Bunny

Easter is this coming Sunday, so I thought we would do some Easter and Spring crafts this week!

First, a bunny made from a toilet paper roll :)

Reading connection: The Runaway Bunny

Shapes

Idea from 365 Days of Baby Love, by Sheila Ellison and Susan Ferdinandi.

MATERIALS

• Flat sponges
• Washable liquid paint
• Paper
• 3 flat pans or plates to put paint in

ACTIVITY

• Cut sponge into geometric shape(s) of different sizes.
• Pour paints into three flat containers and put a sponge in each.
• Help baby dip sponge in paint and press it to the paper to make any design you want.

Optional additional activity

• Once paint is dry, cut the sheet of paper into the shapes you used.
• Take a walk while holding up the shaped piece and find other things that are the same shape.
  

How I Feel

Idea from 365 Days of Baby Love, by Sheila Ellison and Susan Ferdinandi.

MATERIALS

• Large sheet of paper (butcher) long enough to fit the child's body outline
• Crayons or markers

ACTIVITY

• Have child lie on the sheet of paper and outline their body.
• Have each sibling talk about how they feel about the new baby, how baby has changed their lives for better or worse, what they like and dislike about the baby, and anything else you can think of.
• Write these things inside the outline of the baby. Be sure you let them know you understand all their feelings!
• Then ask the siblings how they think baby feels about them and write this inside their outline. It is important that everybody in the family believes their feelings matter. Talking about changes helps everyone.

other optional activity

• have child color in their own body outline after writing down their own feelings inside of it.
  

Watercolors

Idea from 365 Days of Baby Love, by Sheila Ellison and Susan Ferdinandi.

MATERIALS

• Watercolor paint, the kind in plastic case
• paper
• paintbrush
• crayons

ACTIVITY

• Get a dish full of water and show baby how to dip the brush into the water and then the paint.
• Let baby enjoy and create!
• You can also do a crayon drawing first, then paint over the top. The crayon still shows through.

This was a birthday card for my dad :)

Christmas Tree craft

Prep:
cut out triangles of different sizes in green construction paper.
cut out a "trunk" from brown paper.

Activity:
Have child decorate the green and brown cut-outs.
Have child glue the cut-outs to a piece of paper. Guide them to shape it somewhat like a tree ;)
You can also trace an outline of a tree out on the paper and have the child match the shapes then glue them on.

Wall puzzles

I don't have a picture of this, nor have I done it yet, but I love the idea!!
Our library has an awesome toddler/children play/read area. They have a felt board set up and rotate the activities on it. This month's activity is so simple to make: wall puzzles!

MATERIALS

• any large picture you like, laminated and cut into puzzle pieces
• glue small velcro pieces on the back of the puzzle pieces so they stick to the felt.

voila! Enjoy! :)

Some other sites with great ideas:
How to make a felt board
http://www.childcareland.com/feltboard.html
http://www.preschooleducation.com/felt.shtml
http://www.fastq.com/~jbpratt/education/mypages/flannelstories.html

Scribble Art

MATERIALS

• Large paper
• non-toxic markers and crayons

ACTIVITY

• Let child go to town scribbling and coloring as she pleases!
• Join in if child wants you to.
• Put artwork on display to give child a sense of pride and accomplishment and show them that their work is important.
  

Box Art

Idea from 365 Days of Baby Love, by Sheila Ellison and Susan Ferdinandi.

MATERIALS

• Any size box
• Liquid tempura paint
• Paintbrush or small sponge paint roller
• Newspapers or drop cloth

ACTIVITY

• Put drop cloth or newspaper on the floor to make clean-up easier. Make sure to dress accordingly!
  
• Put paint in sturdy plastic container or tray and paintbrush nearby.
• See what baby does with the brush before you put it in the paint.
• Help child (if you want or need to) paint the box.

Great for imagination! Box can become a mailbox, a cave, house, castle, boat, hat, whatever child wants it to be.

Tube Slide

Idea from 365 Days of Baby Love, by Sheila Ellison and Susan Ferdinandi.

MATERIALS

• Different sizes of cardboard tube, the longer the better.
• Small cars or balls

ACTIVITY

• Balance one end of the tube on a couch, stool, pillow, etc..
• Put the other end of the tube on the ground so that the tube is angled downward like a slide.
• Put balls, cars, etc.. in the tube at the top and watch them come out at the bottom.
• For a more permanent structure, cut holes through a box and push the tubes through at various angles.
  

Collage Story

Idea from 365 Days of Baby Love, by Sheila Ellison and Susan Ferdinandi.

MATERIALS

• old magazine
• scissors
• glue
• paper

ACTIVITY

• Look through magazines together. If baby points to a picture or seems interested, cut it out.
• Glue the pictures onto paper (either one large sheets or make your own book)
• Once all the pictures are glued on, make up a story about them.
  
• Since child picked the pictures, she will feel a great sense of involvement and pride in her homemade story!