Letter M Crafts and Activities
March 1, 2009 by Craft Expert
Filed under Alphabet
Mobiles
Items Needed
* Old picture frames of various sizes
* Dental floss, yarn, or string
Choose two different size picture frames, just use the empty frame. Use the dental floss and tie a piece at each of the four corners. Also tie four pieces of floss together at the top to create a triangle. Tie the small frame to a larger frame so it hangs below. Be sure to use the same length of floss! Use more dental floss and randomly tie things to each of the frames.
Draw Maps
Items needed
* Paper
* Pencils
* Crayons
Pick a location that your family visits often. Just pick one at a time so you can make easy maps, when your child learns maps you can add more then one location to the map. Map the location using street lines, mark various spots and landmarks you see along the way and let your child color in trees, buildings and other areas. The next time you are out and going to that location, take the map with you so your child can follow along! Have him identify the different things on the map so he can point them out.
Marble painting
Items needed
* Washable paint
* Paper
* Large dish tub
* Marbles
* Small containers
Put a small amount of paint into different small containers, one for each color. Drop a marble into each container and roll around to coat the marble with paint. Put a piece of paper into the large tub and drop each of the different colored marbles into the tub. Roll the tub around letting the marbles paint onto the paper in various lines and shapes. Remove the marbles carefully and allow your paper to dry.
Math Money
Items needed
* Pennies
* Nickels
* Quarters
* Dimes
Put a bunch of each of the coins into a small box or jar and have your child sort into groups. Talk about the value of each coin and then pretend to buy things with the money he has in front of him.
Letter L Crafts and Activities
March 1, 2009 by Craft Expert
Filed under Alphabet
Lid Collage
Items needed
* Old lids from containers, milk jugs and jars
* Glue
* Cardboard or heavy cardstock
After the lids are washed and dried, glue them all over the cardboard. This is a fun and easy lid collage! See what pictures can be made using the colored lids.
Ladybug Thumbs
Items needed
* Red washable inkpad
* Paper
* Black marker or pen
Using the red inkpad, have your child red fingerprints all over the paper. Wash hands then use the pen to draw a head and add dots! Don’t forget to add antennae and legs.
Leaf Rubbing
Items needed
* Leaves
* Paper
* Crayons
When the leaves have fallen to the ground you can pick them up and work on a fun craft project! All you need to do is put one leaf under a piece of paper. Then use the side of a crayon (remove the paper first) and rub gently over the leaf. The shape and veins will show through the paper! Use different colored crayons on each leaf. Also try making a leaf rub of different colors on the same page. You can easily make a beautiful picture.
Leapfrog
Items needed
* Lots of kids!
Leapfrog is a fun way for kids to use their gross motor skills! The first child squats down as small as he can and the next child jumps over his back. When he lands, he moves forward slightly and then crouches down too so that the third child has to jump over both bodies. Keep going until the last child is crouched down, and then the first child gets up to go over the rest. Continue on until no one wants to leap anymore!
Letter A Crafts and Activities
February 28, 2009 by Craft Expert
Filed under Alphabet
Apple Stamping
Items Needed:
* Paper
* Acrylic Paints
* Paper plates
* Apples
This is a fun activity for kids and a great one for learning as well. Cut an apple in half around the midsection so that you see the “star” in the center (so around the belly, not from stem to bottom).
Use acrylic paints on a paper plate as your ink palate. Stamp the apple image all over your paper for a fun look. Or get more creative and carve shapes into the apple halves and stamp again. Remember do not eat the apples after stamping.
Animal Charades
Items Needed:
* Slips of Paper
* Pens
* 3-5 children (or more)
Using the slips of paper write animal names and fold and pile all the slips in a pile on the table. Choose one child to start and have her select one paper slip with the animal name on it. Charades is a game played without the person acting out making noise so the child would then act out their animal leaving the other children to guess. The first to guess the correct animal will be next to be the actor.
Ants galore
Items Needed:
* Cardboard Egg Carton
* Pipe Cleaners
* Wiggly eyes
* Glue
* Brown paint and paint brushes
This is a great use for an old egg carton. Use 3 sections of the carton for the body and paint it brown. Use pipe cleaners for antennae and legs. Draw on eyes with makers or use glue for wiggly eyes on the head. You can make several ants at once and have fun playing with them!
Ant prints
Items Needed:
* Black or brown washable stamp pads
* Paper
* Markers
Using a black or brown washable stamp pad, have the kids make three fingerprints in a row for the ant body. Have them do this all over their paper in a pattern. Then using a black maker, draw in the legs, antennae and eyes.
Letter B Poem
February 28, 2009 by Craft Expert
Filed under Alphabet
Just about every letter of the alphabet has a song or poem to go along with it. Sing the song or read the poem to your child, teach them how to sing it and you may be able to make up a song or impromptu dance. Think of other songs or poems that you can use to teach the alphabet!
B is for Beard and Bird
There was an Old Man with a beard,
Who said, “It is just as I feared!–
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!”
B is for Bonnet and Bird
There was a Young Lady whose bonnet,
Came untied when the birds sate upon it;
But she said, “I don’t care!
All the birds in the air
Are welcome to sit on my bonnet!”
B is for Butterfly
Butterflies are Pretty Things
“Butterflies are pretty things,
Prettier than you or I;
See the colors on his wings;
Who would hurt a butterfly?”
“Softly, softly, girls and boys;
He’ll come near us by and by;
Here he is, don’t make a noise;–
We’ll not hurt you, butterfly.”
Not to hurt a living thing,
Let all little children try;
See, again he’s on the wing;
Good by! pretty butterfly!
B is for Boy and Boots
CHARLIE BOY.
O, look at my hat;
How nicely it suits!
O, look at my feet;
I’ve got on new boots!
Hurrah! for Charlie boy.
My boots they are stiff,
My boots they are tall,
And they hold me up straight,
So I cannot fall.
Hurrah! for Charlie boy.
I’ll do mother’s errands
As well as I can;
I’ve got on new boots,
And so I’m a man.
Hurrah! for Charlie boy.
Alphabet
Teach your preschool child the alphabet with these crafts and activities.
26 Letters of the Alphabet on the Wall
Young students love to sing! While singing this tune, the students will learn to count to 26 and learn the alphabet.
Making the playing board will be your first task. Make 26 large letter cards with bright colored construction paper in the shape of the individual letters of the alphabet. Hang or tape each letter card on a display board or wall. The students can then take them down as they progress through the song.
Together, the class will sing the following tune: “There are 26 letters in the alphabet…. 26 letters in all….. take the “A” down and pass it around…. There’s 25 letters in the alphabet!” While the tune is being sung, the first student goes to the board and takes down the letter “A” and hands it to another student to pass around the class. The turn is then passed to a second student. Keeping with the tune, the class will sing the song to reflect only 25 letters and taking down the letter “B” and ending up with only 24 letters in the alphabet. Again, the second student goes to the board and removes the “B”, and passes it around. This activity continues through until all 26 letters of the alphabet have been passed around the room.
Go Letters
Teaching young students the alphabet can be trying at times. By putting a new twist on an old favorite it can make this necessary activity fun and enjoyable.
The first thing to do is make a deck of cards. Assign each student a selected letter of the alphabet. Using pre-cut squares of construction paper have each student make five cards. With a crayon they can correctly write their assigned letter on each card. Depending on the size of the class, you may have to assign additional letters or make cards yourself. This will assure there are enough cards to go around.
Once the cards are prepared collect all the cards and place them in a paper sack. Shake the sack to “shuffle” the deck making sure they are well mixed. Place the students in a circle and deal the cards, giving each three cards to start the game. The remainder of the cards will remain in the sack. The key to the game is to match like items together to make pairs.
The first student will ask another student if they have a letter that matches one in their own hand. If the second student has it, they must give it to the first student. If they do not, the first student must draw one card out of the sack. Once a student has a matched pair of letters they lay them down face up. This continues around the circle until everyone gets a turn. If a student is left with no cards on their turn they request a random letter. The game continues until all the cards are paired. The winner of the game is the student that ends with the most matched pairs.
Sandpaper Letters
Cut large letters out of sandpaper. The textures are very helpful for learning.
Play-Doh Letters
Help your child form each letter of the alphabet out of play-doh.
Crafts by Letter: