preschool arts and crafts

Valentine 3D Mobile

This is a fun one to make together and actually is really pretty to hang up at home! There are a few steps to it which make it even more fun but depending on your child’s age and attention span, you may want to split up this project into two parts (mobile + ribbon hearts) or even just make the pretty hanging ribbon hearts.

What you need:
Mobile: paper plate, marker, scissors, paint & paint brush
Hearts: construction paper (7 pieces), glue, ribbon, tape/stapler

 



Start by creating the mobile centre twirler which the ribbon hearts will be hung from. Draw a swirl on the paper plate from centre to outside and cut along this line. Once cut, paint both sides of the plate to make for a pretty and decorated hanger for the mobile.



Start cutting hearts for the hanging part of the mobile. For each string of three 3D hearts you will need 9 hearts. If you’d like to have three strings, you need 27 hearts all the same size ready to go. Click here for a tip on how to create 4 same sized hearts with one piece of construction paper.


The 3D hearts are easy but tough to explain. This picture shows how to glue them down: lay the first heart down and put glue all over it, fold the 2nd heart and place half over the left side of the 1st heart, fold a 3rd heart and place it on the right side of the 1st heart. Put the hanging ribbon in the middle and glue the ribbon and both the 2nd and 3rd hearts together. (whew! Sounds complicated but it’s not really)

My daughter did a little video for you to show you how to make the 3D hearts to make it easier to explain.


Attach the heart ribbons to the curly mobile with tape or staples. You may want to cut some extra ribbon to make a little hanger on the top to hang it from. Enjoy hanging this mobile in your window – it’s a very pretty and fun seasonal decoration!

Craft inspired by Enchanted Learning.

 

We've linked up on outdoor active kidsActive Kids Club!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by momstown mama on 01/28/2012 - 23:39
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Salt Dough Tree Ornaments

Can you believe these Christmas ornaments were made by momstown kids? Baked salt dough and paint was all it took to make some beautiful ornaments by hand!

 

salt dough making

 

Real story - we needed pressies for all the teachers for all the programs and we didn't have time or enough sugar to bake treats for everyone. Instead, we made this great no cook salt dough recipe, played like playdough and  then baked the kids creations. 

 

salt dough ornament

 

One craft covers a LOT of gifts! For the non-crafty mom, this is a solid way to get the homemade points with relatively little effort.

 

Recipe for Easy no-cook Salt "dough"

 
Stir together 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, 1 1/2 cups cold water (maybe a bit less), 2 Tbsp oil.

 Christmas ornament craft

Stir until a soft dough forms. Then knead, roll and cut into shapes.

 

salt dough making

 

Use your cookie cutters to make all kinds of Christmas shapes - stockings, gingerbread men, Christmas trees, stars, and snowflakes!

 

salt dough laid out

 

Bake 300 degrees for about an hour. You can add food colouring to the water or you can paint when cool.

 

salt dough painting

 

If you paint, spray with shellac or nail polish when dry to help keep the paint from peeling.

 

Christmas ornament craft

 

momstown Winnipeg had great fun with this project too during a Christmas event this season!

 

This is a super project for so many reasons and we did use it to make cars & trains for a birthday party as well!

Posted by momstown mama on 12/12/2011 - 00:39
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How to make great Fall crafts with your kids - top 10 ideas!

momstown's craft room is bursting with fall crafts to make with your kids!

Here are our top 10!

 

1. Fall Apple Orchard

apple trees

 

2. Clay Pot Scarecrow

clay pot scarecrow

 

3. Leaf Window Hanging

leaf window hanging

4. Leaf Mosaic

leaf mosaic craft

5. Handprint tree

fall leaves handpint

 

6. Toilet Roll Pumpkins

pumpkins toilet roll craft

7. T is for Tree

T is for Tree

8. Fall Wreath

fall wreath

 

9. Mason Jar Scarecrow

scarecrow mason jar

10. Fall Noodle Tree

from No Time for Flashcards!

fall noodle tree

Posted by Teacher Mom on 09/29/2011 - 10:18
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Apple Trees for every age

Three momstown kids - ranging in age from 1 to 6 - made three apple trees!

apple trees

Take your empty toilet rolls and you can make three different kids of apple trees!

1. Foamy tree with foam "apples" (baby and toddler version)
2. Mosaic tree with foam, paper and bead "apples" (preschool version)
3. Tissue paper apple tree (from the newly minted grade one!)

 

apple trees

What you need:

  • Toilet rolls
  • Glue
  • Scissors
  • Green paper
  • Red or green foam sheets
  • Red or green beads
  • Cardboard for tree backing (cereal boxes work well!)
  • Brown crayon
  • Green and red tissue paper

 

apple trees For all the trees you need a firm backing for the leaf part, so start by tracing a tree shape onto cardboard and have children cut out.

 

 

 

 

apple treesCover the tree shape in glue to prepare for the mosaic or foam tree.

 

 

apple trees

 

 

 

Here's the mosaic apple tree in progress - have your child cut out shapes and glue on to the tree. We have a scissor loving kid in our house so he had fun snipping pieces of scrap paper for the tree.  Then add red and green beads or red circle cut-outs for apples!

 

 

 

apple trees

For the foamy (simplest) version, cut out a foamy tree shape (use your cardboard cutout as a pattern) and have your baby or toddler glue on red circles and beads (careful for choking if doing this with a young one).

 

 

 

 

 

apple trees

Cut tissue paper into 2 inch squares. Have glue handy on a plate or scrap paper for "dipping". Dip small, scrunched up pieces of tissue into the glue and stick onto the cardboard baking to create the tissue paper apple tree. Use green for the leaves and red for the apples. This one was made by a 6 year old who had lots of patience, a young child may need a hand to complete with you.

 

For all tree styles, cut approximately half an inch on two sides of the toilet roll to create an insert space for the treetop to slip into to attach.

 

 

This is a perfect idea for a mixed age playgroup or family craft!

Posted by momstown mama on 09/12/2011 - 18:51
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Placemat Weaving

This is a throw-back craft that we can probably all remember doing as kids!

placemat weaving

It's pretty neat to see kids try this for the first time, they are impressed with the pattern they make.

 

placemat weaving What you need:

  • Construction paper
  • Glue
  • Scissors

Start by folding a piece of construction paper in half. Cut strips into the construction paper but STOP before you reach the end (this forms the 'loom')

 

placemat weaving Then, show your child how to weave over and under the loom with a different coloured strip of construction paper (use the same size paper to make it fit easily). The next row will weave the opposite way.

 

 

 

 

 

placemat weaving This step is optional, but I suggest adding a dab of glue to the end of each strip so that the weave stays together.

 

 

 

 

 

placemat weaving

Kids can experiment with different patterns by adding a third colour strip into the mix. It's a great way to practice fine motor skills!

 

placemat weaving

 

One weaver decided to add some decorations to the mix as well! A very personalized placemat.

 

 

Try these other easy to do crafts with construction paper from momstown:

Shape House

Paper Boats

K is for Kite

 

 

Posted by Teacher Mom on 09/07/2011 - 19:42
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X marks the spot!

X always seems to be accompanied by a Xylophone in alphabet books, puzzles, and games. It's always kind of bothered me, since the 'x' sound that we teach children doesn't sound at all like the first sound in xylophone! Even my almost 7 yr-old fluent reader piped up 'x is for xylophone' when I asked him for ideas for this craft, then looked puzzled when he tried to connect the 'x' sound with it...

 

x marks the spot

 

So, no xylophones in this craft! Since X is one of those letters that kids see more often at the end of a word (think box, fox) I decided we'd stick with the letter itself and make X mark the spot! You could use this for a pirate themed playgroup or party, too!

 

x marks the spot

What you need:

  • Construction paper
  • Glue
  • Marker
  • Various 'sticks': we used q tips, toothpicks, and pipe cleaners

 

x marks the spot

 

This became more of a fine motor activity than purely an alphabet craft - and I asked both of my kids to test and see which types of sticks were easiest to make into 'x's.

 

x marks the spot

The boys quickly figured out that because the pipe cleaners bend, they work best layered on top of another material (toothpick or Qtip). Two toothpicks crossed over each other have trouble staying on the glue! So this became a bit of an experimental, trial and error activity, which I thought was pretty neat too.

 

Q tips are super easy to glue onto things because of their cottony ends... check out these other momstown crafts that take advantage of this!

Bird's Nest

Skeleton Body

Rain Painting

Posted by Teacher Mom on 06/20/2011 - 13:05
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