Race Track

Cereal Box Race Track 

Ages: All ages.

Supplies: 
Cereal box
Tape
Scissors
Toy Cars
Painter's tape

Benefits: ...It's fun?

Activity: 

1. Take an old cereal box. 
2. Open the box up on one side. 
3. Cut off flaps on the top and bottom (set aside flaps) 
4. Cut the box in half "hamburger" ways, which means across the middle. 
5. Tape the 2 sides together. 
6. Bend the edges slightly to give the cars a little bumper. 
7. Turn the track over. Reinforce any folds in the box by taping the flaps over the folds to prevent them from bending backwards. (You can also use popsicle sticks or heavier cardboard if the box tops aren't strong enough.) 
8. Tape the ramp to a chair and the floor using painter's tape (it won't ruin your furniture or floor when it comes up.) 
9. Send cars shooting down the hill. 

Modifications: 

• Make a longer track. 
• Make 2 tracks so you can race cars or tape straws down the middle to make 2 racetracks.
• Make obstacles for the car to go through after it comes down the ramp. 
• Time the cars to see which car is the fastest. 

Counting Cutouts

Counting Cutouts

Ages: 18 months- 5 years old

Supplies:
Glue stick
Scissors
Card stock
Marker/ pen
Googly eyes (optional)

Benefits: Hand/ eye coordination, counting, colors, animals.

Activity: 

Choose a theme: farm animals, under the sea creatures, shapes, types of transportation, fruits or veggies. 

Choose 5 different types of things from that category and give each thing a number. Example from above: 1 fish, 2 turtles, 3 crabs, 4 starfish, 5 shells. 

Cut out the number of objects associated with that number.

With the child, glue each piece to the paper starting with 1 and going up to 5. Mix up the pieces and have the kids pick out the shapes to encourage sorting, matching, and counting.
Draw faces and stick googly eyes to the animals.

Hang it on the fridge or in their room, and you can use this as a teaching tool in the future.

Modifications: 

• Ideas for categories: Fruit: apple, oranges, grapes, strawberries, lemons.                                                                            Transportation: bus, car, airplane, truck, boat                                                                                      Shapes: circle, square, rectangle, triangle, heart                                                                                  Farm: cat, bunny, duck, dog, chicken 
• If they are too small to glue the pieces on, have them hand them to you and they can watch you glue the pieces on the paper. 

Dump Truck Nature Walk

Dump Truck Nature Walk 

Ages: Walking to 4 years

Supplies: 

String 

Dumptruck

Benefits: Comparing sizes and shapes, listening, exercise, colors, vocabulary 

Activity: 

Tie a string/ leash/ spare bag strap to a toy dump truck. 

Go for a walk with the child pulling the dump truck. 

Encourage them to collect things from nature to put in the dump truck. 

When you get home, unload the dump truck and talk about the things you've found. 

Compare sizes, shapes, and colors. Talk about where each item came from. If it is a part of something bigger, for example, a pine cone, talk about pine trees and what pine cones are. 

Modifications: 

• Make a list of things to find before you leave the house. See how many items you can find. Ex: a grey rock, a yellow leaf, 5 dandelions. 
• Play I spy with things they can pick up. "Stop! I spy something green to put in the dump truck!" 
• Take small items from home (like small plastic animals). Tell the child to wait and close their eyes and hide the small items in the grass or on the sidewalk or on stoops up the block. When the child opens their eyes, go on a hunt to find the items and put them in the dump truck. 

Finger Puppets

Finger Puppets

Ages: 18 months- Elementary school

Supplies: 
Cardstock
Scissors
Sharpie
Glue stick.

Benefits: storytelling, imaginative play, matching, language, body parts.

Activity: 

• Cut out a pear shape about 2.5 inches across the widest part of the pear. About 3.5 inches high. 
• Cut out heads and arms for the animals. 
• Cut 2 finger size holes in the pear shaped card stock (They work the best if they fit your fingers rather snug- try and customize them to you and the child's fingers) 
• With the child, mix up the pieces. Either you or the child can pick a pear color. Ask the child to help pick out the parts that match the color you choose. 
• Glue the head and arms on the puppet. 
• Repeat for every color. 
• Put your fingers through the holes for legs. 

* I made this activity for the child's mom to do with their child. I don't draw the shapes before I cut them out so that's why I didn't write that step. If you need to draw the pieces before you cut them out. Draw them next to the pear so that you can estimate the size of the head and arms. 

Modifications: 

• You can just draw an animal or person and cut it out as one piece (with the head and arms on the animal already) 
• Paint your fingernails to look like shoes. 
• Act out a play with the puppets. 
• Draw the arms and heads and pears and have the child cut them out and assemble them themselves. 

Emotions and Bunny faces

Bunny Faces

Ages: 18 months- 5 years

Supplies:
Card stock
Marker
Glue stick
Paper

Benefits: motor skills, identifying emotions.

Activity:

• Cut card stock in half (hot dog-wise)
• Fold a half in half (hot dog-wise)
• Draw 4 bunny heads on the folded edge.
• Cut out bunny heads. 
• Draw different emotions.

• Have the child hold the glue stick.
• Name an emotion and have the child pick the bunny with that expression or have the child pick a bunny and ask them how that bunny feels. 
• Apply glue to the back and adhere to paper.
• After all the bunnies are glued, write the emotion next to the bunny.

Modifications:

• An older child can cut the bunnies out and draw the faces on. 
• Glue them to separate pieces of cardstock to make flash cards. 
• Imitate the faces of the bunnies.
• Ask the child to name an emotion and draw that face on the bunny.
• Glue them to Popsicle sticks to make puppets.
• Make their bodies to make little bunny dolls.

The Best Fort Ever

I was babysitting a 5 year old and a 7 year old. It was rainy and cloudy out and they were stir crazy.
I piled them in the car and drove to the hardware store with a plan: Fort building supplies.
This could also make a pretty great birthday gift.
It's random but if you packaged it right, it'd be a hit.

The Best Fort Ever 

Ages: 3 years- well, let's be real, even adults think forts are cool.

Supplies:
4-6 medium size dowels (strong enough to hold up a large sheet, thin enough for a clothespin to clip on to)
Painters tape (it won't strip your furniture)
Clothes pins
A large sheet or tapestry
Clothesline string or rope
Chairs

Benefits: rainy day project, construction, design, imaginative play

Activity: 

• Use kitchen chairs as your posts. 
• Tape dowels to the kitchen chairs with painters tape (the tape is strong enough to hold the dowels but won't strip the paint or varnish off the chairs. (You can also tape the dowels together to make them longer- if 2.5 to 3 inches of the dowels overlap it should hold)
• It helps to have a dowel going across the middle of the fort too to hold the ceiling up.
• If you run out of dowels, you can use rope or string between the chairs. 
• Cover the structure with a large sheet or tapestry. 
• Clothespin the sheet to the dowels. 
• Fill it with pillows, blankets, flashlights, books, etc. 

Painting: Lessen the mess

I wanted the baby to experience painting...but how?
I wanted to do it for a low cost and a small mess factor.

Faux Easel 

Age: If they can stand, they can paint.

Supplies: 
Foam board
Scissors (or a knife)
Ribbon/ scrap fabric/ string

Painters tape
Old t-shirt or smock
Tempera paint
Brushes
Paper
Paper plate (scrap of cardboard- it's just to put the paint on)

Benefits: You might be raising the next Picasso.

Activity: 

Making the easel

• Poke a hole in the foam board
• String a piece of fabric through it
• Tie it to something in the lawn- a chair/ a play set

Painting

• I bought her an over sized T-shirt at the craft store for like $3 (3T size)
• Took off her shoes and socks
• Tape a piece of paper to the easel with painters tape (it won't rip the paper when you take it off)
• Put some paint on a paper plate
• Hand them the brush and let them go to town. 
• You could add a water cup for them to rinse their brush between colors 

What craft supplies should you have on hand?

The families I have worked with usually tell me that they're unsure of where to start in buying art supplies.
They have been super sweet and given me free reign to buy what I need and they reimburse my receipts.

Here are the basics:

Paper! 

• Card Stock 
• This stuff always seems to be on sale at Jo-Ann Fabrics. It's nice because it's more durable than construction paper.
• You'll find it in the scrap booking aisle. 
• Last time we went, I got 5 packs for card stock for $10!!!!!! All different colors.
• Patterned paper
• The bigger stack was on sale for $10 also (half priced)- if it's not on sale, wait until it is or go on Jo-Ann Fabric's website. They have a 50% off coupon every month for one full priced item. 
• Construction paper 
• Kids craft aisle

Other Supplies: 

• Crayola markers 
• Crayons (for little ones- the thick ones) 
• A pencil and pencil sharpner
• A felt tip pen & medium sharpie
• Glue stick 
• Scissors
• String (yarn or string or embroidery thread- whatever)
• Tape 
• Kids LOVE tape
• I like to have a secret stash of nice tape (like Scotch tape) and then a kid's stash (I got 3 rolls of tape for a dollar at Daiso) 

Extras (if you're feeling adventurous): 

• A hot glue gun
• Pom poms
• Glitter glue (Not glitter- contain that stuff in some glue or you'll lose your mind-for real)
• Glue dots (if you really hate messes) 
• Tempera paint and brushes
• Elmers Glue, dixie cups, and a paint brush
• Color pencils
• Stickers 
• Painters tape 

Recycle!!! (What to save) 

• Baby food jars (snow globes)
• Egg cartons (sorting games) 
• Card board boxes (I built an play mailbox once that was dope!) 
• Paper tubes (marble tracks) 
• Plastic take-out containers (water toys) 

Peek-a-boo Animals

Peek-a-Boo Animal Book 

Ages: 18 months-3 years old

Supplies: 
Card stock
Scissors
Markers
Glue stick
Hole Punch
Ribbon

Benefits: language, imaginative play, coordination.

Activity: 

• Fold card stock in half. 
• Cut out the shape of the head and arms. 
• For a cat, I made the ears pointed. 
• For a duck, I made the arms pointed and left off the ears. 
• Fold the arms to cover the animal's face. 
• Lift the arms to know where to put the eyes. 
• Put a small black dot in the middle of the face. 
• Cut out noses for each animal. 

• Have the child hold the glue stick and hold up a nose. Ask the child, "Which animal does this nose belong to?" 
• Rub the nose on the glue stick and then have the child place the nose of the animal on the black dot. 

• Glue the animals to pieces of card stock, adding a cover page. 
• Using a hole punch and ribbon, bind the book. 

Modifications: 

• Write a story inside the book.
• Make different animals.
• Have the child color on the animals. 
• Cut out eyes and mouth to glue on instead of drawing eyes. 

Movement Cards

Movement Cards

Ages: Walking- Elementary school

Supplies: 
Cardstock
Markers
* The baby's mama laminated the cards after I made them (because she is awesome)

Benefits: Simple directions, movement, order of operations, music/dance, imitation.

Activity: 

Making the Cards

• Cut cardstock in half (hamburger-wise) 
• Draw people doing actions (or animals that would do that action) 
•  Ex: Shake your head from side to side. Wave your arms.
•  Ex: Stomp your foot like an elephant. Hop like a rabbit. 
• Write the action under the picture. 
• Laminate them (optional)

Using the Cards

• Hold up a card. 
• Read the action. 
• Ask the child to do the action and then join along with them. 

Modifications

• Place three cards in order and teach the movement like a sequence. 
• Let the child choose 3 cards and teach the movement in a sequence. 
• Turn on music and hold up the cards as the song goes on like follow the leader.
• Hide them around the house and then search for them. When you find a card, you have to do the action on the card.

Toothpick Animals

Toothpick Animals

Age: 18 months- At least 5 years old
*** Animals are not intended for unsupervised play.

Supplies:
Toothpicks
Hot glue gun
Cardstock
Markers
Crayons
Play dough

Benefits: motor skills, imaginative play, language.

Activity: 

Draw animals on cardstock. The animals I drew were around 2-2.5 inches.

Have the child help you color in the animals.

Cut out the animals and use a hot glue gun to adhere the animals to the toothpicks. I put a dab of glue on, applied the tooth pick and then topped it with another small dab of glue.

After they dry, you can play with the animals- sticking them in the playdough.



Modifications: 
You could use them in cupcakes for a party!
You could use them for pieces in a board game you create.

Colors and Pom Poms

Matching and Movement: Color Game

Age: 18 months-Kindergarten

Supplies: 
A bag of pom poms
Cardstock in coordinating colors

Benefits: 
Movement, learning colors, motor skills, language, matching, counting, sorting, shapes.

Activity: 
Cut out squares from cardstock (mine ended up being 8X8)

Spread the squares out on the floor.
Place the pom poms in a bucket or just in a pile on the floor.

First, I showed the little girl (18m) how to do it.

I picked up a pom pom.
I said the name of the color.
I placed the pom pom on the square.

She did it next. She liked the feel of the pom poms and she was very careful about how she placed them on the paper.

It doesn't hold her attention for a super long time, but she enjoys it. Sometimes she hands me the pom poms one at a time and I put them on the paper, but we still talk about the names of the colors.

Modifications:

• Differentiate the sizes of the pom pom, "That is a big blue pom pom, can you find a small blue pom pom?"
• Name the color they should pick up next: "Can you find a yellow pom pom? Place it on the yellow square."
• Instead of cutting out just squares- cut out different shapes too. "Can you put a blue pom pom on the blue circle?" 
• Place the papers far apart or in different places around the house where they aren't in direct sight. This would incorporate memory too. "Where is the blue square?"
• Assign numbers to the colors. "Can you put 3 blue pom poms on the blue square? Can you put 1 big yellow pom pom on the yellow square?" 
• Add styles of movement, "Can you hop this blue pom pom to the blue square?"

Arts for Children 1 2 3

The arts have always been important to me growing up. They are a way for me to use my creativity, express myself, and it gives me a sense of accomplishment- completing something start to finish. 

I've been working with children since graduating college. I love to incorporate the arts as much as possible.

It is fun.It is a teaching tool. It is entertaining (for them and for myself). It develops motor skills. 

I often get questions from friends and parents- what do you DO with them all day? 

I'll post projects or activities that I do with the kids I work with. 

For each post I will include:

• The Name of the Project 
• The Age Range for the Project
• The Tools and Supplies You Will Need
• A List of the Benefits/ Skills the Project Develops

I try to use things around the house (recycling, household items) as much as possible during projects. 

The supplies I do use, I get from Jo-Ann Fabrics or any craft or art supply store.