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November 4, 2009 | 27 Comments

Walnut Shell Turtles Craft

Family of  Walnut Shell Turtles

Walnut Shell Turtles

When I saw that the bulk nuts arrived at my local grocery store today my mind was racing with ideas. I have made hundreds crafts with walnut shells but few were young child friendly.  So I played with paper and decided on making a family of walnut shell turtles. We have been talking a lot about family and being thankful lately and my son loves turtles. This ended up being a huge hit, not just while making them but after they dried we played with them all evening.

  1. Gather your materials. You will need 1 walnut for every 2 turtles. Because cracking the nuts doesn’t always work perfectly I would have extra on hand. Some card stock ( any color), some white construction paper, markers, glue, scissors and googly eyes.Walnut Shell Turtles
  2. Start by cracking open your walnuts and cleaning out the nuts. My son helped by eating the nuts but not the actual shelling.Walnut Shell Turtles
  3. Next place the shell on the card stock and draw a body , making 4 legs a head and tail.  Cut out and use this as a stencil.Walnut Shell Turtles
  4. Trace the stencil on the construction paper.Walnut Shell Turtle
  5. Have your child color the turtle bodies any colors they want.Walnut Shell Turtles My son decided he wanted them to be all one color, and got upset when some yellow got on two other outlines, so we simply traced 2 more. No biggie.Walnut Shell Turtles
  6. When they are all colored add glue to your shells.Walnut Shell Turtles
  7. Pop the shells on the bodies.Walnut Shell Turtles
  8. Add glue for the eyes.Walnut Shell Turtles
  9. Pop the eyes on. Let dry.Walnut Shell Turtle
  10. Cut out when dry.Walnut Shell Turtle

Books About Family to pair with Walnut Shell Turtles



Something From Nothing by Phoebe Gilman is one of those books that you read and think oh I love it, but will kids? I am here to tell you yes! They love this old Yiddish folk tale about a little boy, his very special blanket and his grandfather who made it for him. Over the years Joseph’s blanket transforms into a jacket, a vest, a tie, and handkerchief and finally a button. The story is beautiful and kids love not only the repetitive text when the grandfather is sewing but also the continuing storyline of the mice that live under the floor boards who use the scraps of material for all sorts of things. There are no goofy gimmicks, no lights or sounds just a great story and beautiful illustrations in this gem! A fantastic book about family and growing up.

The Family Book by Todd Parr is a book that doesn’t give readers a narrow definition of family , it doesn’t say that your family has to look a certain way, or be the same as your neighbors. As a teacher I really appreciated the matter of fact way it embraced diversity. Kids see that families are not all like theirs and it’s important to validate the truth while recognizing that while they may not all look alike, all families are made with love. Great book , cute illustrations and children love it.


Hair for Mama by Kelly A. Tinkham is beautiful. The story is about a little boy who is desperate to find some hair for his mama who has lost hers to chemotherapy. Marcus wants mama to be in the family photo but she doesn’t want to be the way she looks. His mission comes to a climax when he shaves off all his own hair hoping to give it to his mama. When the barber sweeps it up with the other hair on the floor Marcus is heart broken and goes home in tears. I was sobbing reading this, I knew it was a story about a mom having cancer but the way the author wrote it , it was magical. The complex emotions this little boy felt for his mom and she for him, jumped off the page and you can’t help but cry. I wasn’t sad ,I was touched by the love and desire to fix his mom and make everything better, and his parents tenderness to his feelings. I can’t recommend this book more highly. I should note that this is not a book for toddlers, I would probably wait until a child is 4-5 before reading them this gem.

Jazz Baby by Lisa Wheeler had my son clapping and be bopping in his jammies before bed. This book is so fun to read, the musical words are impossible not to dance to. My son loves jazz, and his only disappointment was that there were no trumpets in the book. He didn’t understand that the family in the book , which included grandparents, aunts , uncles and cousins were listening to a record. I tried to tell him it was like a cd but the illustration was clearly a record player and he wasn’t buying it. Still we loved this book , the family was loving and I loved that the older brother was holding the baby, not common in kids books to see a boy holding a baby. Great book even without a trumpet.

Filed Under: Age Preschool, Age: Kindergarten, Preschool Crafts, Turtles | 27 Comments

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27 Comments

  1. Dagmar Bleasdale says

    November 4, 2009 at 12:36 am

    Those turtles are just the cutest! Thanks for this post. And thank you for your comment on my NYC Moms Blog post! I appreciate it 🙂

    to Dagmar Bleasdale" aria-label='reply to this comment to Dagmar Bleasdale'>reply to this comment
  2. Elisa says

    November 4, 2009 at 1:06 am

    Great idea! We have a turtle shaped cookie cutter too, so I’ll try it with play dough and let you know!

    to Elisa" aria-label='reply to this comment to Elisa'>reply to this comment
  3. Jen says

    November 4, 2009 at 7:44 am

    Oh, they are adorable. My five year old would just love making them and then playing with them! Her own version of “Little Pet Shops” Hope your little man is back to his old self. It is taking forever for my girls to get rid of runny noses and coughs. Getting better, though. Take Care!

    Jen
    http://raisingcreativeandcuriouskids.blogspot.com/2009/11/wordless-wednesday-daddys-heart.html
    .-= Jen´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday: Daddy’s Heart =-.

    to Jen" aria-label='reply to this comment to Jen'>reply to this comment
  4. katherine marie says

    November 4, 2009 at 11:12 am

    This is so SWEET!!!!!!!

    to katherine marie" aria-label='reply to this comment to katherine marie'>reply to this comment
  5. tali says

    November 4, 2009 at 11:24 am

    i was just looking at a pile of walnut shells i have been accumulating since a week ago. as a child i used to make tuny baby cradles out of them, turtles are great too…
    thanks
    tali
    .-= tali´s last blog ..Swan Lake and a dancing Excavator =-.

    to tali" aria-label='reply to this comment to tali'>reply to this comment
  6. Jennifer Mc Intyre @atthebluebarn says

    November 4, 2009 at 11:43 am

    This is one of the cutest crafts I have seen in a long time..I love the look, the feel, the texture. . just a great all time sensory craft. I am going to buy nuts just to do this!!

    to Jennifer Mc Intyre @atthebluebarn" aria-label='reply to this comment to Jennifer Mc Intyre @atthebluebarn'>reply to this comment
  7. Beverly says

    November 4, 2009 at 2:16 pm

    so cute!
    .-= Beverly´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday! =-.

    to Beverly" aria-label='reply to this comment to Beverly'>reply to this comment
  8. Stacie says

    November 4, 2009 at 6:29 pm

    The walnut turtles are adorable!
    .-= Stacie´s last blog ..Food Network Magazine Deal!! =-.

    to Stacie" aria-label='reply to this comment to Stacie'>reply to this comment
  9. jennyonthespot says

    November 4, 2009 at 10:06 pm

    I want your brain 🙂 But not in a cannibalistic way 😉
    .-= jennyonthespot´s last blog ..I Want to be Four Again. =-.

    to jennyonthespot" aria-label='reply to this comment to jennyonthespot'>reply to this comment
  10. Marie says

    November 5, 2009 at 12:49 pm

    I am always looking for fun crafty things to do with my kids and your blog always has such neat ideas — I love the turtles.

    Also, just wanted to say, that Something from Nothing is one of my kids favorite books — I found it at a sale when they were babies and when they were a bit older we started reading it. It is one they still bring to me every few months to read again. Definitely a keeper 🙂
    .-= Marie´s last blog ..Cats on Tuesdays — MacKayla the Empress =-.

    to Marie" aria-label='reply to this comment to Marie'>reply to this comment
  11. jolly y says

    November 20, 2009 at 6:11 am

    hey! those walnuts are simply great. i enjoyed it making as they are very easy to make. my daughter liked it too much!

    to jolly y" aria-label='reply to this comment to jolly y'>reply to this comment
  12. Markus says

    March 22, 2013 at 11:52 pm

    When I was a kid in Sunday School, Tante Theresa taught us to make turtles like this but the bottom was left open where we put a marble in. This gave the turtle a half way ability to roll and we had little “races”

    to Markus" aria-label='reply to this comment to Markus'>reply to this comment

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