animals

Five Little Chicks: How to Make an Washcloth Chick

Easter means new life, bunnies, eggs, springtime and baby chicks and we have all the crafts to help decorate your home and teach your child about this season! 

 

We love this craft for moms who have some basic stitching knowledge or those who want to learn!

 

Materials:

yellow washcloths

scraps of orange and black felt

embroidery floss

ribbon

 

Directions:

See the full tutorial instructions from "Own Two Hands" for this chick and an adorable bunny (using a white washcloth) as well!

 

As the tutorial recommends, I hand stitched the folds of the faces together to give them a bit more of a solid look, and stitched on the eyes and beaks for durability and safety, but if you wanted to use your chicks as washcloths again it would be simple to take the stitches out, or to simply rely on the folds.  Similarly, you could stick the faces on removable glue, or just tack them down with one or two stitches.

 5 little chicks- diy washcloth chicks

 

There are many ways to play with this fun chicks;

 

1.  They were perfect for "beanbag" toss game at our Easter party (the shape made them particularly easy for little hands to hold).

2.  Play catch with them.

3.  Create stories and use the chicks to act it out or use them as "puppets". 

4.  Practice colours and counting.

5.  They are great to use as prompts while reading rhymes too. 

 

Here is one that is particularly appropriate:

Five Little Chicks

Five little chicks went walking one day (five fingers up, change to fingers walking motion)
Into the barn and around the hay (walking fingers with wide round motion).
Mother hen says, "Cluck, cluck, cluck, CLACK!"  (Hands palm together to open like a beak)
And 4 little chicks come wandering back.


Four little chicks ....
Three little chicks ...
Two little chicks ...

One little chick went walking one day
Into the barn and around the hay
Mother hen says, "Cluck, cluck, cluck, CLACK!"
And 5 little chicks come wandering back.

 


I’m a Little Chickie (Sung to the Tune of "I’m a Little Teapot")


I'm a little chickie, (crouch down inside your egg)
Ready to hatch
Pecking at my shell (Pecking motion)
Scratch, scratch, scratch! (scratching motion)
When I crack it open,
Out I'll leap (jump out of shell)
Flap my wings and, cheap, cheap, cheap!

 

Happy Easter from momstown Calgary

Posted by momstown team on 03/04/2013 - 22:52
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Sign of the Month- Penguin

Our theme this month is Polar Animals and while we are very busy making snacks that look like our furry friends, we are also making the cutest penguin and polar bear crafts!  Need some cuddle time?  Try this fabulous polar animal books! 

 

Did you know that;

Penguins are birds with black and white feathers and a funny waddle.  But unlike most birds, penguins are not able to fly -- in the air that is.  Penguins spend as much as 75% of their time underwater, searching for food in the ocean.  When they are in the water, they dive and flap their wings.  It looks just like they are flying!

Penguins are shaped like a torpedo.  Their body is built for the most efficient swimming with their average speed in the water being about 15 miles per hour.

penguin sign language

 photo credit

 

Now that you have learned a bit about these beautiful creatures, just wait until your little ones try to "waddle" like the sign for Penguin... too cute!

 

 

 

 

Check our other sign language posts here.

 Laura Berg, my smart hands

Monthly signs are submitted by guest blogger, Laura Berg, My Smart Hands,

Laura Berg is the President of My Smart Hands Inc, a company that teaches baby sign language and now boasts over 200 instructors worldwide. Her recently published book, The Baby Signing Bible (Avery/Penguin) has cemented her status as the go-to authority on Baby Sign Language.
Posted by momstown guest on 02/14/2013 - 18:21
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Polar Animals- Walrus Craft

After you have enjoyed some polar snacks it's time to get creative with these cute walrus crafts!  

 

walrus craft

 

Materials:

Brown construction paper

White paper

Googly eyes

Markers

Yarn

 

 

Instructions:

1.  Have brown circles precut (each walrus needs one large circle for the body and two smaller circles for heads and arms).

 

2.  Glue large circle in the middle of the large paper.

 

3.  Glue one smaller circle for the head. 

 

4.  Cut one smaller circle in half and glue them on for arms (overlapping on the body).

 

5.  Decorate the walrus' face with googly eyes, whiskers and a nose.

 

Submitted by momstown Mississauga

 

Another option is to use paper plates. Here are the instructions.

 

walrus paper plate craft

Posted by momstown team on 02/11/2013 - 12:33
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How to Make a Penguin from a Soda Bottle

Brrrrr..... it may be cold outside and even colder in the Arctic, so bring the polar animals INSIDE with this adorable recycled penguin craft from Spoonfuls.

how to make a penguin craft

 

Supplies:


Black and white glossy acrylic paint
Plastic soda or water bottles
Styrofoam balls
Black and yellow craft foam sheets
Glue
Butter knife
Googly eyes
Funnel
Sand
Small doll accessories or child's socks
Permanent marker


Instructions:

 

1.  For each penguin, pour two parts black paint and one part water inside a bottle. Screw on the cap and shake the bottle to coat the sides. Remove the cap and save it for later.

 

2. On the outside of the bottle, paint a white oval from the spout to the bottom. Dry overnight (the inside may be slightly wet in the morning).

 

3.  Coat a Styrofoam ball with black paint and let it dry.

 

4.  Cut two wings from the black craft foam and a beak and feet from the yellow craft foam.

 

5.  With the knife, bore a hole in the Styrofoam ball big enough to fit the neck of the bottle. Glue on googly eyes. Make a small slit below the eyes, insert a few dabs of glue, then slide the beak into the opening.

 

6.  Funnel sand into the bottle to weigh it down. Replace the cap and press the Styrofoam head on top.

 

7.  Dress the penguin in doll accessories or use kids' socks to make your own. For a hat, snip a 6- to 8-inch length from a sock and knot one end. For a scarf, cut a 1½-inch-wide loop from a sock, snip it open, and fringe the ends.

 

 

Love these cute penguins?  Try our Mosaic Penguin and P is for Penguin crafts!

 

Full details and template on Spoonfuls.

Posted by momstown team on 01/09/2013 - 13:28
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Footprint Turkey Wreaths: An Easy Thanksgiving Craft and Keepsake for Kids

Thanksgiving is a great time to get the kids involved in crafts that are also keepsakes. After all, one of the things we are most thankful for is our friends and family. Hand and footprint crafts capture a moment in time, and remind us of how small we were, and how much we have grown. This footprint turkey wreath is an easy fall craft that your toddler or preschooler can make now, and that can serve as a decoration for years to come.

 

 

Here is what you need to make your own Thanksgiving Footprint Turkey Wreath:

  • a paper plate
  • brown construction paper
  • scraps of yellow and orange construction paper
  • squares or scraps of red, orange, yellow, and brown tissue paper
  • a black marker
  • scissors
  • glue

1. Cut the centre out of a paper plate (an adult's job).  Spread glue onto the paper plate, and cover with squares of tissue paper:

 

 

3. Trace your foot onto brown construction paper.  Cut out.  Use your marker to add two eyes, and glue on a orange beak.

4. Cut two long strips of yellow construciton paper, and accordian fold each one.  Glue to the bottom of the turkey's body to form its legs.

5. Glue the turkey's body to the bottom of your wreath, and hang your wreath on the door.  Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

Posted by momstown Teach on 10/04/2012 - 14:16
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Make An Easy Fire Dog Puppet

 

As part of our focus on fire trucks and fire halls, we made these easy paper tube fire dog puppets today:

 

 

Dalmatian dogs are the mascots of fire trucks and fire halls, but I have never really thought about why. We learned that is that Dalmatians were originally trained run alongside horse drawn carriages, and act as companions to the horses.  When horses began to be used to pull fire engines, Dalmations were a natural choice to be the companion of those horses'  as well.  They were trained to run in front of the fire cart, clear a path, and guide the horses toward the fire. They also acted as guard dogs at the firehouse, protecting the valuable horses and equipment from thieves, and served as companions to the firefighters.

Although horse drawn fire equipment was phased out, Dalmations continued to serve as the mascots of fire departments. They provide happiness and friendship to firefighters, and encourage firefighters to exercise.  They are also excellent at teaching kids to "stop, drop, and roll," and are often used for fire safety demonstrations.

 

Here is what you need to make your own paper tube Fire Dog puppet:

  • a paper tube
  • white and black paint
  • googlie eyes
  • scraps of black and red construction paper
  • a paintbrush, a Q-tip (optional), scissors, and glue
  • a black marker

 

1.  Paint a paper tube white (alternately, you could just cover it with white paper), and allow to dry:

 

 

2. Dip a Q-tip in black paint, and use it to add spots on your dalmation (fingerprints would work great too). Glue on googlie eyes, and a triangle nose.  Draw a mouth on with a black marker, and draw or glue on a red tongue:

 

 

3. Cut two ears out of black paper. If desired, fold a flap onto the top to give the ears dimension:

 

 

4. Glue ears onto either side of the paper tube:

 

 

5.  Cut a hat shape out of red construction paper. Use a black marker to add a badge in the centre:

 

 

6. Glue to the front of your dog.  To use as a puppet, simply slip a couple of your fingers into the opening of the paper tube.  Alternately, you can glue a popsicle stick to the inside of the tube:

 

 

Now your ready to act out your own fire dog rescue!

 

momstown Hamilton had loads of fun at Art & Play with this craft and created a slightly different version with their momstown children with paper cups instead of toilet rolls.


fire dog puppet

Posted by momstown Teach on 08/13/2012 - 16:01
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