Katrina and I have thought of every craft we can come up with to help you
fill your activities calendar! There's enough for almost a month's worth
of
daily craft activities from the old tried-and-true to some different ones
that I have done at least once with my Kindergarten class. These are all
do-able with your kids. The materials are available from around the
house or at about any local store that sells craft supplies. I don't use
cereal and foods glued onto paper because these are so tempting to eat
and I don't think that's wise with the glue on there, even if it is
non-toxic.
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*Spatter paint with paint and toothbrushes: cut shapes out of paper or use
leaves, pin them to paper and spatter paint around with toothbrushes-
careful! This one's messy! You can get really interesing effects by
using white paint on black paper.
*Finger painting
*For the adventurous souls: try foot painting! Or at least make foot prints.
*For a new twist on finger painting have the child paint on a table top (some paints stain so you may want to test this first). After they have made their design lay a piece of paper over the paint and gently smooth down. Peel up slowly and you have the design offset onto paper! Cool, huh?
*Blow painting: Put a large drop of paint onto the bottom of a piece of paper and have the child blow the paint through a straw (be real sure they blow it or they may not enjoy this acitivity very much!). The paint can be blown in different directions. I used to use this with my Kindergarten class around Mother's Day and use black paint. After the black paint was dry we'd do thumb prints in pink and orange on the black to look like a tree. Very nice.
*Sponge painting. Don't worry about buying those little shapes. Just get old sponges that you don't use anymore and cut them into shapes!
*String painting: Get a length of string or yarn and dip in paint. Take a piece of paper and fold in half, laying it on a table or other firm surface. Lay the string on one side of the paper and fold the paper over the string. Hold the paper down with one hand or a book and pull or have your child pull the string out. It makes beautiful shapes when you can hold it firmly and get the texture of the string as it is squeezed through the paper.
*Potato printing - great for cards and Valentines. What other vegetables or fruits can you use for printing?
*Leaf and texture rubbings are fun and older children may even make pictures . Remember that you can use coins, wall and floor textures.
*Collages with magazine and newspaper pictures
*Water color painting
*Marble painting. Use a shallow box or box top to hold your paper. Put some paint in a small bowl or teacup and drop in your marbles (I like to use at least 3 or more). Roll them around in the paint until they are covered and drop them onto the paper. Roll them around on the paper for really interesting designs. Use more than one color!
*Thumb print creatures: make a thumb print on paper and then draw around it to make a person or a creature
*Nature picture: gather nature objects such as bits of grass, twigs, tiny gravel and make a nature picture. Use other found objects such as flower petals, feathers, leaves, and such, whatever you happen to find in the yard.
*Play dough - bake the shapes "for keeps": Cute for Mother's and Father's day gifts to grandparents
*Straw and string mobile - using 2 straws and string to make a cross. Use more string and found objects in nature or paper cut-outs to hang on the mobile.
*Decorate an old shirt or cap with fabric paint and fabric glitter to dress it up. Glue on beads and let the girls glue on lace or ribbon.
*Paint on a sheet, new or old for a banner or table cloth. A friend of mine did this every year for her son's birthday and had guests date their signatures and sayings that they wrote.
*Candle holders can be made from baby food jars: Use glue that's been watered down a little and cover the OUTSIDE of the jar only with bits of tissue paper saved from gifts. After the paper is glued on, brush on additional thin coat of glue and sprinkle on glitter. Drop in a votive candle or tealight for a pretty gift.
*Make place mats by tracing around a plate, cup, spoon and fork. Color in and laminate for guides in getting the table set nicely.
*Use found objects in nature, glue onto a large piece of colored paper and laminate for a pretty seasonal placemat.
*Remember those Japanese paper lanterns we used to make in school? Kids still love those. Fold paper in half lengthwise and cut slits from the fold up to within about 1/4 inch of the edge. Open up and tape the edges together so that the fold goes around the middle. Cut a strip of paper for a handle. These look great made from colored paper.
*Make necklaces from macaroni. Color them first with food coloring and let them dry. You can also cut straws to string.
*Make beads of different shapes from play dough, poke a hole through with a toothpick and bake for your bead necklace.
*Wax melt: This is great for your old crayons! Cut shapes out of wax paper, 2 each. Lay newspaper on your ironing board and lay down one piece of wax paper. Shave the differently colored crayons onto the wax paper. - Note: I let the kids pick the colors but I did the shaving. Lay down the other piece of wax paper on top gently. You might want to put another piece of paper over the top to protect your iron. With iron on low heat go over the shapes checking to see that the crayon bits are melting. Let them cool and hang them in the window for sun-catchers. These are so pretty!
*Make glue glob pins. Using regular school glue squirt a small amount onto wax paper. Make it large enough to draw a small picture on. Let dry for a day or 2. When dry, peel off wax paper and glue a safety pin or pin back on. Let dry for several more hours until it's completely dry. Using magic markers draw a small picture on the glob such as pictures, birds, a smiley face - let your imagination soar. These make cute gifts!
*Let your child "sew"! Cut a shape (seasonal or general) out of stiff paper or thin cardboard. You or your child then punches holes around the edge. Put some masking tape on the end of a piece of yarn and let your child lace up the design. My daughter likes this, but my son is not impressed.
*Instead of lacing up a shape let your child glue yarn around the edge of the shape to outline it. For those learning to write their names, they may want to make their name in yarn over the letters you or they have written, depending on their skill level.
*Wax resist: Have your child color a picture. Encourage them to press hard on the crayon. You can use water colors or tempera paint that's been watered down to a thin consistency. Cover the entire paper. The wax will resist the paint, but the rest of the paper will absorb it. I really like this with under sea pictures.
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