Seasons
Glitter Apple Prints
These glitter apple prints are a great fall or winter project to do with your preschoolers. Materials: apples, liquid glue, food coloring, glitter, paper. Mix some glue with an equal part water (an almost-empty bottle works well) and add a few drops of food coloring. Cut your apples in half. To make the prints, dip […]
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 […]
Monet Inspired Waterlilies Project for Kids
I think it’s fun to introduce kids to art history in a variety of ways! Luckily, here in Philly, we have one of Claude Monet’s paintings featuring his famous waterlilies. After seeing the painting in person, and looking at some of his other paintings online (like my favorite one at MoMA), we decided to make […]
Easy Winter Animal Paper Costumes
At school recently, we found ourselves in a time crunch to create a whole bunch of winter creature costumes for the winter pageant. They had to be super affordable, easy enough that the kids could make their own, and I obviously wanted to have them be recognizable! These paper costumes were fun to make in […]
Fall Leaves Mobile
Make this beautiful leaf-mobile to hang in your space! Kids will have fun learning about warm and cool colors, and the whole family will be able to enjoy your mobile once it’s hung! This project is fairly quick, easy, and cheap (three big plus’s in my book). We used coffee filters (white work best) scissors […]
Paper Plate Craft: Thanksgiving Pies
Half the fun of Thanksgiving is in the preparation, right? Make these funny little pies with your kids in anticipation of the holiday weekend! We used small paper plates, paint, construction paper, pencils, glue and scissors to make these mini play pies. You probably have all these things around the house already! First decide what […]
Fall Placecards
We’re having a fancy Fall tea party, and we used leaves (which are so abundant in my yard!) and Sharpie paint pens to make some personalized placecards for our guests! I must say, I was so impressed by how these markers worked on an organic surface! We doodled on some leaves, wrote names of our […]
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, […]
5 Great Reasons to Visit Your Local Playground
Do you enjoy taking your little ones to your nearest playground? Spending time with children in the great outdoors is a fantastic form of exercise. However, it is no secret that chasing after your children can take its toll on your muscles. Consequently, if you often feel tired and exhausted after a long day looking […]
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 […]
Spirit Animals
If your world is anything like mine, Halloween costumes are a hot topic around this time of year. I keep a running list of costume ideas going year-round, so we don’t get caught clueless at the end of October, and I’ve got plenty of bits and pieces for a variety of personas saved from years […]
Milk Jug Skull Lanterns
Use a few materials that you might already have on hand to make these spooky milk jug skulls! I saw some of these on someone’s stoop the other night and thought we have got to try that! This simple craft calls for just a few supplies, doesn’t take long, and makes a big impact in […]
Ghost-mallows!
Make your fall drinks way ghoulier with these fun and easy Halloween marshmallows! We used: – pre-packaged instant hot chocolate mix (but you could definitely make your own) – marshmallows – black FoodWriter marker After cutting the marshmallows in half (which isn’t totally necessary, but means the marshmallows will float flat, or “face up” […]
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 […]
Backyard Fun: Digging for Worms and Bugs
It’s always fun to dig in the dirt when it’s not work. Kids love getting dirty and finding little critters to put in their buckets. If you’re closing up your garden for the season make sure to let your kids dig around a bit for this great sensory activity! It’s a brilliant way to get […]
Practice Cutting: Paper Snakes
This activity is great for more advanced preschoolers to practice their cutting skills. You’ll need paper, a pencil, and scissors. Starting in the center of a piece of paper, draw a spiral line. Don’t make the circles too close together. Go all the way to the edge. Starting at the edge, carefully cut on the […]
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 […]
Flying Butterfly Craft: Straw and Construction Paper Butterfly
Make this impressive butterfly with craft supplies you already have lying around. You will need: construction paper (2 colors for each butterfly), scissors, a cup and a pencil (for tracing circles), pipe cleaner, straws, and brads. 1. Trace the butterfly wings on one sheet of construction paper using the cup as shown. 2. Stack the […]
Dream Catcher Sculpture
These might just be the perfect summer camp craft. The sculptures are fun to make and can go in so many directions with a little creativity. I’ve never actually seen anything like them before. The idea came to me when I was thinking about creating a dream catcher activity and saw the stick sculptures one […]
Backyard Car Wash Play for Hot Hot Days
Next time it’s just too hot outside for comfort, break out the buckets and rags and start a backyard car wash for your preschooler’s riding toys! We would have let then have free reign over cleaning our car (less work for us!) but as we were in the midst of moving for my husband’s job, […]
Rock Art
Kids love rock art…OK, I do too! It’s so much fun to find the perfect rock and write a message on it or paint a mini picture. What you need: – rock – pencil – paint pens How to do it: 1. Go on a rock hunt. Find a few great rocks with […]
4th of July: Fireworks Art Project
What you need: – black construction paper – crayons – glitter glue Draw the fireworks with a crayon, then go over it with the glitter glue. Try different base crayon colors to see what you like the best. Make some fireworks with several colors of glitter glue. If you don’t have glitter glue but you […]
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 […]
Summer Fort Coloring Page
Marc, our fantastic designer, dreamed up this summer time tree fort and created a coloring sheet to get the kids thinking about their dream summer fort. Make every coloring page great by finishing the sky with watercolors. The crayon acts as a resistant so you can’t mess it up! Let your child water color […]
DIY Bird Feeder
My preschooler loves any and all animals. If I had to ask her which one she preferred, I think it would change every minute. She just can’t make her mind up, bless her. It’s definitely not a bad thing though. I’m actually surprised that she hasn’t asked for one yet, which is fine. But they […]
Bottled Spring: Fine Motor Nature Walk
Put spring in a bottle! This is a fun nature walk sensory project. All you need are a few kids who like exploring, some empty water bottles (clear), and colored tape. Give each child a bottle. Talk about spring and how wonderful it is to see everything growing and blooming. Then go out to the […]
Simple Nature Scavenger Hunt Printable
It’s spring, and chances are it’s beautiful outside! I’ve spent the last couple of days researching Tree Care in Amador, San Joaquin, Tuolumne Counties as it has definitely been too long since we gave our backyard some love! My two toddlers adore spending time outside together, so I’m always looking for new outdoor activities to […]