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

Source: busybeekidscrafts.com via Karen on Pinterest

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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Wordless Wednesday: Our Classroom Butterflies

My computer is being repaired so these pictures are from my phone. I hope to post more pictures soon.

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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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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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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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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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Captivating Caterpillar Cupcakes

Today we have another cute spring baking activity, courtesy of Duncan Hines. For more recipe ideas, visit the Duncan Hines website.

For some togetherness, get the kids to help create the candy creatures that sit atop these yummy Captivating Caterpillar Cupcakes, made with Duncan Hines Classic White Cake Mix.

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg Duncan Hines® Moist Deluxe® Classic White Cake Mix
• 3 large egg whites
• 1 1/3 cups water
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup star decors
• 1 tub Duncan Hines® Creamy Home-Style Classic Vanilla Frosting
• green food coloring
• 10 to 12 chocolate wafer cookies, crushed
• 1/2 cup candy-coated chocolate pieces
• 1/3 cup assorted jelly beans
• assorted nonpareil decors

Baking Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 ºF. Grease muffin pans or line with paper baking cups.

2. Combine cake mix, egg whites, water and oil in large bowl. Beat at low speed with electric mixer until moistened. Beat at medium speed 2 minutes. Fold in 1/3 cup star decors. Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full.

3. Bake at 350 ºF. 18 to 23 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool in pans 5 minutes. Remove to cooling racks. Cool completely.

4. Tint vanilla frosting with green food coloring. Frost one cupcake. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon chocolate cookie crumbs on frosting. Arrange 4 candy-coated chocolate pieces to form caterpillar body. Place jelly bean at one end to form head. Attach remaining star and nonpareil decors with dots of frosting to form eyes. Repeat with remaining cupcakes.

Permission to print from FamilyFun.

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Hello Cupcake! Easter Egg Cupcakes

Duncan Hines® helps you create delicious family moments with decadent recipes even the tiniest pair of hands in your family can help make. Baking at home with family creates unforgettable moments and fills the holidays with that priceless feeling of togetherness.

Created by the authors of the popular cupcake decorating book Hello Cupcake!™. This is a fun Easter project to make with the kids or with your baking friends. All it takes are easy-to-find ingredients, fun food dye colors and delicious frosting. Easter Egg Cupcakes aren't hard to make -- but they’re sure to impress as gifts, or to decorate your holiday table.






Ingredients:

• 12 unfrosted Moist Deluxe Devil’s Food Cake Mix cupcakes baked in white paper liners
• 12 honey graham crackers
• 2 cans (16 ounces) Creamy Homestyle Classic Vanilla Frosting
• Green, yellow, orange, blue, purple, and pink food coloring
• 2 tablespoons each mini and regular white, pink, green, and blue decorations

Baking Instructions:

1. Tint 2 cups of the frosting light green. Spoon 1 1/2 cups of the light green frosting into a zippered plastic bag. Tint 1/2 cup each of vanilla frosting pink, light blue, light purple, orange, and yellow. Spoon 2 tablespoons each into zippered plastic bags. Press out the excess air in each of the bags, seal, and set aside.

2. Using a serrated knife, trim the graham crackers into an egg shape 3 1/2 inches long and 2 1/2 inches wide. Snip a small corner (1/4 inch) from the bag with the 1 1/2 cups of green frosting and pipe a small dollop on top of each cupcake and place a graham cracker on top, pressing down to secure. The cracker will hang over the edge of the cupcake. Freeze the cupcakes for 10 to 15 minutes to set.

3. Place the remaining 1/2 cup of each tinted frosting into a separate microwavable bowl. Working with one color at a time, microwave the frosting, stirring frequently, until it is the texture of lightly whipped cream, 20 to 30 seconds. Holding a chilled cupcake by the paper liner dip the graham cracker into the melted frosting to coat, turn right side up and let stand. Continue with all of the cupcakes and graham crackers making two eggs of each color.

4. Snip very small corners (1/8 inch) from the bags with the 2 tablespoons of frosting. Pipe decorative dots, lines, and dashes on top of the frosting-coated crackers. Using the bag with the 1 1/2 cups of light green frosting, pipe dots of frosting around base of each egg always pulling the peak away from the egg (be sure to cover any exposed cupcake).

5. While the frosting is still wet add candy decors to create decorative patterns.

For more recipes, visit Duncan Hines.

image and recipe courtesy of Duncan Hines

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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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Printable Bunny Activities

Skip to My Lou has the cutest craft ideas and some of them are for kids. Cindy has just posted a bunny treat bag topper. Some other cute ideas include a bunny egg holder and a bunny napkin ring. Simple and easy!

Enjoy!

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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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Fun Filled Friday: On the Farm (eggs)

I'll be busy tomorrow, so I wanted to leave you with some fun activities today. Enjoy!

You could use these activities to go along with spring or when learning about farms.

Two Little Eggs (Poem)
Two little eggs
In a nest soft and deep.
Two eggs crack;
Then two birds peep!
Two birds eat,
And two birds sleep.
Then two fly away
With a "Cheep! Cheep! Cheep!"

Chicken Noises
Make a noise like a rooster. (crow)
Make a noise like a hen. (cluck)
Make a noise like a chick. (peep)
Make a noise like an egg. (silence)

Ten Chicken Eggs
Five eggs (hold up five fingers)
And five eggs (hold up five more fingers)
That makes . . . ten!
(pause and let children answer ten)
Sitting on top is Mother Hen.
(Place hands together knuckles up.)

Crackle! Crackle! Crackle (clap three times)
What do I see? (look amazed)
Ten fluffy chickes. (hold up 10 fingers and wiggle them)
As yellow as can be. (Close fists)

Peep!, peep!, peep!, peep!
(hold up a finger for each peep)
Peep!, peep!, peep!, peep!
Peep! Peep!

The Chick in the Egg
Tune: "The Wheels on the Bus"

The hen on the farm lays a smooth white egg,
Smooth white egg, smooth white egg.
The hen on the farm lays a smooth white egg,
Cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck!

Inside the eggs grows a little chick,
Little chick, little chick.
Inside the egg grows a little chick,
In twenty-one days.

The chick has a beak to crack the egg,
Crack the egg, crack the egg.
The chick has a beak to crack the egg,
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap!

He hatches from the egg and flaps his wings,
Flaps his wings, flaps his wings.
He hatches from the egg and flaps his wings,
Flap, flap, flap, flap, flap!

The hen keeps her chick warm in the nest,
In the nest, in the nest.
The hen keeps her chick warm in the nest,
Peep, peep, peep, peep, peep!

Try these books:
Good Morning Chick by Ginsburg
The Golden Egg Book by Brown
Egg-napped! by Montes
Chickens Aren't the Only Ones by Heller

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Kid Craft: Dirt Cake in a Flower Pot

Spring is finally here and I'm sure you're looking for fun spring-type activities to do with the kids. For an edible and simple project, try this dirt cake idea from ". . . And Miles to Go Before We Sleep . . ."

This yummy recipe uses Oreo cookies, butter, cream cheese, instant pudding, milk, and Cool Whip. And hooray, it doesn't require any use of the stove!

Find the easy recipe at ". . . And Miles to Go Before We Sleep . . . ".

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April Showers Art Activity

This umbrella was simply made by cutting an umbrella from construction paper and then allowing the children to golf ball paint the umbrella.

This was made a few years ago, but I'm sure we picked purple for the umbrella because purple was our color of the month.

I think this umbrella looks a bit funny because it's handle is so short. One of the other teachers cut them out so that they would fit onto one piece of construction paper. You could make a smaller umbrella with a longer handle.

Other options:

Paint white raindrops with blue paint or blue rain drops with white paint.

This golf ball painting idea can be used for many seasons. You can paint pumpkins for fall, ornaments for Christmas, heart for Valentine's Day, etc.

Let children sort of stamp the paper using paint and cookie cutters, rather than golf ball painting.

Use marbles instead of golf balls.

Enjoy!

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