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

 

Turkey Activities

 

                                     

 
Thanksgiving is right around the corner and although our focus is on being grateful for our many blessings, turkey crafts are just too fun to pass up! 
Here are some activities that we have been enjoying this year or in years past.  Maybe you'll find something fun for your little one!

Funny Turkey printout from DLTK- Thanksgiving Poems and Songs
After printing out our turkeys and reading the poem, the kids colored their turkeys with marker and then glued on colorful feathers.

 

Silly Turkey Activity on Starfall.com
After creating a cute little turkey online, we printed out an activity.  I asked little man about his favorite book and then wrote it for him.  Next, we read over his paper together pointing at each word.

 

 

Turkey Book Suggestions, activities, and free printable at The Activity Mom

 
Be sure to stop by to read my most recent post and print out a free printable to be used with Five Silly Turkeys or 10 Fat Turkeys!  The kids enjoyed both of these Thanksgiving stories.

Hand print activity and poem from Mrs. Nelson's Class.   Great little gift for Grandparents!

 

Poem: This isn't just a turkey. As anyone can see. I made it with my hand, Which is a part of me. It's made with lots of love, Especially to say. I hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Turkey posts from the past....


The Annual Turkey Fashion Show

Write a Turkey Tale

Curious About Turkeys?

Gratitude Turkey


Any fun turkey activities you are doing or have done in the past?  Let me know!

Jen




A Punk Rocker, a Witch, and a Pumpkin?

Sunshine age 10

Peanut age 8

Pumpkin age 2

 

 

Oh and I almost forgot about Spider Web girl?  or should I say Momma!

 

Last Saturday, we had fun dressing up for a Halloween parade. Sunshine even won third place in her age group for her punk costume. 
The Spider Web eyes idea.. not my own... found it on Pinterest and had to try it. Here's the pic that I found and printed out to help me decorate around my eyes.

I love the fun and creativity of Halloween...  a little bit spooky.. okay, but gore or evil.. not my thing for sure! My kids complain that my Halloween decorations are too cute!

Enjoy your Halloween adventures!

Jen

Create a Witches Hat!

Who says a witches hat has to be black?  We had so much fun creating these colorful and sparkly witches hats for Halloween. 

Materials
Colorful card stock
Glitter(we used a  mix of colors)
Markers
Halloween Stickers

I cut out the hats for the kids and assisted with the glittering process.  We used baking sheets covered with foil and this worked out great.  Less mess for sure.

Just read this tip online somewhere this week... can't remember where though to give credit to this awesome idea. 




 

Little man creating with his buddies

 

Happy Halloween!

 

Jen

 



Bb is for Bat and more Batty Activities...

 

We made this simple bat craft and had fun flying around the house! 

 

Above you can see how the parts that I cut out for little man. I guided him as he glued them together.  After making our bats, I thought that this would be cute attached to a toilet paper tube.  You could have them paint it black first. Just a thought. 

Other activities..
We focused on the letter Bb and the sound it makes.  Sing a song.. Bb is for bat.. ba ba ba, Bb is for bat... ba ba ba.

Read a bat poem/song..

Bats Are Sleeping
Tune: Frere Jacques

Bats are sleeping
Bats are sleeping
Upside down.
Upside down.
Sleeping in the morning sun.
Waiting for the night to come.
Then they'll fly all around.
Then they'll fly all around.

Read a book.. my favorite.. Stellaluna

 

Pretend you are a bat. Be prepared to hear the kids squeal as they see a grown person flapping their wings and running around.

Learn about bats.  When do they sleep?  What do they eat?  What other animals are similar to bats?  How are they different.

So many more bat ideas here... Going Batty from Kinder Korner.

For older children..

My kids (8 and 10) love to research animals.  They would enjoy learning more about different types of bats and then using this info to create a PowerPoint slide show.

The following are  links to bat websites...
KidZone: BAT FACT INDEX
Smithsonian: Bat facts
Bats4Kids.org
Discovery Kids: Are bats really blind?

Write a poem or funny story about a bat?  Write an interview for a bat.. what questions would you ask a bat?

Read Stellaluna with older children and then watch the cartoon.  Have them compare and contrast the movie with the book.  Which did they like better and why?



Enjoy!
Jen

Simple Spider Craft

I made these simple spiders for little man and his little buddy yesterday.  Very easy to make, but fun to play with!

Materials: black construction paper, yarn

Directions:
1. Cut out a rectangle. Next, cut four legs on each side. 

 

2. Fold the legs on the rectangles as shown above.

 

3. Cut out a circle.

 



4. Put the circle on top of the rectangle and poke a hole in the center.
5. Pull a peice of yarn or string through the center and tie on the bottom.

 



 Now the eensy, weensy spider is ready to take a walk!

 

 

Jen

Ice Cream Activities

Recently, I posted my ideas for an ice cream week with the kiddos!  Well, we had fun testing ice cream, making a craft, reading an ice cream mystery and more.  Take a peek.....

Ice Cream Craft

Materials: ice cream template, tissue paper, markers, stickers, scrapbook paper, scissors

Ice cream Word Search

Materials: Word Search, pencil, and ice cream for eating!

Literature:

The Ice Cream Mystery by

Gertrude Chandler Warner

Should I Share My Ice Cream?

by Mo Willems

Ice Cream Taste Test

Images courtesy of DailyClipArt.net

Choose a variety of ice cream flavors for your kiddos to try!  Blind fold them or have them close their eyes.  Which flavor is their favorite? Can they guess the flavor? 

We tested the following flavors: Spumoni, Rasberry Chocolate Chip, and Pecan Turtle Trail

For more ideas for an ice cream taste test, visit No Time For Flashcards: 5 Senses- Ice Cream Taste Test

We're not done celebrating the joy of ice cream just yet. 

Stay tuned for more ice cream fun!

Jen

Toilet Paper Roll Bunny

Little man and I had fun making these toilet paper rollbunnies.  He made the nose and whiskers himself, as well as the inside of the ears.  I thought he did a fine job for being only 2 years old!

Materials
Construction Paper
Glue
Markers
Google Eyes
Cotton Balls

Directions: Measure paper to fit around roll.  Cut and glue around the roll.  Next, cut out ears and glue inside the top of the roll.  Glue on eyes.  Decorate face- help young child where needed.  I drew the mouth and teeth for little man.  Glue cotton ball on the back of the bunny.  Now you have a cute decoration for Easter! 

Have a wonderful day!

Jen

Happy Easter- Storytime and Activities

Our Easter book collection is filled with many, but one of my favorites is Happy Easter by Kurt Weiss. The storyline is cute, but more than anything, I adore the illustrations. 

With colored paper, a marker, scissors, and my handy dandy little laminator, I made these centers for Little Man to go with this delightful story.




MATCH THE BABY CHICK WITH THE MATCHING COLORED EGG

 

COLORED EGG PUZZLES

 

Just a little Easter fun while we practice our colors, matching, thinking, and fine motor skills!

Jen



St.Patrick's Day Sensory Bin

Yesterday, I had fun throwing together this bin for little man.  Actually, his big sisters often enjoy them as well. 

Materials
split peas
small green Easter eggs
beaded necklaces
little leprechauns
green foam shapes
green toys
shamrocks
green coffee stirrers

Little man goes away to be silly, so big sissy gets a chance to play in the bin, too!
Fun for all ages!

Have a GREAT day,
Jen