Winter - Marshmallow Snowmen

By Stephanie Boyle



Materials required;

• Blue or black construction paper


• marshmallows


• glue


• pretzels


• markers


• scraps of construction papers, ribbons, etc

Instructions;

1. Give each child a handful of marshmallows.

2. Get child to make their own snowman on the construction paper by gluing the marshmallows on the construction paper. Allow them to pick their own colors, however blue and black show the marshmallows best.

3. Add pretzels for the arms, use the markers to color the marshmallows, or to make a scarf, eyes, nose etc. (Scraps of construction paper can also be used for the hats, scarves etc.

Play Dough - Cornmeal

By Stephanie Boyle



Ingredients required;

• 1.5 cups flour


• 1.5 cups cornmeal


• 1 cup salt


• 1 cup water


• bowl and utensils

Directions;

1. Mix all ingredients in bowl.

2. Mix well, add more water to form a smooth dough.

Keeps up to 6 weeks in airtight container.

Soapy Play Dough

By Stephanie Boyle



Ingredients;

• 2 cups flour


• 1/2 cup salt


• 2 tbsp liquid tempera paint


• 1 tbsp liquid soap


• water


• bowl and utensils

Directions;

1. Mix all ingredients together except for the water.

2. Add enough water to make dough workable.

Play Dough - Cotton

By Stephanie Boyle

Ingredients;

• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 to 1cup of water
• 1 bag cotton balls
• bowl and utensils
• cookie sheet

1. Create a smooth paste by mixing flour and water.

2. Spread cotton balls on cookie sheet.

3. Coat cotton balls in the paste.

Play Dough - Oatmeal

By Stephanie Boyle

Oatmeal play dough is unique in texture. Dough will remain sticky once all mixed.

Ingredients;

• 1 cup flour
• 2 cups oatmeal
• 1 cup water
• mixing bowl and utensils

To make larger amounts use this recipe;

• 1 part flour
• 2 parts oatmeal
• 1 part water

Get the children involved, mix all ingredients together. A great learning opportunity.

Play Dough - Peanut Butter

By Stephanie Boyle

This is a fun alternative to ordinary play dough, however be sure no children have any allergies before you make it.

Ingredients;

1/2 cup Peanut Butter
1/2 cup non-fat dry milk
2/3 tbsp honey, optional

Add all ingredients together in a bowl. Mix together and knead until smooth. Another great opportunity to get the children involved in measuring and mixing.

Play Dough Recipe

By Stephanie Boyle

Ingredients;

3 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 cup cold water with coloring
1 tbsp oil

Directions;

Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Add water and oil then mix. This recipe included lots of kneading and mixing.

This is a recipe children can make on their own where it includes no use of the stove.

Easter - Green Hair & Eggs

by Stephanie Boyle



Materials required,

• Eggs


• Permanent markers (assorted colors)


• Cotton balls


• Pipe cleaners


• Cress, alfalfa or sprouting radish seeds

1. Carefully cut top off of egg and empty its contents. Wash eggshell.

2. Draw a face on the eggshell with the permanent markers.

3. Fill egg with moistened cotton balls and sprinkle seeds on the top of the cotton balls.

4. Set in an egg cup, keep in a warm place and moisten everyday until they sprout.

5. Wrap pipe cleaner around the base of the egg and shape the ends to create arms.

Easter - Cotton Ball Rabbit

by Stephanie Boyle



Materials needed

• cardboard


• felt


• buttons


• black yarn


• string


• cotton balls


• scissors


• glue

1. Draw and cut out a rabbit shape from cardboard. Cover the ears with pieces of pink felt. Outline them with glue and cotton balls.

2. Spread glue over the rest of the rabbit, completely cover the rabbits body with cotton balls.

3. From felt, cut out and glue on the rabbits eyes, nose and bow tie. Glue buttons on the rabbits body and black yarn for his mouth.

4. Attach a piece of string or ribbon for a hanger. Hang on wall or on a door handle as an Easter Decoration.

Foot Painting

By Stephanie Boyle



For foot painting you will need,

• sheets of thick paper


• towels


• bucket of soapy water


• large shallow pan (approx 13x12) with small amount of paint


• child size chair


• adult supervision for walking/dancing method

Remove shoes and socks, sit on a low chair. Place paint in front of child, spread paper in front or around child's chair. once child has stepped in the paint, have the child walk to the other end of the paper where there is warm water there to proceed with cleanup.

Variations of this activity include:

• Painting with toes only while child sits on chair


• If there is enough supervision ask child if they want to dance on the paper to see what type of pattern they can create.
  

Educational method:

• Ask child how the paint feels (warm? cold?) Don't pressure child, ask nicely some children want to talk about it while others only want to experience it for themselves.

Leaf Turkeys

By Stephanie Boyle

For leaf turkeys, you will need;

• leaves
• construction paper
• "wiggly eyes"
• glue

To get started,

• Bring the children outside to collect leaves, get them to pick the ones they like best.
• Make a turkey head and body pattern (exclude the tail)
• Put the head and body on the construction paper, arrange the leaves behind the turkey to create a colourful fantail.
• Once happy with the way the tail looks, glue all the leaves onto the construction paper.
• Be creative for the rest, add the legs, feet, eyes, waddles, whatever you can think of.

This is wonderful activity to get the children outside and also lets them be a bit creative. Another beautiful craft to hang on your refrigerator for the holiday.

Hand Print Turkeys

By Stephanie Boyle

To create hand print Turkeys, you will need;

• a small amount of paint (brown, red and orange)
• paint brush
• construction paper
• marker

Paint the child's fingers red, paint the palm brown and the thumb orange. The palm is the body of the turkey, fingers are the feathers, and the thumb is the beak. After painting their hands get them to press their hand onto the construction paper. Get them to add the beaks and legs onto the turkey once their dry. Also get the child to print their name (if they can spell their name, if not get them to help you print it) also write " I am Thankful for..." above or beside the Turkey.

A great decoration to hang on your refrigerators for Thanksgiving!

Crafts For Creative Kids

By Stephanie Boyle

Crafts are a perfect way to keep children occupied on a rainy day. I'm sure everyone can relate to being stuck inside on a rainy day all day with the kids. We've all heard the I'm bored thing many times and even with younger children you want to keep them occupied, and not always in front of the television. With making crafts you have the interaction between you and the children and also have the children using their creativity. Crafts also help children who are just learning the use of their fine motor skills. With the many holidays we have coming up this time of year, the opportunities to do crafts are amazing.

Where today is Thanksgiving, let's look into all the options for Thanksgiving activities.