Christmas Is Almost Here!
Whoops! The holiday season has been so busy, I missed a Thanksgiving blog! I'll have to include some of the fun things we did in next year's fall entry. I know Christmas also seems right around the corner, but it's not too late for some fun art and learning projects! I hope you will enjoy these ideas that are great for all ages!
Christmas Handprint Door Hanger
This project works well for infants and preschool age children! If you have a young toddler like me, you may need to work fast! LOL. I had my work cut out for me on this one!
First, I took a piece of plain cardboard, or you could use heavy cardstock, and cut a rectangle with a circle big enough for a doorknob to fit through.
As you can see, the Santa is a handprint! Paint the bottom portion of palm and stem of thumb red, leaving thumbprint for white (ball of Santa's hat), middle section of palm whatever skin color you like, and fingertips white! So cute!
Just A Fingerprint Wreath! And variation as a gift for grandmas!
To make this wreath, I simply let my toddler go to town painting a large piece of paper green, and one red. I set them aside to dry and when they were ready, I cut the wreath and ribbon shapes out myself. Very easy!
As a variation (not pictured here), I then glued the wreath to a heavy piece of cardstock. Inside the inner circle of the wreath, I placed a picture of my son. Below the wreath, I wrote "Grandmas Make Christmas Special". I then hole punched the two top corners and strung red raffia through them for hanging. This year Emmett made one for both of his Grandmas. It was a big hit!
Snowman Circles-Counting, Sequencing and Seriation 
I glued small, medium and large white circles to cardboard to teach my son about small, medium and large, while making a snowman! Also, counting to 3. Older kids can try making these on their own. Once children master stacking in order, cut each circle in half for matching.
Two New Christmas Songs For Kids!
I wrote this first one for my very young students as something fun that incorporated lots of movement!
The Gingerbread Man(chant)
First you mix me in the pot (pretend to mix)
Bake me 'til I'm hot hot hot (clap hands on "hot")
Run so fast with ginger feet (run in place)
Catch me (hug self) and I'm good to eat! (rub tummy)
I'm a little Snowman
(tune of I'm a little Teapot)
I'm a little snowman, short and fat
Here is my carrot; here is my hat!
When the sun comes out and shines all day
Down, Down, Down I melt away. (slowly fall to the ground)
(spoken) I'm a puddle!
And Finally...TWO great Suggestions!
File Folders for Songs (or games, activites, etc.)
This is something that I, and many other teachers I know, have done for years to help remember to incorporate songs or activities into the day. When you get an idea for a new song or activity, it's very helpful to write it down with markers/crayons/etc on the inside of a file folder. At the top, it's fun to illustrate a picture that represents the song or game, etc. Older kids can help with this task. Also write the title in the appropriate tab on the folder.
Then, you can fasten the open file folder to the fridge or other prime spot that you are apt to see it. That way, you will be reminded to do the activity with your child. The best part is that when you are ready to move on to something new, you can close the folder and file it easily into a filing cabinet, box, or drawer with the rest of your folders. It's a great way to organize themed learning for your child!
LEFT OVER WRAPPING PAPER TUBES? Ball Tunnels!
I save these tubes and recently fastened one to the wall at an angle so that my son could watch balls roll down and out of it. All I did was hot glue it (if you are afraid to do this, you can tape it, or just hold the tube yourself) to the wall at an angle, low enough for him to reach the top hole, and then I placed a basket underneath the bottom hole for the balls to drop into. Cheap fun on a snowy da
Thanksgiving Fun and Fall Ideas
The holiday season is upon us! I love making holiday art projects with kids because they are so festive, make great gifts for family members, and center peices for the holiday table!
We're getting started on fall over here with two (yep, you guessed it--parent pleaser!) fall art projects:
Cupcake Liner Owls
It's a very simple concept--we just painted a paper plate with brown paint, and then added an orange triangle piece for the face shape, a folded orange diamond for the beak, and cupcake liner eyes. Inside the eye you can place a googly eye or button!
Paper Bag Stuffed Turkeys
For this project, you need a paper bag (size is up to you--and a family of different size turkeys would be so cute!) We colored on our bags with brown marker, and then glued multi-colored feathers I had cut from construction paper. The feathers get glued onto the bottom flat part of the paper bag. After that, we stuffed the bag with tissue paper (or whatever you have to stuff with), and twisted the end to make the neck. I had pre-cut a face shape from cardboard to which the kids glued a beak, waddle and two eyes. Then we attached the face to the neck and it was all done! It makes such a cute centerpiece!
Other fall ideas:
Indian Corn
Indian corn is an awesome science and art project all rolled into one. Kids will enjoy touching the texture of the corn and it can be used to roll intersting patterns into playdough, or onto paper with paint!
Bird seed play
Older kids can play in a tub of bird seed/deer corn/etc. For extra fun you can add fall items like pinecones and acorns, or fall shapes. Kids will enjoy scooping and pouring the seed into cups. It's a great science and large/fine motor exercise!
Scented playdough
It's fun to add essence like cinnamon, nutmeg or other fall scents to your playdough.
Playdough turkeys
Make a batch of homeade playdough and tint it brown. Buy googly eyes and feathers and store together in a tub to make playdough turkeys when the mood strikes! I love doing these, they are so much fun.:)
Fun Idea
Go on a fall nature walk. Bring a bag of popcorn with you, just for the animals. Throw handfuls as you walk. Did you know that you can pop regular corn in the microwave? You can dry pop corn in a folded paper lunch bag in the microwave, just as you would microwave corn. If you really want the squirrels on your good side, toss in a handful of peanuts.:)
Fall Book Suggestions
There are many out there but here are some of my absolute favorites!:)
 Rosie's Walk |  Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf |
 Nuts to you |  Owl Babies |
More Thanksgiving Links
More Thanksgiving Resources
This link has more project ideas and also great books on how to inspire thankfulness in your child.
Hope you have a wonderful holiday season and thanks for reading!
Rainy Day Activites--Free!
Three free activities for a rainy fall day!
The first doesn't need an explanation:
SET UP YOUR PUP/DOME TENT INSIDE!
Get out your tent and set it up! It's cleaner than a blanket fort and you can zip toys into it. It even doubles as a ball pit if you have a bunch of balls to toss in! Super fun on a rainy day. I highly suggest it!:) Emmett has been really enjoying it this week. I think daddy has been too! LOL. They have been playing together quite a bit in it.:)
MY FIRST SHAPE SORTER
Here's an idea you may have seen before. Just take a small or large coffee can and trace your block shape in the lid. It is less confusing then a shape sorter with lots of different shapes. It's not just for beginners though! Older kids (2+) will REALLY enjoy a lengthwise slit to put a stack of poker chips into. (Although they are a choking hazard for little ones). This was a top notch fave in my classroom and beat out the colorful storebought shape sorters! LOL. Kids would sit for hours putting poker chips into the can, they were mesmorized by it! Em is still doing square blocks in his and I will make a circle one soon for circular objects. I may even do a large coffee can for balls! Enjoy!
RECYCLED APPLESAUCE CUP STACKERS/COUNTERS
Do you buy packaged applesauce for your child? I do from time to time and I save my cups. These cups stack together and you can number them as high as you'd like to go. When you stack them, you can twist each cup slightly to the side and the numbers go right up in a nice cascade! It's nice that the ascending numbers are visible in a row, like this:
As you can see I've put the corresponding number of dots on the bottom for counting to match the number on the side. When Em is older (2 1/2 or so), we will use these as cup counters for beans, marbles, paper clips, etc.:)
So there you have it. Three free rainy day activities!:)
