Quick and Easy Fireworks

Supplies:

black construction paper

cupcake liners

markers

glitter

scissors

glue

Directions:

Color on flattened cupcake liners with the markers. If it's difficult to color and hold the liner then tape the edge with masking tape.

Fold the cupcake liners in half and then in half again so you have somewhat of a triangle shape. Cut slits starting at the widest part. Do not cut all the way to the point or you will cut your liner apart.

Add glue to your black paper or to the back of your cupcake liner and put your fireworks on the black paper.

Add glitter.

Marble Painting

Supplies:

• Paint: fingerpaints or Crayola washable kids' paints work well.
• Small cups or bowls: one for each color you plan to use
• Box: shoeboxes or any box with a lid (I did not use a lid and it was fine)
• Paper: small enough to lay flat inside the shoebox
• Marbles or small balls
• Tape

How to make:

1. Cut a piece of paper small enough to fit inside the box.
2. Tape the piece of paper to the bottom of the box. The best way to do this is to make a circle out of the tape, with sticky side on the outside. Put the tape on the bottom of the box and place paper on top of it.
3. Pour a small amount of paint into the cup or bowl.
4. Place 1 marble or ball inside each cup of paint.
5. Ensure the marble is covered with paint.
6. Place 1 marble on top of piece of paper.
7. Put lid on the box.
8. Shake the box.
9. Remove lid and marble.
10. Repeat steps 6-9 until all colored marbles have been used.
11. Set aside to dry.

From: http://www.examiner.com/children-s-crafts-in-norfolk/painting-with-marbles-toddlers-and-preschoolers-love-it

Potato Stamped Wrapping Paper

You'll need:

• Paints
• A sponge, cut in half
• A potato
• A knife
• A marker or pen
• Paper

Step one

Cut the potato in half. 

Step two

Draw your desired shape on a piece of paper (it helps to trace around the potato face-down on the paper first so you can fit the shape exactly into the potato's circumference. 

Step three

Cut around the shape from the top and a few millimeters down the potato too so the shape rises from the rest of the potato. 

Step four

Place the sponges on a small plate and squirt paint onto each sponge. Let the kids loose with the stamps on a large sheet of butcher's paper or craft paper (we used the Ikea paper rolls). Leave to dry then wrap! 



From: http://www.kidspot.com.au/Christmas-Christmas-crafts-Potato-stamped-wrapping-paper+3708+117+article.htm

Handprint Turkey

Supplies:
Paper Plate
Felt - cut into 1 inch x 1 inch squares (fall colors)
Paint - (used washable poster paint) Brown, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green
Paint Brushes
Googly Eye
Markers
School Glue or craft glue
Hole Puncher & Yarn

Directions

• Paint child's hand. Paint thumb and palm brown. Paint each finger a different color.
• Make handprint on plate. (wash their hand)
• Put line of glue around edge of plate. 
• Place felt on glue to create "frame"
• Add turkey features - such as legs and beak and googly eye
• Hole punch and hang with yarn

This project is a slight variation to project found here.

Mud Dough

This is a preschool idea for a play dough called Mud Dough.

It is best to do this at a large work table so that all the children can watch and help to stir the dough. They will also get a chance to knead the dough—always a hit with this age group. You will need ½ cup of cold water, 1 tablespoon cooking oil, 2 tablespoons brown tempera paint, ½ cup of salt, 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1 ½ cups of white flour. You can decide how much of the measuring and pouring can be done by your kids depending on their abilities. Put all of the ingredients in a large bowl to stir together and then turn it out onto the table to knead until it is totally mixed. This really resembles mud and the children enjoy using their Mud Dough to make shapes. Tell them they can make animal shapes, like the ones they might find in a zoo. It always helps to have cookie cutters available to help with this especially for the younger children.

From: http://www.mypreschoolplan.com/preschool-activities/crafts.html

Tissue Paper Sculpture

Have the children tear tissue paper into small pieces. Size and shape don’t matter so this is perfect for this age. In a small bowl mix equal parts of glue and water. Show them how to crumple the paper into wads, and then dip these wads of colorful paper into the glue and stick it onto a piece of cardstock or cardboard. They can create their own sculpture!

From: http://www.mypreschoolplan.com/preschool-activities/easy-crafts.html

Tissue Paper Turkeys

Jack's 2 feather turkey. He wasn't so interested in making the feathers as he was in gluing.

Micah, Jack and Hailey with their turkeys. As you can see these are cute with 2, 3 or even 5 feathers.

Supplies:
-fall colored tissue paper
-scissors
-construction paper (brown, white, black, yellow, red)
-contact paper
-paper plate
-crayons or paint
-glue stick
-duct tape

1. Cut out parts. Feathers, eyes, beak, hangy red thing, feet, turkey head, paper plate in half and tissue paper squares.
2. Unroll some contact paper and peel back the non-stick side. Place feather outlines on sticky side and recover with non-sticky paper. Cut out around feather leaving a decent sized border to be trimmed later.
3. Assemble feathers: Peel backing from contact paper. With sticky side up place tissue paper squares inside the feather outline. Once finished unroll contact paper again. Peel back the sticky side. Place the decorated feather, sticky side up on the backing. Cover with the sticky paper that you had just unrolled. Trim around edge of feather.
4. Assemble turkey: Either color or paint the paper plate. My goal was to have a brown plate, but the kids had other ideas. Glue the face and feet onto the turkey head and glue the turkey head onto the paper plate. Turn plate over and using duct tape, tape the feathers to the back of the plate. I also used little tape rolls between the feathers and the plate to keep them from falling back too far.

Tissue paper crafts like these can be used for a lot of different things. Just cut an outline and fill it in. 

Wave Ware Picnic Plates

Supplies:
-2 paper plates per animal (either colored or paint them yourself)
-black construction paper
-scissors
-glue or double-sided tape


A picnic at the beach deserves the proper dishes -- what could be more fitting than colorful plates posing as a lobster, sun, and seagull? Kids can just cut parts from another plate and affix with double-sided tape. 

Use our templates for the wings and claws. For the beak and sun's rays, cut out triangles. Punch holes from black construction paper for the eyes; then affix with white glue.


From: http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/kids-paper-crafts#slide_17

Glittered Pumpkins

Kids can help bring a sparkle to the house with these glittered pumpkins that will last for months.

With a medium-size paintbrush, spread a layer of white glue over the surface of a small pumpkin. Hold the pumpkin over a paper plate or a sheet of newspaper to catch excess glitter. Sprinkle powdery glitter over pumpkin in several colors (we used penny, persimmon, orange, and pink champagne), covering completely. Let dry for about an hour; shake off excess glitter. Coat stem with brown acrylic paint; let dry.

From: http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/kids-art-projects#slide_19

Shape Christmas Tree

  

What you'll need:

• Construction paper
• shape Christmas tree template
• Scissors
• Glue stick

How to make your Shape Christmas Tree

1. Print our template and cut the pieces out. The triangles (tree parts) should be green, the star should be yellow, the rectangle should be brown and the circles should be all different colors.
2. Glue the triangles to a full sheet of construction paper. Start with the largest one and work your way up to the smallest triangle on the top of the tree.
3. Glue the rectangle (trunk) to the bottom of the tree.
4. Glue the ornaments onto the tree and then glue the star on top.

From: http://www.allkidsnetwork.com/crafts/christmas/shape-christmas-tree.asp

Cotton Ball Santa

What you'll need: Small paper plate Craft paint: flesh tone Red craft foam Cotton balls 2 googly eyes 1 pink pom pom Scissors Glue Paint Brush Red marker or crayon How to make your Cotton Ball Santa Craft Turn the paper plate upside down and paint it in the flesh tone of your choice.  Set the plate aside to dry. Cut a hat shape out of red craft foam and glue a cotton ball to the tip of the hat and then glue a line of cotton balls along the bottom of the hat. Once the paper plate is dry, glue the bottom of the hat to the top of the paper plate. Glue a "beard" of cotton balls along the outside edge of the paper plate.  Glue two googly eyes onto the plate near the hat. Glue a pink pom pom under the eyes as a nose.  Cut a cotton ball in half and glue above the eyes as eyebrows. Cut a cotton ball in half and pull it slightly to form a mustache.  Glue under the nose. Use the red marker to draw a smile under the mustache. From: http://www.allkidsnetwork.com/crafts/christmas/cotton-ball-santa.asp

Plastic Cup Pilgrim Hats

Supplies

-black plastic cups

(or use little dixie cups and paint them black)

-heavy paper (black and yellow, white if you want a band)

-scissors

-glue

-pen to write on black paper

Here is how I envision creating these cute and simple place cards. Cut black circles out to match proportionately with your cups. Cut out a yellow buckle. But some glue on a paper plate and dip the cup into the glue. Or use the glue bottle and carefully follow the rim of the cup. Place the cup on top of the black circle. Put a little glue on the buckle. A smaller child could do this using a Q-Tip perhaps. Place the buckle on the cup. Write the name with your special pen.

Idea From: http://meandmyinsanity.blogspot.com/2008/11/thanksgiving-table-kid-friendly-place.html

Directions Written By: Natalie

Easy Painting Techniques

Shaving Cream Painting: Leave white or add a few drops of food coloring. Let your child use his hands to “paint” on a heavy sheet of paper (watch his mouth!) The shaving cream will dry and make a very interesting art project. 

Glue Painting: Put white school glue in a bowl or paper plate. Allow your toddler to “paint” it on a piece of paper (use a paint brush or Q-tip.) Sprinkle with glitter, colored sand, or cotton balls and let dry. 

Water Painting: This toddler craft is SO EASY! Provide your toddler with a small glass of water, light colored construction paper, and a paint brush. The paper will get darker where she “paints” the water. 

Painting- Without the Mess!
Great activity for your toddler when you need 15 minutes to make dinner!
Supplies

• Large plastic Ziploc bag
• Tempura paint (or search for the homemade “paint” recipe perfect for this toddler craft)
• Duct tape

Directions
    Prep:

1. Make (or buy) paint
2. Place in plastic bag (put more than one color in to teach your toddler about mixing colors)
3. Close bag and tape shut to make sure it doesn’t open

    With your Toddler:

1. Let your toddler squish, mush, and mix the paint in the bag
2. Point out when the colors mix and make a new one

From: http://www.preschool-learning-and-crafts.com

Yarn Ball Turkey

Supplies

-9" polystyrene ball

-knife

-dark brown yarn

-light brown yarn

-wooden craft stick or wooden skewers

-felt (white, yellow, red)

-black pom-poms

-construction paper

-scissors

-glue
-marker

What a Turkey

Ask each child to write what she's thankful for on a paper feather, then stick it into this cute turkey centerpiece. 

How to make it: Cut a 1-inch sliver off the bottom of a 9-inch polystyrene ball. Wrap sphere neatly in thick dark-brown yarn, covering surface completely; knot on bottom. Make a 4-inch ball from light-brown yarn and attach to body with a wooden craft stick. Create simple facial features using felt: white circles (approximately the size of a quarter, with 1/8-inch pom-poms for pupils) for eyes, yellow triangles for the beak, and long red felt teardrops as the wattle. Cut feather shapes from colored craft paper and bend in half lengthwise to create seam. Glue wooden craft stick to the bottom third of the feather and insert in a fan shape on turkey body.


This project could be made easy for the littlest kids by pre-making several parts and letting the child simply decorate the feathers any way he/she wants. i.e. coloring, stickers, painting, glitter... Or this project could be for an older child who has the skills to write, wrap yarn, cut and glue.

From: Parents.com