Tag Archives: kids crafts

St. Patrick’s Day Activities and Crafts

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When St. Patrick’s Day rolls around in March, it’s a great chance to celebrate in fun, whimsical ways.  If your child is not familiar with Leprechauns you may want to read some books ahead of time so he/she is excited about these special St. Patrick’s Day surprises we have up our sleeves.  Some possible books include: Clever Tom and the Leprechaun: An Old Irish Story by Linda Shute, That’s What Leprechauns Do by Eve Bunting, and The Night Before St. Patrick’s Day (Reading Railroad) by Natasha Wing. 

*Leprechauns Have Been Here

I got this adorable idea form Sue Ann Kearns, a wonderful first grade teacher who taught in the classroom next to mine.  She would sprinkle green glitter as “Leprechaun Dust” around her classroom so the children would think Leprechauns had been there the night before.  Then the children would go on a hunt.  It was too cute!  The children just went wild.  You may also want to add other teeny tiny props (doll house furniture, Barbie shoes…).  

Disclaimer: For young children, you want to make sure they don’t really think they will find Leprechauns, just a possible treat they left behind so they aren’t disappointed!

 

?Leprechaun Finder

It doesn’t get much simpler than this when it comes to crafts and my daughter absolutely loved it!  I simply cut the bottom of a green paper cup out with an X-Acto knife.  And then L. took a square piece of green cellophane  paper and wrapped it around the opposite end of the glass (the part you would drink out of) and placed an elastic around it to keep it in place.  Next, you are ready to go in search of Leprechauns.  The other great thing about the cup is if your child sees a Leprechaun he/she can quickly flip it over and trap the little guy.

?St. Patrick’s Day Treasure Hunt

We are excited to share this Downloadable Rainbow Treasure Hunt—you and your kids can enjoy this St. Patrick’s Day. Teachers: you can also design your own treasure hunt by using this blank downloadable version.

First choose a “treasure” that’ll be waiting for your child at the end of the hunt (pretend gold coins, St. Patrick’s themed stickers or if you would like to offer a treat, use gold-wrapped Rolos or gold coin chocolates).

Next, download and print the Leprechaun Letter and Treasure Hunt clues. Cut apart the six clues, then hide them according to the directions below on St. Patrick’s Day. Get your little ones excited for the game by reading the Leprechaun Letter together at the start of the treasure hunt.

1st Clue
Red  (Choose where you want the treasure hunt to start.)

2nd Clue
Orange (bathtub)

3rd Clue
Yellow (on a window)

4th Clue
Green (child’s bed)

5th Clue
Blue (playroom)

6th Clue
Purple (in your mailbox)

Your child’s “treasure” you have created should be hidden under the kitchen table. We would love to see what your treasure looks like!

 

6 Fun Ways to Celebrate Dr. Seuss’ Birthday!

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#1 – Read, Read, Read!

From silly rhymes and counting to ABCs, kids gain a lot from Dr. Seuss books. So pick a few up and read with your little ones to celebrate this unique collection of children’s books.

 

#2 – Make a Cat in the Hat Hat!

Simply glue red strips of 3-inch wide paper onto a 11X17 white sheet of paper to make stripes. For the bottom stripe, glue or staple two red strips to make a circle around your child’s head. Your child may want to personalize it a bit by adding decoration. Once finished with personal touches, you may want to staple an additional red strip to make a circle (like you did on the bottom strip) around the top to make the hat stay rounded.

#3 – Enjoy a Yummy Breakfast of Green Eggs & Ham

Simply scramble up some eggs and add green food coloring (make sure you have a back up plan though if it’s serving as a proper breakfast!) Although I have to note this dish was always a HUGE hit with my class of first graders. ?

#4 – Dr. Seuss Mural

Make up your own Dr. Seuss characters and put them in a “world of silliness.”

Roll out white paper to make a large banner and tape it to the floor. Then put out black and white photo copied pictures of characters from Dr. Seuss books. Cut out different images from these pages and add them to the mural. Add drawings of your own to make scenery. This was my favorite new Dr. Seuss’ project this year because it allowed my daughter to be as creative & silly as she wanted. It has also been fun because family members and friends have added to it when they come over. I have a feeling this will be staying up for a while!

#5 – Dr. Seuss Popsicle Stick Characters

I was inspired by Cat In the Hat popsicle stick puppets I saw on Pinterest, but my oldest daughter and I decided to make all different characters and put on a puppet show for her baby sister.

#6 – Ask your child, “What Makes You You?”

I love this Dr. Seuss quote: “Today you are you that is truer than true. There is no one alive that is youer than you.” I’ve always been sure to engage my children (and students) by asking open-ended questions and so in honor of Dr. Suess, I asked my four-year-old-daughter: “What makes you you?” and recorded her answer in the notebook we use to capture funny and thoughtful things she says. Me “What makes you you?” L. “Because that is just how it works.” Me “What is special about you?” L. “That I am nice.” “I think what makes me special is that I have a baby sister.” “B. is smaller and I am bigger.” ”I am good at summersaults.”

I hope you enjoy these activities with your child at home, or if you’re a teacher, with your class at school! Please comment with any links or share ideas you’ve been using to celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday!

Pizza Box Crafts: Tic-tac-toe Game

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The possibilities are endless when it comes to repurposing pizza boxes. As we demonstrated in our other Pizza Box Craft posts, all you really need to do is recall some of the traditional games and activities you loved as a kid and recreate them with your child. That’s exactly what we did below in recreating the classic kid’s game, Tic-tac-toe. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to create and enjoy one with your family:

1st Put masking or colored tape on the inside bottom of the pizza box to make a Tic-tac-toe board.

2nd Use another pizza box & cut out 5 Os and 5 Xs. We used a small bowl to trace the circles.

3rd Trace 5 circles on white paper that are the same size as the 5 Os.

4th Have your little one decorate the white “pizzas” and then cut them out.

5th Glue the decorated pizza to the cardboard circle bases.

6th (Optional) attach Velcro to the inside cover of the box and the Xs & Os to keep the game piece from being misplaced.

Our challenge to you is to try one of these activities or do something creative and new with the next pizza box you get and share it with us!

Amanda 

 

Mail to Go! Box (Kid’s Letter Writing Station)

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Do you remember the excitement that came with getting something in the mail as a child? For us, whether it was a letter from a pen pal, a Valentine’s Day card, or an invitation to a party, being able to hold something so personal in our hands, and more importantly, creating and sending our own hand-written response was something special. Unfortunately, for our children in particular, the increasingly digital and online world we live in has put good old fashioned snail mail on a rapid decline. So to help give my daughter that same fun, valuable experience of engaging in written communication, I created the Mail to Go! Box for her. It’s a letter writing station where she can store treasured letters and cards she receives, and craft her own to send out to friends and family.

Start by decorating the outside of a pizza box with collage materials to make a fun all-contained writing station. On the inside, collect writing materials such as stamps, note paper, pens, stickers, envelopes, etc. (we make sure our daughter always has a few Excited 2 Learn Easy-to-Write Cards in there too!) Use the top of the cover like a bulletin board, attaching writing prompts, words frequently used in letters, and names and pictures of people your kids may want to write to. My daughter loves her Mail to Go! Box and carries it around with her. Although her email writing days will come sooner than I’d probably like to admit, I know her Mail to Go! Box is helping her start out with the same appreciation I have for personal and hand-written letters!

Celebrate Old Rock Day with “Fancy Rocks”

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Who knew? Old Rock Day is celebrated on January 7th of each year. What may seem like a fairly silly national day is actually a wonderful opportunity to get outside as a family to explore, learn, and enjoy making a long-lasting craft your child of any age will treasure.

In our family we like to call the activity below “Fancy Rocks,” but please make up your own names (and share them with us!)

Materials:
? variety of playfully designed napkins (based on your child’s age & interests)
? rocks (no bigger than a grapefruit)
? Elmer’s Glue
? bowl
? paintbrush
? plastic/paper cups

 Steps to Finding and Creating Your Rocks

1st Go on a nature hunt to collect rocks

2nd Give the rocks a “bath” (if they are really dirty pour some hot water over them before bringing them inside so you don’t clog your drain)

3rd Place them on a towel to dry (or you can use a blow dryer, which little ones think is funny)

4th Mix Elmer’s Glue with a little bit of water until it is thin enough to spread over a napkin and rock without ripping the napkin

5th Choose one of your rocks and using a paintbrush, cover with glue. Next wrap a napkin (the napkin should be opened up so it is as thin as possible) around the entire rock (depending on the size of the rock and napkin you may need to rip/cut the napkin)

6th Using a paintbrush, cover the entire napkin with glue. You can immediately put a second coat on

7th Carefully place covered rock on top of a plastic cup to dry

8th Clean up—make sure you get the kids to help and wash the paintbrush immediately so the glue does not dry

You now have “Fancy Rocks” you can use in all sort of ways:
– paper weight
– door stopper
– pet rock—give it a fun name, write a story about it, measure it…
– make a rock collection
– give it as a gift

? Depending on your child’s age you may want to discuss rules about rock (no throwing them, carry them with two hands so they don’t fall on little toes—you name it!). Communication and setting these types of expectations ahead of time is part of our Excited 2 Learn philosophy.

Post-holiday Clean-up: Upcycle Your Christmas Cards

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Ever feel guilty getting rid of your Christmas and Holiday cards at the end of the season? We do too! They’re filled with the faces of those we love and also come in many creative designs and colors—it just feels wrong to throw them away or even put them in the recycling bin never to be seen again. That’s why over the past few years we have started to use them in a variety of ways. The possibilities for this are really endless but here are a few ways to get started:

? Make a collage. If your child uses or is learning to use scissors, have him/her cut out faces and shapes on various cards. Children of all ages can use a glue stick to help you put together a collage on paper. You can either put it in any sized frame to put up as a home holiday decoration for next year or attach it to a small paper plate or piece of cardboard to use as an ornament for the tree.

? Create Family Holiday Keepsakes. With our left over family holiday cards, I like to cut out the pictures and stick them in a small frame or two. Add a holiday touch by hanging them from pinecones or an artificial garland.

? Preserve Craft Materials. Especially if there are large blank areas on cards you received (backs of cards are typically blank) they make great pieces of scrap or craft paper for creative activities. You can also cut out the various shapes such as stars, hearts, trees and circles, as well as colorful letters and faces to use in projects throughout the year.  

What do you do with your old Christmas/holiday cards? Please tell us—we’d love to try out your ideas!

Amanda and Sarah 

Family Holiday Project: Wooden Rudolph Lawn Ornament

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Over the past few years my daughter and her Grandpa “Gup” have shared a treasured holiday tradition—putting together our wood Rudolph for the front yard. It’s an original, hand-made project that has been in our family for about 20 years and she loves being a part of it, evidenced by the fact that every time she goes outside she gives it a kiss and says, “Hi!” We’d like to share this craft with you and your family so that you can enjoy it all winter as much as we have. With adult supervision and guidance it’s a perfect family project to try out this weekend (and for years to come!)

Materials:
? Wood (see below)
? Staple gun or little nails & hammer
? A nose (a circular piece red felt, flashing red nose, red plastic cover, spray  paint a 1/2 of a tennis ball)
? Scissors
? Branch pruner
? Pocket knife
? Wood saw/Hand saw

Just a few years ago!

Wood pieces: (these measurements do not need to be exact)

BODY- 18 to 24 inch round piece of fire wood (4 to 6 inches diameter) Use a wood saw to cut four 1 inch holes (at least 1 inch deep) in the bottom of the body for the legs and one in the top for the neck.

HEAD-  6 to 8 inch round piece of fire wood (4 to 6 diameter). Saw two 1/2 inch holes for the antlers.

Go on a nature hunt and collect five larger sticks for the legs & neck (1 inch in diameter). Cut the the four legs to be 16 to 20 inches. Then find two antler shaped branches (1/2 inch diameter).

EARS & TAIL-  Cut with a pocket knife pieces of bark—white birch works very well. You can also use cardboard if it is easier.

 

Assembling:
? Put legs in body & make sure it stands properly. Depending on the bend you will have to twist them around to get Rudolph to stand up straight. You may even want to trim them a little shorter.  We have also been known to just stick the longer leg into the ground, which works for a nice anchor if the ground isn’t too frozen.
? Attach the neck to the body and then the head to the neck.
? Attach the 2 antlers.
? Attach the 2 ears to the head and the tail to the body with a staple gun or nails.
? Attach the nose.
? Tie a ribbon around Rudolph neck if you wish.
? Enjoy!
The great thing is that because you don’t use glue, the same reindeer can be taken apart, stored and reassembled every year. Although this project has been done in our family for two decades we re-made this particular reindeer a few years ago, but we’ve only had to replace the ear and tail since.

?Again, this is a project to do with close supervision (but for young children it may be best to have all the parts pre-made so they don’t need to be around dangerous tools.)

Amanda 

Excited 2 Learn

 

Personalized Wrapping Paper: Getting Kids Involved in Holiday Gifting!

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If you’re like us, you probably still have quite a bit of wrapping left to do before the weekend. One way we’ve started to multitask this holiday season is to involve the kids in customizing our wrapping paper. It’s easy, fun and a whole lot cheaper than buying roll after roll of gift wrap.

Head to your local craft/office supply store and pick up a giant roll of plain white paper. Wrap your gifts using double-sided tape so the tape does not interfere with your child’s creative flair—most markers will not adhere to tape. We’ve found dot markers end up looking the most vibrant and are easy for kids even as young as one to use. Other possible materials include:

? ripped paper & glue sticks
? stickers
? glitter pens
? stamps & ink pads
? finger paint
? sequins

Pick your child’s materials carefully based on their age, familiarity with the supplies, and how closely you will be supervising him/her because some may stain or be choking hazards. As your child is busy creating a masterpiece you can get some much-needed wrapping done—a win win!

To share a laugh with loved ones and add an extra personal touch, ask your child a few questions about the person each gift is for. Then use a Sharpie to write a quote or two on the wrapping paper as well. It has been a big hit in our family so far!

Amanda and Sarah 

Excited 2 Learn