Letter Z Crafts and Activities

Zoo

Items Needed

* Pictures of animals
* 3×5 cards
* Glue

Cut pictures out, glue on to 3×5 cards. When dry, throw cards into pile, have each child draw a card, and imitate animal. Simple easy version of charades.

Painted Zebras
Items needed
* shallow box
* marbles
* black paint
* white paper

Place the white paper into the shallow box. Roll the marbles into the black paint and then drop them onto the paper in the box. Roll the marbles around so the paint stripes the paper. Allow to dry and then cut zebra shapes out of your striped paper.

Ziplock bread
Items needed
* quart sized ziplock bags
* premade bread dough

Put a small ball of bread dough into each ziplock bag and zip closed. Let each child knead the bread in the bag. Remove from bag and bake the bread.

Zigzag shape fun
Items needed
* Paper with various large shapes drawn… circles, squares, rectangles, triangles, etc
* Rickrack in various colors (craft or sewing store)
* glue or double side tape

Have the children glue or tape the rickrack to the outline of the various shapes for a fun shape collage.

Letter Y Crafts and Activities

Yarn Dolls
Items needed
* Yarn

Cut yarn into 12inch lengths. Take 15-20 pieces of the 12″ yarn together and fold in half. Tie a piece of yarn about 1 inch down from the fold. This becomes the head. Now from below the head, pull off about 4 pieces of yarn from each side and tie off the leftover center pieces at the “waist”. Next separate that middle piece into to sections for the legs. Tie off the bottom of the each leg and then cut down the two side bunches to make arms and tie them off as well. These are fun dolls to make in an afternoon!

Yolk the Egg
Items needed
* Large circle of white paper
* Smaller circles of yellow paper

Tape the large white circle to the door or wall. Put double sided tape onto each smaller “yolk” piece. Blindfold your child and have them try to put the yolk onto the egg white, much like pin the tail on the donkey.

The YES/NO game
Items needed
* Your child and you

Another great dinner time game to play where your child or you can only ask questions that can be answered with a Yes or No answer to try to find the answer.

Yeast Miracle
Items needed
* Glass bottle with small neck
* balloon
* yeast
* water

Pour a small amount of yeast over some water in your glass bottle and secure the balloon over the top. As the yeast activates it will expand the balloon and start to blow it up. Research why this happens with your child!

Letter X Crafts and Activities

X marks the spot
Items needed
* craft sticks
* glue

Have the children make Xs with two craft sticks and some glue. Then have them mark certain spots with the Xs throughout the house and have someone else guess where all the Xs are. You can also tie in activities from other letters – make a map of your house and have the child lead clue to the Xs.

Xrays
Items needed
* Black construction paper
* white crayons or chalk

Have the children trace their hands or feet onto the black construction paper with the white crayon or chalk. Then have them fill in the “bones” on their hands and feet to make it look like an xray. This i a great way to learn the bones of the body!

X-traordinary butterflies
Items needed
* Paper
* Pencils
* crayons or makers

Draw Xs in various sizes on your paper. Show the children how to make an X into a butterfly and then color the butterflies all over the paper. This is a great rainy day activity!

Letter W Crafts and Activities

Water Balloon Toss

Group kids together in pairs. Let them take turns tossing the balloons to each other from a distance. The pair that ends up with the remaining water balloon in tact wins.

Watermelon Seed Spitting

Cut big slices of watermelon for you and your children. Line up and practice spitting the seeds.

Water fun
items needed
* cups, bowls, ladle, plastic bottles
* bathtub or small swimming pool or bucket outside

Kids love water and this is an ideal activity for a warm summer day. Fill up a large bucket or small swimming pool with water, put out the bowls, cups and bottles and let the kids have fun pouring and stirring. Adult supervision is required around all water activities.

Wings
Items needed
* thin light fabric or large scarves
* safety pins

Pin a corner of the scarf or fabric to the back neck and to each cuff of your child’s’ long sleeve shirt and let them dance and fly throughout the room. Play classical music and move to the music with the new wings.

Wind Sock
Items needed
* large rectangle piece of paper (or two 8.5×11 sheets taped together lengthwise to make one long sheet)
* tissue paper or crepe paper
* stapler
* makers, crayons, etc
* string
* hole punch

Have your child decorate the paper and then roll into big tube and tape or staple together. Tape or staple long streamers or tissue paper streamers to the bottom of the tube. Punch 5 holes around the top edge of the tube and secure a string to each hole, then tie all the strings together at the loose ends together to hang the socks in the breeze.

Letter V Crafts and Activities

Velcro collage
Items needed
* Poster board or similar
* sticky Velcro
* small flat items to make collage

Put small pieces of the fuzzy half of the Velcro at random spots on your poster board. Put the rough side of of the velcro on your collage items and let your child make the collage. Using velcro allows them to move the items around by pulling and re-sticking to another spot.

Homemade violets
Items needed
* Purple tissue paper
* Tape
* wire or pipe cleaners

Cut the tissue paper into 6×6 squares. Stack 6-8 pieces of the tissue squares on top of each other and then push into the middle of the stack to pinch the stack at the center. Tape the piece that you pinched and then gently pull apart the tissue to form the flower petals. Wind wire or pipe cleaners to the pinched end to make a stem.

I’m a Veterinarian
Items needed
* Stuffed animals
* tables
* towels, blankets, small pillows
* bandaids, other “medical items”, toy stethoscope, syringes, etc.
* clipboards and other fun times

Set up your family room as a veterinarian’s office. Bring the sick stuffed animals to visit your child. Wrap them in blankets, give them shots, take their temperature, write notes on the clipboard, etc. Extra fun with friends or multiple family members if one can be nurse or receptionist etc. Visit a local vet to see if you can have any times from their office for your play!

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