New Year Calendar Craft

New Year is already upon us! And at the start of a New Year what do we all need? 
YES! That's right, a calendar. Well I do, anyway!

Toddlers not so much, but we make calendars with them at playgroup, attached to a relevant craft. 


Two years ago, we made these:

Regardless of whether the calendars themselves are hugely relevant to the children, this craft is a great way of getting children familiar with the shapes of the numerals, as well as allowing them to explore different textures.

If this is a bit challenging for your little ones(our younger ones needed a fair bit of help, with this one), try using stickers or, if you want to retain the sensory element of the craft, you could use paint to make the numerals with finger prints.

Equipment:

• Calendar Craft background
• Calendar Pads (Baker Ross)
• Glue/spreaders/pots (we use PVA, I prefer the Pritt version)
• String/ribbon/scissors
• Stapler
• Overalls
• Wet Wipes
• Variety of sensory materials: rice, lentils, feathers, sand, glitter, buttons. sequins etc. (Please see allergy note below*.)

Preparation:

1. Make the calendar backing. You can do whatever suits you, but basically I used Word and did the following:

A simple border was added to a blank document page, before I inserted a Word Art text box. I typed the numerals for '2017' using Comic Sans font which was enlarged to size 250. I added a box to show where to stick the calendar blocks, then printed out the page on to card of different colours, to provide choice. 

2. We used a hole punch to add holes at the top of the card, to insert string/ribbon for hanging the calendar. Alternatively, you could sellotape the string loop to the back of the cards.

3. Pre-cut string/ribbon (we use left-over curling ribbon) lengths for hanging the calendars.

4. Order the calendar blocks (we usually order these during the Autumn Term, but they are still available now. Baker Ross sell the traditional little calendar booklets that we use. You can probably get them elsewhere, but they do seem to be on offer at Baker Ross, right now.

5. As usual, we make a sample to help our mums/carers and toddlers to see what we're working towards.



Method:


1. Overalls on and sleeves rolled up.

2. Write name on the back or front (as desired).

3. Show how to use glue spreader to spread glue around the first numeral. Encourage children to feel the different materials and select one to press in to the glue.

4. Repeat for all the numerals.

5. Select and tie ribbon for handle.

6. Staple the calendar booklet in place on the card(obviously this stage will have to be done by adults).

7. The border of the calendar can also be decorated by the children, if time/interest will allow. For this part, I would suggest using stickers. Stars would work well with the New Year theme.

8. Calendars can then be left to dry, until going home time!


* When families come to our group for the first time, we ask them to fill in a Registration Form, which includes details of any allergies. If children have allergies we try our very best to include them. Rice/lentil allergy are less common than for example milk or nuts, but if we were aware of anyone with these allergies we would change the materials to suit. Allergies are not all food related e.g. some children might be allergic to feathers. 

Please note: any links to or mentions of specific materials are purely to aid sourcing, no earnings are made via these links.

Holly Christmas Wreaths

It's the first of December and Christmas has truly begun! This is when my Christmas decorations go up, one of the first being a Wreath on the door. I love a good wreath! I often have them inside my house as well as out. This one hangs in my hallway:

At toddler group this week, we made these cute little wreaths. Obviously not the kind you put outside the door, as they'd soon disintegrate in the rain! 

The mums and tots absolutely loved them! 

I could show you a picture perfect version, but this is the work of one of our tots!

Of course, they're made with a craft staple of ours, the good old paper plate! 

Equipment:

• Paper Plates/Scissors
• Tissue paper light green & dark green
• Holly and Berry shapes (see below for stockists)
• Ribbon/Sellotape
• PVA glue/spreaders
• Baby wipes

Preparation:

This craft involves a bit of prep. First you need to order/make your Holly shapes. Then you need to cut out the centre of your paper plates. You also need to rough cut up two shades of green tissue paper. you could use just one colour, but two adds a nice touch of light and shade. Also, cut Short lengths of ribbon for hanging and final touches.

Here's 'the one we made earlier'!

We usually make a 'here's one we made earlier' to help the mums and tots see what we are trying to achieve and of course we lay out materials on the day.

Method:

1. Cover the paper plate rim with glue. If using PVA, it needs to be spread thinly, or you will end up with a gloopy mess, that takes a while to dry!

2. Layer a mix of dark and light green tissue paper over the glue.

3. Add holly leaves and berries. We aimed for about 6-8 Holly leaves per plate. 

4. Add a loop of ribbon to the back of the wreath (at the top) with selloptape. This will enable the wreath to be hung up.

5. Add two pieces of ribbon to the bottom of the wreath, for a nice finishing touch.


*The Holly Stickers came from Baker Ross. They also make larger cardboard holly shapes, but these look a little more expensive. You can, of course, cut your own, if you prefer!

Baker Ross actually make a Wreath Foam Blank, which is probably easier than cutting out loads of paper plates, but it's nice to create something with more of a home made touch.


Please note: any links to or mentions of specific materials are purely to aid sourcing, no earnings are made via these links.

Clay Christmas tree decorations

Last year we entered a local Christmas Tree festival. 

We came up with the idea of making decorations out of clay, and I think they turned out pretty stunning!!

Each one unique!

We spread the craft over a couple of weeks, so that as many of the children that came to our group as possible would be represented on the tree.

Equipment:

• air dry clay
• rolling pin
• large Christmas cookie cutters
• drinking straw
• pencil (to label the back of each decoration)
• poster paints of various colours 
• paint pallets
• pva glue
• paint brushes
• overalls
• wet wipes
• thin gold ribbon/scissors

Preparation:

There's a fair bit of prep involved in this craft - more than we would usually allow, but this one was worth it!

We rolled out the clay and cut the shapes in advance - leaving time for the clay to harden. Whilst the clay was wet, we cut a small hole using a drinking straw, so that the decorations would be able to hang.

We did this in advance, for the children, as otherwise it would need a couple of weeks to complete the craft and not all children come every week.

Pre-cut and dried

On the day of the craft, we laid out materials for the children. We were careful to put out Christmassy coloured poster paints.

Method:

1. Make sure children roll up sleeves and put on overalls before beginning work.

2. Allow children to select tree decoration (we had two designs) and label the back of their decoration with their name - in pencil.

2. Allow children to select and apply paint, as they will! Glitter could be added at this stage, if so desired!!

3. Leave decorations to dry. This may take a few hours depending on how much paint has been applied.

4. Once dry, I applied a coat of PVA glue to add a 'varnish' to the decorations.

5. Once the PVA had dried, I tied a piece of thin gold ribbon to each decoration, so they could be hung. Once the tree festival was over, each child got to take their decoration home.

NB

If we run a craft over a couple of weeks (to try and ensure that everyone has a chance to make it), we tend to have a 'low key' craft running alongside on another table, for those who have finished quickly or have made one the week before. This will take extra prep and organisation. It may also require extra volunteers!!

Advent Candle Holders

Don't know about you but I absolutely LOVE Christmas!

At play group we spend about 3 or 4 weeks crafting for Christmas and one of these crafts is a particular favourite - making candle holders for Advent candles!

Whilst these were beautiful, we worried about their stability.

Last year we made these beauties! We used recycled Gu pudding ramekins, flower arranging Oasis and fresh greenery - choosing lavender, olive and rosemary from my garden, to add some lovely scent.

As lovely as they were, we were somewhat worried about the stability of the candles - even though we strapped the squares of oasis we had wedged into the ramekins, with floristry tape, and inserted plastic candle holders (made specifically for use with oasis). The base just didn't feel weighty enough, to be around little ones. They really needed to be well soaked with water.

This year, to add weight, we decided to ditch the oasis and go with Plasticine instead! It felt reassuringly heavy and there was no need for the additional plastic candle holders! Obviously real leaves weren't going to last long without water, so we swapped real leaves for plastic (we pulled apart a plastic holly ball, decoration). It didn't seem to dim the popularity of the craft - almost all of the children who were old enough to do craft took part!

This is how we did it:

Equipment:

• Gu pudding ramekins (we collect them throughout the year)
• Plasticine/knife (Plasticine from WHSmith)
• Advent candles (bought in bulk online from this site)
• Plastic greenery/berries/flowers
• Robin decorations (Hobbycraft)
• Washi tape (Hobbycraft)
• Ribbon/scissors
• Star Stickers (Baker Ross)
• Metallic craft pom poms
• Permanent markers (for labelling craft)

Preparation:

Cut each Plasticine bar into 4 pieces. Warm the pieces of Plasticine up by molding them with your hands. Squidge Plasticine into ramekins and insert candle.

Cut lengths of ribbon.

We try to make each craft  as'doable' as possible for little ones.

Method:

1. Children insert plastic greenery and cute craft robins into Plasticine.

2. Either use Seasonal Washi tape around the ramekin or tie ribbon around ramekin or stick ribbon round ramekin. 

3. Allow children to apply stickers to the ribbon. We love the star stickers from Baker Ross, because they're big enough for little hands to apply easily!

4. Use permanent marker to write each child's name on the base.

5. Place on table near sign-out sheet, for children to collect on their way home.

All ready to go!

NB:

During our notices (which take place before singing) I always try to remind parents about the importance of being careful around flames and with the glass dish. I try to do it without sounding like I'm treating them as kids, but just as a reminder! I'd hate for here to be any needless incidents!

Please note: any links to or mentions of specific materials are purely to aid sourcing, no earnings are made via these links.

Fir Cone Bird Feeder

As the weather becomes colder, give your tots the pleasure of watching the birds feed from this easy bird feeder.

Equipment

• Fir cones
• String/scissors
• Trex/Lard
• Packet of bird seed (choose seed carefully if you have children with nut allergies in your group - some contain nuts/peanuts)
• Shallow dish
• Plastic bags to transport bird feeders home
• Marker pens to name the bags

Preparation

Tie a length of string to one end of each pine cone.
Decant seed into a shallow dish.

Ready for action!

Method

1. Show the children how to rub Trex or Lard into the cracks on the fir cones.

2. Let the children roll the fir cones in the shallow dish of bird seed. You may need to push the seed into the lard in the cracks, if it doesn't stick too well.

3. Place each bird feeder into a plastic bag and write child's name on with a marker pen.


Please note: any links to or mentions of specific materials are purely to aid sourcing, no earnings are made via these links.

Potato Print Autumn Trees

Starting point

Who can fail to be stunned by the colours of the trees as their colours turn in the Autumn?

At Playgroup we recently placed a collection of leaves in a builder's tray for the children to touch and play with. Admittedly some some of the leaves we used were fake, as we can't always find the perfect leaves just when we want them!

Then we did some potato print trees reflecting the colours we could see.

Equipment

Autumn Leaves
A4 Paper with photocopied tree shape
Paper plates for holding the paint
Poster Paint of various autumnal hues
Potatoes cut into half, with leaf veins gouged out in advance
Baby Wipes
Paint Overalls

Preparation

1. Draw a tree shape onto A4 paper and photocopy as many as you need.

2. Cut smallish potatoes in half and gouge a simple leaf vein pattern into each half.

3. Pour poster paint onto paper plates, ready for the children to use.

Prepared for business

Method

1. First roll up sleeves and dress children in paint overalls.

2. Demonstrate to children how to dip potatoes in paint and print to make patterns. Note that it may be best to blot the paint slightly before actually printing, as otherwise the veins may become blurred over.

3. Allow children to experiment with printing/colours as they wish. They may well wish to do more than one!

Hey Presto!

The results may not be 'perfect' but each one is a work of art!

Paper Plate Poppies

Paper Plate Poppies

Our play group thrives on paper plate activities. There are hundreds on Pinterest, so we are obviously in good company! I can't remember how we arrived at this craft but it was good fun and simple (albeit a bit messy)!

Equipment:

• Painting overalls (Ikea and Ikea baby bibs - the type that cover arms)
• Baby wipes (for clean up purposes)
• Large Paper Plates
• Cheap round baby sponges (Asda)
• Cheap cotton wool balls
• Red poster paint
• Black poster paint
• Sellotape
• Felt pan (for writing names on the back)
• Green drinking straws
• Newspaper to cover tables (optional - we don't, we use a wipeable surface instead)

Method:

1. Roll up sleeves and cover up with painting aprons!

2. Always write child's name on the back first!

3. Attach green drinking straw to the back of the plate with sellotape (easier to do this first, than when it's wet with paint).

4. Help child to use cotton wool to print black blob in the center of the plate.

Of course it doesn't matter if it's not quite central!

5. Help child to use sponge to print red blobs around the black dot.

6. Leave to dry!

NB

Results may vary, but so they should! Each child is unique!

Fireworks!

Splat away!

At our playgroup, there is one craft that NEVER fails!!  We actually do the same craft each year, but no one ever seems to mind. It's our Fireworks special!!

Equipment:

• Painting overalls
• Baby wipes
• Poster paint (bright colours, neon ones are best)
• Plastic containers to hold paint
• Washing up brush for each colour
• Black sugar paper (A4)
• White pencil

Method:

1. Roll up sleeves and cover child with painting apron!

2. Write child's name on the paper with white pencil.

3. Demonstrate how to apply paint to brush and splat onto paper.

4. Leave child to splat paint on paper as they desire!

5. Leave to dry.

Hey There!

Hi!


Every Friday I help run a local playgroup for young children from 0 - school-age.

We try to provide a range of indoor and outdoor activities (weather permitting), as well as a chance for children and their mums to relax and socialise within a friendly and pretty informal setting. 

We also have time for coffee and cake and singing!

This blog won't be pretty or polished, as I don't have time for that, and also the crafts featured in this page may not be unique to us, BUT they may help to link you to activities that you might like to use as well. One thing you can guarantee is that I'll be keeping it real, which hopefully might give you some idea as to how accessible we found them.

We try to ensure a breadth of craft activities - paint, print, collage, etc. some more messy than others - acknowledging that not all parents/children like to get messy, whilst others adore it. We also deliberately create some crafts to be 'recognisable' and some that are about pure exploration of process. SO hopefully there's something for everyone!

I may also occasionally share crafting for older ones, as my daughter is a wee bit older and loves crafting too!


Happy crafting!



Love Lou

x

Let little children craft!