I am super psyched to have recently obtained a snazzy domain that I took from my tagline: learnplaycreate.com
Besides the name change and an obvious change in format, content will remain the same! The goal of my blog is still to provide a home for my collection of fun Pre-K ideas for learning, playing and creating :)
Preschool Movement Activity – Streamer Rhyme
“Spark movement imagination for preschoolers with this action rhyme about crepe paper streamers. Full of movement and language concepts, this read aloud rhyme launches preschoolers into playful streamer movement that is fun and full of fitness…..”
—PreschoolRock.com
This is another one of my favorite movement activities from PreschoolRock.com. Since this is spring break, my 7-year-old son was here to enjoy this activity along with my preschooler… and he enjoyed it very much indeed!
All you need is a streamer! Then read the wonderful rhyme to your kid(s) and watch as they follow the rhyming directions and dance around—having a fabulous time!
I love this paper plate bunnies project I found on the Preschool Playbook blog. Fun, fast, and super easy… what more could you ask for?!
My daughter used crayons to draw in the details. If you will notice, she didn’t think it proper to have a bunny without arms and legs… so that’s what those lines are on either side of the face and below the mouth ;) She’s so silly!
This project is so quick and easy, I’m sure you may even find time to fit it into your busy Easter Sunday schedule. Maybe ;)
We made some super cute Easter cards today! So simple, yet so awesome! I’m a sucker for handprint art, so this is right up my alley!
All you need to do for these bunny handprints is paint just the palm of the hand, the ring finger and the index finger. Press onto the paper, let dry, then decorate to your heart’s content!
Some of the bunnies pictured were decorated by me, some by my 7-year-old son, and the cute little one in the top right corner was decorated 100% by my 3-year-old daughter! All handprints are that of my daughter :)
I saw this Easter craft in the Family Fun magazine we subscribe to. I have never tried paper mache before, but this project looked too cute to pass up.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that paper mache is rather easy and so, so much fun! Yes, you absolutely need to be patient — but isn’t this a lesson we want to teach our preschoolers anyway?… (not to mention, some of us adults need to be schooled in patience too!).
Here’s a little collage depicting our first paper mache experience:
I know Easter is about over, and it’s definitely too late to begin this project… But I believe this diorama idea can be adapted to fit any occasion. Of course, you can also make it just for fun too! My preschooler loves to play with it in a dollhouse sort of way! I had to borrow it from her to take pictures!
Enjoy!
Hello sun; we’ve missed you!
Question: How shall we honor the sun and ring in spring (and Easter)?
Answer: A stunning, kid-crafted sun catcher, of course!
Here’s what you need:
We started by cutting our tissue paper into small squares. Then, after sketching out an egg shape, my preschooler used a paintbrush to apply a thin layer of liquid starch. Next, she pressed tissue paper squares onto the egg, followed up by another brushing of starch. She finished up with a final layer of each.
After the sun catcher dried, it easily peeled away from wax paper. We trimmed out the egg shape and, at this point, the sun catcher was good to go as is — but we decided to take it a step further by making a frame.
For the frame, I placed our sun catcher in the middle of a piece of construction paper and traced it. Setting the sun catcher aside, I drew another egg shape within the traced shape—about a quarter-inch away from the traced egg. I then cut out and discarded the smaller egg, applied a thin layer of glue around the perimeter of the newly created egg-shaped window, and pressed the sun catcher onto the window.
Of course, we didn’t stop there. I had some scrap paper from our previous egg project, the marble painted egg. This scrap paper already had an egg-shaped window, so I glued it onto our sun catcher to give the frame a bit more pizazz.
It’s a beautiful thing to see the sunlight shine through our Easter Egg Sun Catcher!
Today we did a little egg decorating for Easter… but not egg dyeing (not yet, at least). For this Easter art project, we let a single marble do the hard work :)
Materials:
We started by drawing an egg shape on our paper. Then we taped the paper onto our box top, squirted some paint into the corners, and placed a marble in the box. The final step is the most fun: simply shift the box from side to side, allowing the marble to roll around and paint its masterpiece!
After the paint dries, cut out the egg shape and mount onto a background of your choosing.
Enjoy!
After making a weaved background for our Eggshell Mosaic project, I had a couple 1.5” wide strips of paper left over. My daughter was eager to work on another project (even though it was time for me to prep lunch!), so I grabbed a strip and told her she could decorate it, and we’d make a bracelet!
She happily got right to work, and was so excited to get the decorating finished so we could turn it into a bracelet. But, as my smart little one pointed out, this particular paper strip was too wide for her delicate little wrist. So, we decided to cut it down the middle to make two bracelets—one for her and one for mommy! A simple staple for the “clasp” and then…. Voila, mother-daughter “friendship bracelets!”
Believe it or not, these paper bracelets lasted for the entire day. They were just wide enough to be comfortably pushed up and out of the way for handwashing. Of course, the time came soon enough to cut them off—but it was SO much fun while it lasted! I must admit, for such a simple project, it surly kept her busy while making it and it made her happy for the entire day :)
Yay for Easter and its plethora of beautifully dyed eggs! When you go to peel and eat, don’t throw away those shells! A beautiful mosaic is waiting to be created!
It doesn’t get much easier than this: Smear on the glue and press on those eggshells! It may get messy, and your preschooler might end up covered in sticky shells — but it’s loads of fun and the end result is simply lovely.
For our eggshell mosaic, we started by drawing an outline of an egg. After gluing on our shells, I cut out the egg shape and glued it onto a weaved background. Done. Easy! And my preschooler loves it!
Are you talking to your preschooler about birds? If so, I have the perfect project for you! I came across the idea from the Preschool Express website. By turning an ordinary toilet paper roll into a bird feeder, you have yourself a fun and simple (not to mention delicious) project to enjoy with your preschooler!
All you need:
Assembly is super simple: Punch two holes across from each other near the top, thread twine through holes, then smear on the peanut butter, roll in the birdseed, and hang! That’s it!
Working with peanut butter is a lot of fun… I guarantee there’ll be some finger licking going on (that’s where the “delicious” part comes in)!
Enjoy :)
