Arts And Crafts Ideas 3
Fast Friends Puppet
Materials:
Construction paper or cardboard
Crayons, markers
Goodly eyes, buttons, pipe cleaners or other face decorating materials
Scissors
Rubber band
Glue
Directions:
Cut a strip of construction paper about 12" long. Strip should be the width of the child's hand. Fold the strip in half. Next, fold the strip in quarters (fold the half in half). Open out the ends so that the fold goes into the child's had and the flaps go up and down so that they flap together when the child squeezes the fold. Have the children caret a face using the end flaps. The face could be a replica of their face, or an animal face. Place the rubber band along the fold so the child can slip his fingers in and make the face talk by moving it up and down.
Batic Butterflies
Materials:
Heavy paper towel
Food colouring
Eye dropper or cotton swab
Scissors
Directions:
Cut out butterfly shapes from heavy paper towel. Let the children use eye droppers or a cotton swab to apply a mixture of food colouring and water to the towel to decorate their butterfly. Provide at least three colours so that the children can experiment with making different colours.
Mini Terrarium
Materials:
2 clear plastic cups
Potting soil
Large bucket or bowl
Small garden trawl or scoop
Transparent tape
Radish or grass seed
Directions:
Place the soil in a large bucket and have the children pour a little bit of water on the soil to make it moist. Next, have the children scoop enough soil from the bucket to fill one half of one of the cups. Sprinkle the seeds lightly on top of the soil. Invert the remaining cup over the top of the seeded cup and tape the seams. Place in a warm, sunny spot and wait for the seeds to sprout. This makes a great little science project where the children can keep a journal of how their seeds grew each day. And, it's a great way to teach children about how a terrarium is like a world of it's own. The moisture from the soil is trapped inside the container and recycles itself constantly as it evaporates then dribbles back down the sides of the terrarium.
Milk Carton Bird Feeder
Materials:
Wax milk carton
Bird feed
String
Hole punch
Directions:
Stand carton upright and cut a window low enough on the carton
for the birds to reach the food (i.e.: leaving a one inch lip at the bottom). Punch a hole on each side of the
top of the container where it folds closed. Attach a string to both holes. Hang the bird feeder in a quiet place where the children can watch the bird enjoy their treat. Have the children help you replenish the bird feed as need be. This is a great opportunity to teach the children about the different kinds of birds who visit the feeder or fly about their backyard.
Paper Bag Kite
Materials
Large paper grocery bag
String and kite rope
Paper ring reinforcements
Stickers or other decorating materials such as markers
Glue
Crepe paper streamers
One-hole punch
Directions:
Punch a hole in each of the four corners of the bag (at least 3 cm from the top). Put a paper reinforcement on both sides of each hole. Cut two pieces of string abut 80 cm and tie each end to a hole to form two loops to put the long pull string through. Have the children decorate their bags with the stickers or by colouring on them. Help the children glue pieces of the crepe streamers to the bottom end of the bag to form the tail. Tie a kite rope to the pieces of looped string. Take the children to the park and let them run with their kites catching the wind in the bag.
Painted Stones
Materials:
Stones of various sizes and shapes (flatter ones work best)
Paint
Paint brushes
Decorations such as beads, etc.
Crayons or marker
Directions:
Walk around your neighbourhood and have the children collect a variety of stones from the park or gravel pathways. Wash the stones to remove any dirt and let them dry. Let the children paint their stones different colours. You could use a market or crayon to write each child's name on the stone, or use an assortment of beads, etc., to decorate. These make great paperweights or small ornaments.
Play Dough Letters
Materials:
Play dough (can be boughten or made)
Directions:
After the children have played with the dough a bit, have them roll the dough between their hands or along the table to make long strands. Help them use the strands to make the letters of their name. Allow the dough to dry (this may take a couple of days). The children can either take their letters home or they can glue them on a sheet to hang on the wall.
Aquariums
Materials:
Construction paper
Magazines (National Geographic, fishing, outdoor type work best)
Scissors
Crayons or markers
Glue
Water
Pain
Directions:
Have the children cut out pictures
or small fish or draw fish on the construction paper and cut them out. Give each child a piece of construction paper and help them fill in their aquarium with things like seaweed, stones, etc. For a more realistic touch you could actually collect some small stones, sand, pieces of plants, etc. and help the children glue the objects to their paper. When they are done with the design, allow the children to pain over their work with blue, aqua, green, or water coloured pain to give the look of actual water over the entire art. Allow to dry.
Butterfly Wand
Materials:
Popsicle sticks
Pipe cleaners
Cone-shaped coffee filters
Markers or crayons
Glue (hot glue gun works best
Directions:
Glue a pipe cleaner to the popsicle stick (towards the top of the stick and the middle of the pipe cleaner to act as antenna and hold the wings together) while the children decorate their coffee filter with markers or crayons. Scrunch the filter in half to fit inside the pipe cleaner and on top of the popsicle stick to make the wings. Bend the ends to form antennae.
Sunny Sunflower
Materials:
White construction paper
Card stock
Markers or crayons
Glue or glue stick
Clear contact paper
Craft stick
Directions:
Draw large sunflowers on the construction paper, complete with a stem and leaves, or help the children draw their own. Have the children colour their flower petals yellow, the stem and leaves green, and the center of flower dark brown. Cut the sunflower out or help the children cut their own flowers. Cover the flower with the contact paper and glue to the stick. The children can put all their sun flowers together in a large vase or place them in an outside container to enjoy.
Family Mobile
Materials:
Cardboard
Family picutures from each child's family (pets included)
Yarn
Glue
Plastic hanger
Directions:
Have each child cut out pictures of their family members and pets or draw them on construction paper. Glue each picture on pieces of construction paper cut out like flowers, hearts, etc.. Hang the pictures on a hanger with yarn or string to make a mobile. Hang the mobile in the daycare.
Family Neighbourhood
Materials:
Shoe box or cracker box
Construction paper
Markers or crayons
Tongue depressors or popsicle sticks
Glue & scissors
Directions:
Use a shoe box or cracker box and cover with construction paper. Have children add windows, doors, trees, etc.cut from construction paper or drawn on to resemble the child's house. Have the children draw the members of their families and pets on construction paper then glue them to the tongue depressors and place them into the house. Have the children form a town using their houses and take their family members around to each friend's house for a visit.
Potato Porcupine
Materials:
Potato
Grass Seed
Dirt
Toothpicks
Raisins
Directions:
Hollow out a portion of each potato. Have the children sprinkle the hollowed out portion of the potato with dirt. Pat down slightly, then sprinkle with grass seed. Add water if necessary. The toothpicks and raisins can be used to make legs, eyes and a nose. The children have a lot of fun watching the porcipine quills grow from the grass seed.
Pinwheels
Materials:
Coloured paper
Straws
Cardboard
Crayons or markers
Pins
Tape
Directions:
Give each child a square sheet of paper and have them colour it brightly with swirls or any other design. While the children are colouring, cut out small round disks from the cardboard. Next, take each child's sheet and fold it diagonally twice. Cut the fold almost to the center. Help the child fold the paper inwards to make the pinwheel. Take the pin and place it through the cardboard disk. Finally, place the pin through center of the pinwheel and the straw, bending the pin after it is through the straw and taping so the child won't pick him/herself.
Q-tip Painting
Materials:
Q-tips
Styrofoam trays or pie pans
Paint
Paper
Directions:
Pour paint into the trays or pans. Have the children dip the Q-tip into the paint then paint with it on the paper using the Q-tip as a paint brush. The children can use a number of Q-tips together to make a colourful rainbow or a different type of design.
Paper Caterpillar Chain
Materials:
Green construction paper
Markers or crayons
Googly eyes
Scissors
Glue stick
Directions:
Cut out 13 strips of paper for each child approximately 1 inch by 6 inches. Cut out one 4 inch square. Finally cut two small triangles to make the triangular jaws. Form one of the strips into a circle and secure it with glue. Take the next paper strip, connect it to the first loop and glue. Continue making the chain until all 13 circles are connected. Cut a head for the caterpillar from the square paper. Add eyes with crayons or glue on googly eyes and triangular jaws (mandibles).