marker and drew a flower design on the back of the paper to use as my template and then I cut out the flower. We put glue in the center of the flowers and the children were able to choose what they wanted for the inside. You can see the choices which included various colors of glitter, colored sand, sequins, and pom poms.

Cute, simple, and easy. Enjoy!

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Sunday, March 20, 2011

Lion Paper Craft


My son brought home this lion from school and so I thought I'd share it with you. Everything is made from paper. The mane of the lion is made from paper chains.

You might also like this Lion and Lamb Handprint Craft.

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Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Tissue Paper Shamrocks


Since I teach special needs preschool I am always on the look out for easy craft ideas that all of the children can do and that will help them improve their motor skills. Since St. Patrick's Day is this week we made these tissue paper shamrocks. They were so simple to do and the kids seemed to enjoy it. These shamrocks were still a little wet when I took the picture, but you can imagine how the finished product looks.

To make the shamrocks: I did a google search for a shamrock template and used it to cut out shamrocks from green paper. Then I let the kids paint the glue onto the paper. Painting the glue works much better than squeezing it on. It allows for better control and avoids a big glob on the paper. Then the children put little green squares of tissue paper onto the paper.

Simple and easy. :)

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Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Tie Dye Butterflies


I was wanting some spring decorations that we could make for our classroom. I don't remember where I saw this idea (it must have been 10 years ago) but these are really cute and simple to make.





For our tie dye butterflies we used bingo daubers, markers, coffee filters, and pipe cleaners (chenille stems).


Before you begin, be sure to write the child's name on the coffee filter. I chose to write their name in very small print on the outer edge of the butterfly.

To make the butterflies you don't have to use bingo daubers but our kids really like them so we put the daubers to use. We used the markers and daubers to color the coffee filters. Next, we just sprayed about 3 squirts of water onto the coffee filter and moved the filter around a little so that the water would make the colors run. If a child didn't color their filter very much then I scrunched it up to help the color spread.


We laid the coffee filters out to dry. We used recycled copy paper and newspaper on the tables during the coloring and drying process and it was very helpful.

Next, I used a pipe cleaner to make a body for the butterfly. I gathered up the coffee filter and wrapped the pipe cleaner around the middle a few times and then twisted it to make a body and antennae. It took a little practice to figure out how I wanted to wrap it, but I think it turned out well.


These butterflies are a colorful addition to our classroom. :)

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Friday, February 18, 2011

How to Dye Pasta for Crafts

It is super double coupon week at Harris Teeter and I managed to snag some pasta for only 30 cents a box! Since we don't eat much pasta in our home I decided to purchase some for the classroom.


Dying pasta is super easy, economical, and has many uses in arts and crafts projects. In our classroom we plan to make necklaces, bracelets, and collages. Stringing the pasta will provide an opportunity to improve fine motor skills. In addition to these ideas we can also use it for counting and making patterns.

As you can see, the pasta turned out bright and colorful. The colors remind me of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Ingredients:

  • pasta
  • large ziploc bag (I used gallon size)
  • food coloring
  • vinegar or alcohol
  • wax paper

Instructions:

  1. Add a few cups of pasta to your ziploc bag.
  2. Next, add about 10-12 drops of food coloring and about 1 tbsp of vinegar. (You can use alcohol but I prefer to use vinegar so that it's safe for the preschoolers that decide to put it in their mouth.)
  3. Close the ziploc and stir up the pasta to mix around the food coloring. You can let the noodles sit in the food coloring for a little while if you'd like a deeper color. (I didn't let mine sit and I am pleased with the color.)
  4. Dump out your noodles onto wax paper and allow to dry. You can let it dry on newspaper but I used wax paper so that I don't have to worry about the wet noodles drying to the paper.
  5. Let the noodles dry overnight. I made our pasta on Friday so that it would have plenty of time to dry over the weekend.

Money saving idea: To cut down on the number of baggies I used, I planned an order for dying my pasta so that I could reuse the bags. For example, I dyed yellow pasta and then used the bag to dye orange pasta. I knew that the orange would involve using the yellow and another color.

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Sunday, February 13, 2011

Construction Theme: The Three Little Pigs

One of our recent themes was construction. We used The Three Little Pigs as our main book for the week. Here are a few activities to go with the theme.

There are so many different versions of this story that I actually had a difficult time finding the original story. You could share the different versions with your class. Depending on their age and abilities, you could compare the differences.




We also read Our Tree House. This book talks about building a tree house and it shows the people working and building so we were able to point out the different tools and the purpose of the tools.

For our craft we made pigs. We used three circles for the body, head, and snout.

We have a blocks center in our classroom. We recently added some of the sturdy cardboard brick blocks to our collection.

My son had some toy tools at home so I borrowed them to take to school. They were a hit and they preschoolers have really enjoyed playing with the tools.


We are fortunate to have a nice manipulative center in our classroom which has many wooden puzzles.


I added some of these pig coloring pages in our art center that week as an optional activity. The kids could color and trace the word "pig". Other sources for printables: First School, Coloring.ws, Coloring Pages for Kids.

Other things we did during the week:
Read Humpty Dumpty
Sang the Humpty Dumpty song
Watched The Three Little Pigs from the Discovery Education website
We made The Three Little Pigs stick puppets. We used our puppets to retell the story.

Other activities to try:
Blow paint with a straw.
Pig craft (from paper towel roll)

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Friday, February 11, 2011

Snowman Photo Keepsake


This snowman doesn't need much explanation. It is simply a snowman that kids can help cut and assemble. Then the teacher can add a photo of the child for the snowman's face.
Be sure to check out the other snowman ideas.

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Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Heart People Craft

This week we're making heart people for our Valentine craft. We're also decorating our bulletin board with these cuties. The idea is very simple and I have seen it around for a while now so I am not sure where it originated.

As you can see, the body of the person is a large heart and the feet and hands are smaller hearts. We use strips of paper for the legs and arms. We folded them to give a crinkled effect. You could wiggle eyes or buttons for the eyes or you could hand draw them. We let the kids draw the mouth.

This is definitely an cute, easy, and inexpensive idea.

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Sunday, January 30, 2011

Snowman Arts & Crafts Ideas

January is almost over but it's not too late to make a snowman. These are just a few ideas I rounded up for you all. Enjoy! :)


Snowman Globe - This was made by a another pre-k class at the school where I work. As you can see, the globe is a blue painted paper plate and the globe stand is half of a brown painted plate.

Blistery Snowman Picture - We made these in our classroom. We invited the students to use their fingers or paint brushes to make snow. After the snow was dry we added circles for the snowman body, dry black beans for the buttons, and some twigs for the arms.


Snowman Window Scene - This was made by my son who is in kindergarten. They used crayons on black construction paper to draw a scene and then they added some brown strips on top of the picture to look like the scene was being viewed through a window.


Winter Wonderland Snowmen - These were made by providing students with sequins, feathers, buttons, and other various craft supplies.


Other snowman ideas:
Marshmallow Snowmen
Paper Plate Snowmen Globes from Teach Preschool
Rice Krispy Treat Snowman from Edible Crafts
Build Your Snowman from No time for Flashcards
Create-A-Snowman Craft from Crafts-N-Things for Children

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Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Snowman Votive Craft


Parents and grandparents always enjoy cute handmade gifts from children, especially when they're made from handprints or fingerprints.

This snowman is simply made from a child's finger. Paint white paint on their finger and press lightly onto the votive holder. After the paint dries you can add the arms, buttons, etc with a fine tip brush or permanent marker. You might even want to paint the child's name and date on the side or bottom.

Teacher tip: When making handprint gifts, be sure to have the child look away as you press their hand. When the child is looking, they tend to press their hands themselves or jerk away from you which leaves a blurry mess.

This idea is very similar to the snowman ornament that I shared with you a few years ago.

Do you have any kid-friendly handmade gift ideas to share?

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Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Easy Gingerbread Man Ornament

Kids really enjoy making ornaments at Christmas time. Here's another easy ornament to try. These gingerbread men cut outs are made from craft foam. They were purchased very inexpensively at the Dollar Tree. Of course, you could use a gingerbread pattern to cut these out yourself.

Be sure to provide your little one with glue, glitter, buttons, sequins, etc to decorate their gingerbread person. Be sure to check out these other Christmas and ornament ideas.
Have fun!

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Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Thanksgiving People Craft

While walking down the halls at school I spotted these Thanksgiving people that the kindergarten children had made. Aren't they cute?

The body of the people is a Zoopal plate. They painted the plates with skin and hair and attached an acorn for the nose. Next came the smiles, hats or head dressing, fingers, and wiggle eyes.










Other ideas you might like:
Thanksgiving place mat
Thanksgiving turkey craft
Thankful tree

Do you have any cute Thanksgiving crafts to share?

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Monday, June 21, 2010

Patriotic Crafts from FamilyFun

If there's one thing that parents really enjoy, it is handprint crafts from kids. I know many of you will enjoy this eagle handprint design. FamilyFun has it the design on a t-shirt but I'm sure you could use this idea in many ways.





More patriotic ideas from FamilyFun:

Confetti Launcher: Fireworks happen only after dark, but this craft creates a pop of color any time of day. Kids pull back on the string to release a shower of tissue paper confetti, then gather it up and refill the launcher again.and again.and again.

Wig and Tutu in One: Powdered wigs are so 1776. Celebrate the Fourth in 2010 sporting a crazy red, white, and blue pompadour. Or, if you prefer, wear the tulle creation as a tutu. *You can have this craft done in 30 minutes or less.*

Spirited Bike Spinner: Old Glory won't be the only thing blowing in the breeze this Fourth. Made from a strategically snipped and bent plastic bottle wrapped in tape, this colorful bike accessory twirls in the air as your kids pedal.

A Patri-botic Centerpiece: Do U need a GR8 helper 4 yours picnic on the 4th? Well, this is one can-do robot. His recycled-can head holds a hair-raising array of utensils, and a clear container belly keeps cookies safe from eager little hands until it's time for dessert.

A Star-spangled Welcome: This bunting-inspired paper wreath will look as snappy as a salute on your front door.

Do you have any favorite patriotic crafts?

image: Disney FamilyFun

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Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Christian Pumpkin Carvings

Cuddlebug brought this home from preschool today so I thought I'd share this for Halloween.



You'll need:
orange pumpkin with poem on 11x14 paper
two yellow stars for eyes
yellow cross for nose
yellow fish for mouth
glue


Here's the poem:

Christian Pumpkin Carvings

I am a Jack O Lantern
My light will shine so bright
For I am a Christian pumpkin
My symbols tell what's right

My nose is like the cross
On which the Savior died,
To set us free from sin
We need no longer hide.

My mouth is like a fish
The whole wide world to show,
That Christians live in this house
And love their Savior so!

The story starts at Christmas
My eyes are like the star,
That shone on Baby Jesus
And wise men saw from afar.

My color is orange
Just like the bright sun,
That rose on Easter Day
Along with God's own Son.

And so on Halloween
Let's set our pumpkins out,
And tell the trick or treaters
What God's love is all about!

~Author unknown

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Wednesday, July 1, 2009

10 Outdoor Summer Crafts for Summer

Better Homes & Gardens has some cute summer craft ideas.


  • Kids' Summer Sunglasses

  • Make and Decorate a Colorful Kite

  • Cute Bug Catcher

  • Neighborhood Kids' Paint Party

  • Kids' Garden Plant Markers

  • Handprint Garden Plaque

  • Kids' Garden Banner

  • Fun to Paint Garden Rocks

  • Kids' Creative Stepping-Stone

  • Puppets from the Garden


Which ideas do you think you'll try?

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Friday, April 10, 2009

Paper Plate Easter Basket


I've seen this paper plate Easter basket several times, but now I finally have a picture to show you. You simply take a large paper plate and cut out a small half circle, leaving the rim intact. Then you paint or color the backside the plate. You decorate paper eggs to glue on the other side. DLTK has some printable eggs that you can use, if you don't want to decorate your own.


Materials needed:

paper plate
paint
paint brush
construction paper
markers or crayons
glue


Have fun!

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Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Felt Brown Bag Lunch


If you like handmade toys or if you like to sew, then you should check out this Felt Brown Bag Lunch tutorial over at Skip to My Lou. You can buy the templates for $1.75 or install the Skip to My Lou button in your sidebar and Cindy will email them to you for free. Cindy is also giving away the felt to make these lunch kits, so drop on by and leave a comment.

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Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Pasta Crafts from Parents TV

If you're going crazy from all of these cold days inside, try keeping your kids busy with these pasta crafts. They're so creative and cute!

Next time I go to the store I'll have to pick up some varieties of pasta.

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Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Handprint Flower Craft


As some of you know, I will be moving in just a few weeks. My time here at Little Fun is limited, but as I come across some of my old teaching things I'm trying to share those ideas with you.


This is a hand and footprint flower that is easy to do and inexpensive to make. (Well, other than getting the kids to sit still! lol)


To make:


1) With a paint brush, paint the child's foot with green paint. Press foot down onto cardstock paper.


Tips: I have found that if the children look at their foot while pressing it down, they will try to press it down themselves and it makes a smudged mess. I ask the child to look at something while I press their foot down. This helps a lot! I had a pan of water sitting by to clean the children's feet. It looked like I was having a foot washing service. ;)


2) On separate cardstock, make the petals of the flower using the child's handprints. As you can see from the picture, you can face the handprints whichever direction you choose. After the petals dry, cut around them to make a flower shape.


3) Use the child's forearm for the stem. I wait until the feet have dried before I do this. Cut around the feet (leaves) and forearm (stem). Attach the handprints (petals) to the feet and forearm by stapling them together. If you choose, you can use a poster board instead of having to attach the pieces together.


Although this craft is easy, it is very time consuming when you have 13 children in your class. I suggest spreading it out over several days.


If I remember correctly, this idea came from an older Mailbox magazine.


Have fun!

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