Winter
Letter Of The Week is back! My goal with these activities is to have fun while introducing letters, research suggests that parents and teachers need to make sure that letters are taught in context! So don’t worry about following some list, follow your child! Provide a print rich environment, point out various letters throughout the day, and capitalize on their interests , if they are enjoying themselves it will stick! I chose to start with W because it’s my son’s favorite letter and the day we did it we were snowed in!
- Gather your materials. You will need 1 piece of blue construction paper, 2 pieces of white paper, a white crayon, glue, scissors and some white pom poms.
- Draw a large W on your blue construction paper.
- Have your child color the W with the white crayon. We opened the blinds to look at the snow for some inspiration!
- While your child is coloring, cut out some small snowflakes. If they are able have your child do this step!
- When they are done coloring, add some glue.
- Add the snowflakes.
- Add some “snowballs” – pom poms!
- Let dry.
- Cut out and glue or tape onto the 2nd white paper.
{Hello! If you are checking us out for the first time and like what you see you can follow us on Pinterest and Facebook to get new ideas to play and learn with your kids daily. }
When I originally posted this snowman craft I had a feeling it would be a hit, sure enough I have seen a bunch of these snowmen on my readers blogs and it came in at number 3 on our countdown – Best of 2008! One reader also emailed me to let me know she used a ziplock instead of contact paper with awesome results!
- Gather your materials. You will need a paper plate, some orange and black construction paper, 2 buttons, some sequins, sparkles, contact paper, scissors, double stick tape, a stapler, and some ribbon. I also used some paint because my son wanted to paint and I like how it looks but you can skip this step if you want.
- Have your child paint the paper plate, and let dry. If you use a sponge paint brush the paint will go on lightly and dry fast.
- While they do that cut out a nose from the orange paper, a hat and some coal for the mouth.
- Cut a rectangle of contact paper and fold in half , make sure it’s big enough to cover the hole you will be cutting in the plate.
- Peel back the contact paper backing and let your child shake the sparkles on it.
- Add some sequins.
- Fold the contact paper so it sandwiches the sparkles , seal it. You may have to use some tape to make sure it’s sealed and nothing falls out.
- Cut out the middle of the plate.
- Add glue to the cutout middle for the coal mouth, nose and hat. Obviously older kids can do this themselves but it gives toddlers a great guide to be independent.
- Add the face pieces.
- Add the button eyes.
- While your child is adding the face pieces , attach the contact paper to the inside of the paper plate ring, I used double stick tape cause it holds contact paper well.
- Staple the face to the belly, I use staples with coated paper plates because glue doesn’t always work very well.
- Add the ribbon as a scarf to cover the staples.
6 Comments »
We’ve been doing a lot of crafts and young children need to have free art time to create, as well a variety of sensory experiences to discover new things, so this was the perfect answer! Also the ice cubes don’t melt very fast so we were able to pack them up to use for another day!
- Gather your materials. You will need an ice cube tray, some paint, water, a few paper towels, paper and a pan.
- Start the night before and put some paint in the ice cube tray. Add water and freeze.
- In the morning or after , pop the ice cubes out and let soften for about 5 minutes.
- Line your pan with a layer of paper towel add a piece of paper .
- Start painting !
While painting ask about how it feels, see if they will hold the cubes long enough to make a few drips of water etc… there is no wrong way to do this.
I wasn’t going to post this for a few days but when my son wouldn’t stop playing with them , I couldn’t wait to share. The idea came from my son and his constant stacking of cans, spices and boxes of mac and cheese. It it super easy and although we kept our decoration to a minimum you can glue whatever you want to embellish your snowman!
- Gather your materials. You will need 2 or more small plastic spice jars, some construction paper, googly eyes, glue , scissors and cotton balls.
- Soak your empty spice jars in hot water, remove all the glue and labels, let dry.
- Fill your spice jars with cotton balls, count as you go! Put on the lids tightly.
- While your child does that cut out some black circles for buttons, an orange triangle for a carrot and black semi circle for a mouth. You can also do arms, a broom or more, I kept it simple for my 2 year old.
- Add glue and the buttons to one “block”
- Add the googly eyes, carrot and mouth on another.
- Let dry.
- Build your snowman! My son has been enjoying putting the head on the bottom and laughing hysterically!
I love snowmen and am so excited that my 2 year old seems to share this love. Snowmen are great because they aren’t attached to one religious tradition or specific culture. This craft is a easy and relatively mess free way to add sparkles to your holiday decor.
- Gather your materials. You will need a paper plate, some orange and black construction paper, 2 buttons, some sequins, sparkles, contact paper, scissors, double stick tape, a stapler, and some ribbon. I also used some paint because my son wanted to paint and I like how it looks but you can skip this step if you want.
- Have your child paint the paper plate, and let dry. If you use a sponge paint brush the paint will go on lightly and dry fast.
- While they do that cut out a nose from the orange paper, a hat and some coal for the mouth.
- Cut a rectangle of contact paper and fold in half , make sure it’s big enough to cover the hole you will be cutting in the plate.
- Peel back the contact paper backing and let your child shake the sparkles on it.
- Add some sequins.
- Fold the contact paper so it sandwiches the sparkles , seal it. You may have to use some tape to make sure it’s sealed and nothing falls out.
- Cut out the middle of the plate.
- Add glue to the cutout middle for the coal mouth, nose and hat. Obviously older kids can do this themselves but it gives toddlers a great guide to be independent.
- Add the face pieces.
- Add the button eyes.
- While your child is adding the face pieces , attach the contact paper to the inside of the paper plate ring, I used double stick tape cause it holds contact paper well.
- Staple the face to the belly, I use staples with coated paper plates because glue doesn’t always work very well.
- Add the ribbon as a scarf to cover the staples.
Books !
” Birthday Snow” by Kim Messinger and Michael LaLumiere is such a sweet book about believing in something even when all the facts say maybe you should give up. Daniel doesn’t give up hope waiting for the snow to come on his birthday , but who really steals the show is his mom and her continued support of her little guy and his determination. A very cute book and a new addition to my must buy list!
”
