Preschool Powol Packets

I am thrilled to be joining with Sprout's MOMents to talk about holiday memories and share our Marshmallow Fireworks!!   As parents we want the holidays to be full of happy, memorable events, but sometimes we get moments like this or this  It's easy to forget that these little moments can be the most exciting for our kiddos!  And really, it's not that hard to wash paint off of their little arms.  Or sweep the floor.  Or wipe up spilled milk.  Again. I asked my children and the children I watch about their favorite things to do with their parents.  Their answers were full of a variety of ideas...everything from playing truck games to eating at restaurants with toys!  The one thing they all had in common, though, was they involved doing  something. Preschoolers need to do  things.  Sometimes, the best memories you can make will be just sitting down and playing with your children. Sometimes, it is fun to do  something new.

These Candy Cane Lions are super easy and completely fun to make! We used the Candy Cane Lions for a "Letter L" day ("lion" starts with "L"...more "Letter L" ideas will be coming in January!), but you could use them for Christmas decorations or a last minute gift! Simple Supplies: candy canes felt self-adhesive wiggly eyes (we received these from craftprojectideas.com ) scissors Easy How-to: 1.  Cut the lion body and mane from the felt, using the image above as a guide.  Cut two holes in the body for the candy cane to thread through and one hole in the mane for the head to go through. 2.  Assemble your lion!  Put the candy cane through the body, put the head through the mane, and add the wiggly eyes! 3.  Parade your lion through the house!  Or hang it on your tree! Two of our lions morphed into "alien lions!"  They were so cute I thought I'd share them with you too: I may share at any of th

Christmas Trees are fabulous inspiration for process-based painting and sensory experiences! This little fine art paintings may look a little messy, but they provided a science lesson in color mixing, fine motor exercise, sensory fun, and a final product that the kids can hang up.  Curious?  Here's a quick peek at our lesson: 1.  We had a conversation about Christmas, colors and lights they are seeing frequently, and Christmas trees. 2.  I gave each child a tin with yellow and blue paint.  They made their own green paint with their hands! 3.  One of my children immediately made "gloves" for himself and two others followed suit. 4.  They made their "Christmas Trees" and "Christmas Bushes" with hand prints, then added lights and other decorations with fingerprints. It is important to let children create things that can look however they want them to...if their Christmas Tree looks like a giant green blog with colo

These  {FREE} Christmas "Which One is Different?" cards are perfect for practicing comparing and developing early analytic skills! Cut the cards out, add some clothes pins for pinning the right answer, and you've created a great fine-motor exercise too! This Christmas-themed packet of "Which One is Different?" cards contains 12 cards on three pages.  I hope you have fun with them! The clipart is from  mycutegraphics.com .   Click HERE to download the {FREE} Christmas "Which One is Different Cards." Be sure to check out my Christmas for Kids Pinterest board --it has hundreds of fabulous Christmas crafts, recipes, and learning ideas for children! I also have a Christmas Preschool Packet , a {FREE} Snowman File Folder Game , and  {FREE} Winter Cutting Practice ! I may share at any of these parties !

Each of these Paper Towel Roll Snowmen have a ton of personality--I cannot wait to introduce them all to you!  And the kiddos enjoyed making them so much that we may make it a new tradition! Snowmen tie into many preschool themes like snow, winter, arctic/antarctic, and (of course!) snowmen and can be used within a lesson or as a craft just for themselves!  After we made these snowmen, my kiddos introduced them to everyone and began a pretend play "Snowman Game" that lasted at least half an hour. I love letting my kiddos' creativity dictate a lot of the structure of projects like this, so the supply list can vary.  Here's the easy how-to from our morning: Simple Supplies: paper towel rolls, cut in half (You can also use toilet paper rolls or buy cardboard craft tubes.  We just happen to have tons of paper towel rolls!) white paint & paint brushes  (big brushes are best for young children) felt for hats and scarves yarn to tie hats buttons

Christmas Crafts for Kids  by Beth Gordon from 123Homeschool4Me is a fabulous book with hundreds of Christmas craft and activity ideas for kids! Christmas Crafts for Kids  is 167 pages long and packed with tons of ways to make the Christmas season a little more memorable with your children.  Beth has included personal traditions, activities, classic crafts, keepsakes, recipes, and more.  Children 2-10 years old will love it!  My kids enjoyed making these reindeer puppets (from the Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer themed day)...and playing with them for the rest of the day! What makes Christmas Crafts for Kids even more unique is that it is organized around children's Christmas books!  Each day in December before Christmas is assigned a book, and then activities that tie into that book's theme are presented.  Beth knows that families are busy in December, and she stresses that no one should feel obligated to do every activity, but instead choose what your chil

These Sandpaper Christmas Tree Ornaments give your children a fabulous texture to color on...just make sure they aren't coloring on top of your nicely-finished table! Simple Supplies: sandpaper "squares" crayons buttons pompoms glue (we used a "cool" hot glue gun, but you can also use Elmer's glue if you don't mind waiting for it to dry) stapler nail (to pop a hole in the sandpaper) string Easy How-to: 1.  (In advance!)  Roll the sandpaper up into a cone shape, staple it in place, and trim off extra sandpaper. 2.  Introduce your children to the sandpaper.  Talk about its texture.  How is it different from normal paper?  My children used words like "bumpy," "pokey," and "it feels like sand glued onto paper."  I added in "rough."  Explain that this unique texture will make coloring it a new experience! 3.  Show them the supplies, and encourage them to create a Christmas tree