Flower Gem Activities

Aren't these flower gems lovely? The toddler that I care for adored them and played with them for the longest time.. scooping them back and forth into little containers. 
 
So great for those muscles in her little fingers.  Anytime I post about things like this, keep in mind that some of the learning materials are small and should be supervised.  You can find these flowers at the Dollar Tree.  (table scatter)

Other ideas-
Patterns
Counting
Sorting
Decorate play-doh
Add to Spring Sensory Bin
Decorate a Frame for DIY gift
Get outside.. hide them in the grass and have a flower hunt

Any more ideas for these flower gems? 
Jen

Ll is for lion...

Sometimes the cutest ideas are the ones thrown together at the last minute, like this lion craft. The kids loved how their lions turned out.  We did this craft for our letter Ll day.  Very easy.. all you need is a paper plate, construction paper, glue and a marker.  I used a pink streamer for the tongue but you could use pink construction paper or felt. 

 

You can help them put the glue around the rim and then press the strips onto the plate or they can glue each individually.  It would depend on your child's attention span.  Also, I cut the strips ahead of time, but an older child may enjoy cutting their own.

More Ll fun...

 

I taught them the Ll sound and we sang a La La lion chant to help them with the sound as well.  Also, we went on an Ll hunt.  I made 5 lowercase and 5 upper case Ll's with construction paper and hid them around the room. 

Enjoy creating and learning with your little ones!
Jen

Simple Shamrock Activity

Yesterday we had a green day! We explored a green discovery bin, played with green play-doh, and made these cute green shamrocks! Such an easy activity to throw together. 

 
Materials: Green construction paper, green paint, and a Q-tip

I drew the shamrocks by hand and then cut them out. You can also print out a pattern and trace onto your green construction paper. Although I show the kids how to do little dots with the Q-tip, they tend to want to just paint with it. Either way, it is great for fine-motor development and play. Jen

Simple Heart Collage

 

I love activities that I can throw together in a couple of minutes but that are fun for the kids!  For this heart collage, we used left-over scrapbooking paper and pink and red construcitons paper.  Give your little one a glue stick or Elmer's glue if they like to get sticky!  I cut the scrapbooking paper in little squares with my fancy scissors.  For older children, they can cut their own scraps if you'd like to work on that skill as well.

 

Love how they turned out.  These two were made by an 18 month old and a 3 year old! 

 

Happy Valentine's...

Jen

Homemade Valentine Decor

                                            

Last year, I noticed that I didn't have enough decorations for Valentine's Day.  So I knew that I would be creating something new this year to make things a little festive. 

 

 

I created Valentine heart garland  with scrapbooking paper and construction paper.   I also made two candle holders with heart gems, a cinnamon/vanilla candle and a glass container. (all Dollar tree finds) 

 

 

 

I'm happy with the way it turned out and the kids were all smiles!

 

Happy Valentine's..

Jen



Hands-on Heart Activities

 

Last year, I found these hearts at one of my favorite places to shop for learning materials..The Dollar Tree.  I used them for a Valentine Sensory Bin.  This year, I got them out for a baby that I care for.. she's 9 months.  Above, you can see her trying to problem solve to get the hearts on and off of the bears.  Great baby thinking activity and helps to strengthen those itty bitty muscles in her developing fingers. 

 



The 18 month old that I care for above enjoys hiding them in the small rice bin.  Little Man age 3.. enjoys using them in his rice bin as well.  I hide them in the bottom and he goes on a heart expedition!

5 more ways to play with hearts..

Sorting by color.  Cut out three large hearts.. Red, Purple, and Pink.  Have your tot place the heart bracelets on the matching construction paper heart. 

Counting- how many pink hearts can you find?  how many red?

Patterns.. Pink, Purple, Purple, Pink....

Toss... Cut the top off of an old milk carton.  Can your child toss the hearts into the container?

Tracing... Have your child trace hearts on to a blank sheet of paper.  Use different colored pencils.

Happy Valentine's....
Jen

Free Printable: Ll is for love

We are working on the letter Ll this week, so I wanted to create an Ll activity that related to Valentine's Day.  After searching, all I could find was Vv is for Valentine, so I created this printable to meet our needs for this week.  Please feel free to print this out.  If you share on a blog, just be sure to link back to Creative and Curious Kids!




Ll is for love printable

 

 



We will be coloring in the hearts with crayon first and then painting the L with water colors. There is space on the page also for little ones to be creative and draw someone or something that they love.  Enjoy!

 

Jen