Create your own
Hot and Cool Colors Lesson Making Leaves
I taught this hot and cool colors lesson to some very eager pre-K’s. They’ve been learning about hot and cool colors, so we incorporated that as we made TONS of leaves! This project doesn’t require very many materials, and is appropriate for kids at lots of different levels. I think it would work for kids […]
Pressing Leaves for Fall Projects
Next time you’re on a walk, look for pretty colorful autumn leaves for this project. Once the leaves are pressed, you can glue them on paper for art projects or use them to decorate your house for fall. For pressing leaves you will want leaves that are colorful but not dried, as dry leaves will […]
Back-and-forth Drawing
I recently read this book about artist Mica Angela Hendricks, who has been making collaborative work with her four year old. While I don’t have her awesome illustration skills, I still thought it would be fun to create a game out of making artwork together. So, inspired by Hendricks (and partially by the game “Exquisite […]
Make Your Own Plates Part III: Yarn Art
Oh boy, this one was fun! To design these plates we used yarn, glue, and the MakIt plate templates. Simply paint a circle of glue in the center of the plate area and start winding the yard around the center point. Continue painting the glue around the outside of the yarn and pressing the yarn […]
Color Matching and Paintbrush Craft
Practice color recognition with these fun ‘paintbrushes’. You’ll need paper, scissors, Popsicle sticks, glue, and crayons. Cut the paper into approximately 3×4 rectangles. On each piece of paper, write a color name in the correct color. Have your child add ‘paint’ to each brush by coloring one end. Glue each brush to a Popsicle stick […]
Make Your Own Plates Part II: Scrapbook Style!
We’ve been having so much fun making these plates. Here’s another style we tried…Scrapbook! We used scrapbook papers, scissors, glue, and buttons for this design. Scanned our creation and sent it over to Makit to finish them. So much fun and they would make fantastic Mother’s Day gifts too!! Get your plate template here and […]
DIY Plate Designs
We were wanting to make some plates for Mother’s Day gifts this year so we asked Makit if they would help us out with this. They were totally on board! So they sent us the the plate forms and told to go crazy. Ask and you shall receive! :) Here are the first set of […]
Simple Animal Masks
Dress up is always a favorite around here, no matter the occasion. Today we made this simple, but cool masks using only some basic supplies. Maybe you’ll be able to tell (or maybe not!) we were inspired after a talk about how Eric Carle might make his artwork in some of our favorite books, like […]
Preschool Counting Activity with Pom Poms
Repetition is key to learning for young children. To help reinforce the concept of counting and number recognition, here’s a super easy-to-make counting activity for preschoolers. All you need is about 10 minutes to make the counting boards and these supplies: Materials: 5 Sheets of Colored Paper (all different colors) Pompoms in colors matching paper […]
Recycled Storybook Stationary
Mail is such a treat, to send or receive! Make these super adorable envelopes to send some mail to special kids in your life. For this project, I used an oversized book scissors pencil gluestick an envelope as a template Start by choosing a book. It could be one your kids have outgrown, or […]
Play Binoculars from Cardboard Tubes
Birdwatching is a great winter activity for your preschoolers. With these “binoculars” they will feel like a pro! Obviously, proper birdwatchers will be equipped with professional equipment for their hobby, but we weren’t going to buy a quality spotting scope for the money reasons, as well as the fact that our preschooler is so young, […]
Pantone Leaf Necklace
I seriously might have a problem, I think I’m addicted to paint samples. In any case, we did this fun project immortalizing the colors of Fall, and turned it into a beautiful fun necklace. Check it out! We started on a crisp morning with a walk around our neighborhood, collecting some “samples”. It was fun […]
Popsicle Stick Tic Tac Toe Board
Tic-tac-toe is an easy first game to teach your preschooler. Practice taking turns and following simple rules. You can use popsicle sticks and rubber bands to make this portable tic-tac-toe board and play with alphabet cereal x’s and o’s. Take four popsicle sticks and use four rubber bands to fasten them together into a tic-tac-toe […]
Halloween Garland
Every trip to the hardware store seems to result in a pocket full of paint sample colors, and we LOVE making crafts from them! I guess because of the season, we ended up with a lot of spooky colors this time – we used them to make this easy holiday garland. Your garland is only […]
Halloween Party Idea: Spooky Ice Hands
Use household gloves to make some ghostly hands to add to Halloween party games and decor! You may use a giant porch spider, funko figures, or even a spook-tacular neon sign customized to suit the Halloween decor (available on online stores like Neon Filter and alike). But adding a couple of creepy hands could be […]
Easy Window Silhouettes
I absolutely love holidays but all those decorations can get a little pricey, especially when you like to go all out like I do. When I saw this pin for Halloween decor on Pinterest, I knew it was the perfect budget-friendly decoration for ALL holidays because you can customize it however you want. It looks […]
DIY Play Telephone (that works!)
Make your own it-really-works diy play telephone with styrofoam cups and string! Here’s how. In the bottom of each cup, poke a small hole (a very sharp pencil works well; this is a good part for an adult to do). Thread one end of a 2-3 foot length of string through the hole in each […]
Preschool Lunch: Predipped Veggies
This is an easy dish for kids to help make, and it is perfect for lunches and picnics. Save space and have less leakage with this veggie dip tip! First you will need a container tall enough to stand your vegetables in. We used baby carrots, but any kind of dippable veggie will work. Put […]
Color Blending With Play Dough
Show your preschooler how primary colors are blended to make secondary colors in this fun and simple color blending activity. You will need play dough in three different colors – red (or pink), blue, and yellow. You can buy dough or make your own. We made this easy soft dough recipe and divided it into […]
Easy Soft Play Dough Recipe
This super-easy play dough is not only is it easy to make (only two or three ingredients and you probably already have them!), it’s a snap to clean up and makes for a great sensory experience. You need some hair conditioner (whatever you have should work), cornstarch, and, if you want, food colors. I started […]
Creepy Crawly Pipe Cleaner Creatures
Using this method, you can make any number of crawling creatures from your pile of pipecleaners. Besides pipecleaners, you may want to use some googly eyes and glue. To make legs, antennae, and heads for your creatures, bend pipecleaners into zig-zag shapes and twist as shown. You can make 3, 4, or 5-legged sections […]
Daisy Flower Chain Instructions
Have you ever wanted to teach your kids how to make daisy chains? Here are simple instructions. You will need: flowers. Small flowers that grow in the grass are perfect for daisy chains; dandelions work great too! Make sure you leave a few inches of stem when you pick the flowers, as you will need […]
Homemade Time-Out Glitter Bottle Timer
Make these sparkly glitter bottles with your preschooler. They are fun to play with but have also been serving another use: Time-Out Timers! Have your child shake the bottle when upset, and then watch it settle to calm down. When everyone is settled down, normal life can resume. All you need: empty water bottles, glitter, […]
DIY Clay Food for Play
We made this play pizza and cookies with our easy diy modeling clay. This is a fun way to teach children about shapes and give them another tool for their imaginative play. Help your child form the clay into shapes. You’ll need a big triangle for the pizza slice and smaller circles for the cookies. […]
Make Your Own Modeling Clay
Make your own modeling clay! This simple homemade clay is lightweight and easy to work with. It can be air dried or baked when you are finished molding your creations. You need three ingredients for this dough – corn starch, white school glue, and baby oil. Start with equal parts cornstarch and glue and stir […]
Recycled Foam Helicopter Craft
If your preschooler is obsessed with all things flying, then you will love this easy helicopter craft. You will need: a foam egg carton, a foam craft sheet, scissors, and split pin For each helicopter, you will need to cut out one egg carton section (do this ahead of time, as it’s definitely an adult […]
Color Circle Suncatchers
These impressive suncatchers are easy to make – all you need is paper, a black marker, a cup, and some crayons. Note: For a suncatcher that lets more light through, use waxed or tracing paper. To make the design on your suncatcher, trace around a cup with a black marker. For more varied shapes, you […]
DIY Play Camera Necklace
While they may be way too young to check out ViralRace and other sites to boost followers on social media (although that may well be yet to come), kids love pretending to take pictures! This activity lets them make their own camera to play with. You will need: craft foam, pencil, scissors, and glue. It’s […]