Craftivity Corner

Allison McDonald
Creative crafts, book suggestions, and tips to make time for learning in your busy day.

archives

March 31, 2010
Get Ready for Easter with Educational "Hunts"
Use your child's excitement about looking for Easter eggs to boost some learning this week. No matter what stage of learning your child is at you can incorporate these games easily into your day. Sight Word Hunt For kids on spring break or during those cranky after school hours, this is a fun game to practice tricky sight words. Type or write out the words your child is currently working on , as well as some you know they will have no problem with to balance the challenge. Hide them around the house or backyard and go for it! Give them a basket, and let em go, when the time is up read through...
Early Learning, Easter
March 30, 2010
Last Minute Easter Crafts
I normally do links later in the week but I Wanted to give you all time to make sure you had the materials needed to make these awesome crafts in time for this weekend. Check out these melted crayon eggs from Full Circle! It's not too late to make this wreath ! Fluffs Frills and Fire Trucks shows us how! How adorable are these bunny glasses from 4 Crazy Kings? Fun and easy Stained Glass Easter eggs from Ramblings of a Crazy Woman! Love this easy art idea for young kids from Muffin Tin Mom!
Easter ideas
March 28, 2010
Egg Shaker Rings
What I love about this craft is that you don't have to celebrate Easter to get into the action, it works for all kids. What kids love about this craft is that it makes noise... I mean music... 1. Gather your materials. You will need some plastic Easter eggs, make sure they have holes in each end. Pipe cleaners and rice. You may want some tape too. 2. Thread the egg onto the pipe cleaner. 3. Add the rice. 4. Close the egg, you may want to add tape, these eggs pop open pretty easily. 5. Carefully bend the ends of the pipe cleaners around each other to make a handle. Go make some music!
Easter, Musical Instruments, Preschool, Toddlers
March 24, 2010
4 easy bean bag games!
Bean bags are a toy I have had in every classroom I have ever worked in but often do not see when I head over to friend's houses for play dates with my 3 year old son. I think bean bags are a must for all houses with young kids and have compiled 4 easy and educational ways to use them ! My favorite bean bags are ones that are multi colored ( at least 2 bags in each color)and in different shapes. Some come with numbers or letters too. 1. Sorting Young kids naturally sort, line objects up and make distinctions between colors shapes and sizes. Encourage that by providing some structure. Grab...
Early Education, Early Learning, Games, Preschool
March 23, 2010
Spring Stencil
This is a simple craft that can be made by an older child to use themselves or for a younger sibling. My son loved how this made flowers so easy for him. 1. Gather your materials. You will need some cardboard, pointed scissors ( not for young kids), markers,a hole punch and some construction paper. 2.Draw a flower on the cardboard. Do not fret if it's perfect, you can cut it however you want it . 3. Cut out, punch holes if you want. 4. Use it to draw fun flower patterns.
Arts and Crafts, Flowers, Spring
March 22, 2010
Easy "Left Over' Easter Egg
This is not a complicated craft that will take your child ages to complete, it's simple, pretty and a great math lesson if you want it to be. Easter eggs are a great source for lessons in patterning and this craft that uses left over birthday party streamers is no exception. 1. Gather your materials. You Will need a sheet of construction paper, a marker, some left over party streamers, scissors and glue. 2. Start by drawing an egg on your paper. 3.Cut your streamers into thinner strips if you choose. 4. Add glue to your egg. 5. Add your streamers. Try making a simple pattern . If you...
Arts and Crafts, Early Learning, Patterning, Preschoolers
March 19, 2010
Early Easter Links!
I love these Felted Easter Eggs from Strocel.com . Muffin Tin Mom shows off this adorable Baby Chick craft, it's a great shape lesson as well as being cute! Could anything be cuter than this Easter Candy Plant from Make and Takes? I am seriously IN love! Love these Paper Hyacinths from That Artist Woman. The last is from my own blog, this Bird's Nest was my most viewed activity of 2009!
Arts and Crafts, Easter, Holidays, Kids Crafts
March 18, 2010
Author Showcase : Karen Katz
I have been digging through our board books again as I prepare the nursery for our upcoming addition. One of my very favorite authors for babies is Karen Katz ( she is a great author all around too). Here are 4 of her books I think you should check out. Where Is Baby's Beach Ball? Karen Katz's Lift the Flap Books are stellar! In this book the cute red headed baby is at the beach looking for her beach ball. She ( and your child) looks behind beach bags, boats, sandcastles and more looking for it. Before finding the ball she finds crabs, an octopus and even flying fish! What is brilliant...
Children's Book Recommendations
March 17, 2010
How do you get them to sit?
One of the most frequently asked questions I get regarding crafts and toddlers, or preschoolers is how do I get them to do activities ? Young kids like to move, they need to move but teaching them to sit still and focus on a task is important as well. There are 4 things every parent needs to remember when introducing parent led activities into a daily schedule: 1. The younger the child the shorter the activity will be. When I started art time with my son at 11 months, it lasted maybe 3 minutes, by 18 months it was about 8, now at 3 we can sit for 30 minutes regularly with some crafts...
Early Education
March 16, 2010
Spring Flower Craft
Is your school age child home for March break? Racking your brain trying to find something to do? I picked up these plastic Easter eggs at a store over the weekend and couldn't wait to make something with them. This craft is simple, but pretty and offers lots of extra opportunity to draw and color too. 1. Gather your materials. You will need some paper, doilies, bottom half of plastic Faster eggs, green pipe cleaners, glue and markers to embellish. 2. Start by gluing the doilies to the paper. 3. Add the eggs in the middle. 4. Bend your pipe cleaners into stems and leaves. 5. Glue on....
Arts and Crafts, Easter, Kids, Spring
March 15, 2010
Shamrock Door Hanger
This is a cute craft that is fun for a wide range of ages, which is always a good thing. Door hangers are a fun way to decorate for a holiday without poking any new holes in your walls. 1. Gather your materials. You will need some cardboard ( cereal boxes are my favorite), some glue, some dried green lentils, a green crayon, tape, scissors, and a gold pipe cleaner. 2. Start by drawing a shamrock on your cardboard. 3. Color your shamrock. 4. Add glue along the outline of the shamrock. 5. Pour your lentils on. 6. Shake off the extra , but not right away or the glue will smear. 7. Cut...
Crafts, St. Patrick's Day
March 12, 2010
Spring Craft Links
How beautiful are these Cherry Tree Cards from Paint, Cut, Paste ? They are perfect for all occasions! Isn't this Daffodil from Nurture Store to die for? I love it! Frugal Family Fun Blog is filled with great ideas, but I couldn't resist this Sunflower Craft! These popcorn flowers from Preschool Playbook are ingenious ! I love these bubble prints from Teacher Tom . They look so springlike and happy!
Arts and Crafts, Springtime
March 11, 2010
Rainbow Wreath
Already this month we have seen a bunch of beautiful rainbows, so today we made a fun wreath for St.Patrick's Day. There is no pot of gold but there are lots of fun colors, and a patterning lesson too! 1.Gather your materials. You will need a sheet of paper of every color of the rainbow. scissors and tape. I also included markers to match because my son is too little to do the taping but liked to match up the colors and decorate each paper. 2. Cut into strips. 3. Make into a circle, tape and add another. Remember to stick to the proper pattern. 4. When adding the final link loop it...
Arts and Crafts, Kids, St.Patricks's Day
March 9, 2010
Mint Play dough
2 1/2 cups flour 1/2 cup salt 3 Tbs. oil 1 Tbs. alum 2 cups boiling water food coloring of your (child’s) choice Add some sparkles and a drop or two of mint flavoring our extract. Mix all ingredients together. That's it! Grab a shamrock cookie cutter and have fun!
Early Learning, Kids Crafts, Preschoolers and Toddlers.
March 8, 2010
Spring Board Books
The spring is coming, get ready for sunnier days, new baby animals and planting your garden with these fun books for little ones. In My Nest by Sara Gillingham is so pretty I am putting it on my must buy list for my new baby. The book is simple, it has a felt bird finger puppet in the middle of circle cut outs that reveal all the layers of what is in a bird's next. Feathers, mud, twigs but most important of all the baby bird's family! In The Gardenby iKids is a good board book for older toddlers and preschoolers. It talks about all the ways that fruits and vegetables grow in the garden...
Children's Book Recommendations
March 5, 2010
Finger Print Flowers
Drawing flowers is fun but making them truly unique with your own fingerprints is even better! The middle of each of these flowers is one of a kind! 1. Gather your materials. You will need a stamp pad, some markers and a piece of paper. 2. Press your finger tip into the stamp pad. 3. Print onto the paper. 4. Add petals. 5. Add stems and leaves!
Arts and Crafts, Kids, Springtime
March 4, 2010
St.Patrick's Day Links!
The internet is an awesome resource for all things creative and here are some of my favorite St.Patrick's Day Links from crafty blogs. How adorable is this mirror from Dollar Store Crafts? You can turn any child into a leprechaun without forcing them to wear a hat or beard! Love this Shamrock Door Hanger from Ramblings of A Crazy Woman. Teach colors and shapes while having fun! This pot of gold from Make and Takes has been my favorite St.Patrick's day craft for 2 years! I had to share it today. This candied popcorn from Skip To My Lou is making me very hungry! Looks delish! I couldn't...
Blog links, Kids Crafts, St.Patrick's Day
March 3, 2010
Smallest to Largest : Easy Folder Activity
Sometimes we get so focused on teaching our kids things like the ABCs and counting that we forget about easy concepts that they may or may not have just picked up. Folder games like this one are fast and simple to make and although it may not be fancy your kids gobble them up. 1. Gather your materials. You will need a folder, some card stock ( I used business cards), a marker or 2 and some tape. 2. Decide on the concept you want to teach, we are focusing on ordering something from smallest to largest. Write out the base layer. These are the cards that will be taped to the folder. 3. Make...
Basic Concepts, Early Learning
March 2, 2010
Books About Colors
Color Farm by Lois Ehlert is a great book for toddlers and young preschoolers. I suggest you find the board book version of this book because the pages have shape cut outs that are easily ripped if little hands grab them, the board book is sturdy! There isn't much text, just shapes and colors that together form farm animals then reveal a shape after turning the page. My son even at 3 loves this book because it's "magic" how the animals transform. The colors are bright and vivid and great for the littlest readers. Color Dance by Ann Jonas is a great book about color mixing, and i have used...
Children's Book Recommendations, Colors
March 1, 2010
Easy Shamrock Lacing Card
Fine motor skills are crucial for early learning, especially once children enter school and are expected to write, and use small manipulatives. So let's start honing the skills now with fun activities like this St.Patrick's Day lacing card. You can make this for them or have them help by coloring and punching the holes. 1. Gather your materials. You will need some cardboard , we used a gift box, but a cereal box is great too. Green markers, a hole punch, scissors and green yarn. 2. Start by drawing a shamrock on your cardboard and have your child color it. 3. Cut out and bunch holes. For...
Arts and Crafts, Fine Motor Activities, Preschoolers., Shamrocks