Putting The Pretty In Preschool

Finding Beauty In Everyday Early Childhood Experiences

crafts

Ribbon and Cord Pumpkin Craft

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At this time of year, there are many beautiful, vibrant fall décor and craft supplies to view. A stroll through any craft or home décor store is a pure delight. A splendid bundle of sewing supplies spotted on one excursion inspired this easy-to-make ribbon and cord pumpkin craft. Download the free pumpkin pattern in this post to make craft preparation easier.

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Ribbon and Cord Pumpkin Craft Supplies

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The following supplies are used for this colorful autumn craft:

  • cardstock in green, gold, tan, and cream hues
  • fabric ribbon
  • rickrack trim
  • braided cord
  • pom pom fringe
  • craft ribbon
  • double-sided tape
  • white glue and glue gun
  • scissors and pencil

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The Ribbon and Cord Pumpkin Craft

To make this textured fall pumpkin craft, start by selecting yarn, thin braided cord, sewing and craft ribbons, rickrack trim, and dainty pom pom fringe in the colors and patterns of your choice. Orange, tan, green, and brown hues are featured in mine.

Once your ribbon and cord hues are picked out, choose complementary cardstock and construction paper colors. Green, gold, cream, and tan are natural choices.

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Using white glue or a glue gun, affix varying colors and widths of the ribbon and cord in rows to a piece of sturdy paper. Make sure to leave a little bit of space around the edge of the cardstock. My design is made with craft supplies placed horizontally, but a vertical or diagonal placement would work wonderfully too.

Next, cut strips of double-sided tape and add one near each corner of the ribbon and cord-embellished paper. Add additional tape strips if needed.

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Then trace and cut out a pumpkin from the same-sized paper in another hue, leaving the border around the pumpkin shape uncut. Feel free to download this pumpkin pattern for the task.

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Pumpkin Craft PrintableDownload

This printable is for individual or one classroom use only.

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Finally, gently position the paper with the pumpkin cut out on top.

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The ribbon and cord pumpkin craft is ready for display.

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Variations of the Pumpkin Craft

Little learners may find it easier to glue the ribbon and cord sewing supplies in a random design. The results would be equally interesting.

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This craft uses a variety of colors and textures of sewing and crafting ribbons and cords. Feel free to use the supplies you have available for the craft. It would look equally stunning with only yarn colors or craft ribbon hues.

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Fall Pom Pom Tree Craft

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Fall is such a pretty time of year, and for many people, it is their favorite season. Aside from the leaves changing into gorgeous, radiant colors, the home décor is also stunning, and is super fun! The colors and décor of this fall season inspired the bat-topped fall pom pom tree craft.

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Fall Pom Pom Tree Craft Supplies

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Gather just the following few supplies for this soft and simple autumn tree craft:

  • pom poms in pink, melon, white, and purple hues
  • 9-inch x 12-inch cardstock or construction paper
  • 8 1/2 x 11-inch cream colored cardstock
  • white glue
  • glue gun
  • bat sticker
  • bat ring party favors
  • scissors and pencil

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The Fall Pom Pom Tree Craft

The design of this tree is a triangular Christmas tree shape. So it’s a little like creating a Christmas craft early. The tree base is cut from cream-colored cardstock.

Young children enjoy using special craft supplies such as pom poms and will love gluing them to the paper triangle base. The pom poms can be squished together or spread apart in a random design. White glue works well for this task. 34 pom poms are affixed to this crafted tree.

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A metallic gold sticker bat is the unexpected but delightful tree topper, tying into the fall theme wonderfully. A bat cut from paper adhered with glue would work fine too.

An optional addition is to glue bat ring party favors between the pom poms for even more flare.

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Finally, a tree trunk cut from gold foil tissue paper and the pom pom-decorated tree display nicely when glued on a 9-inch x 12-inch piece of colored construction paper.

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An alternate way to showcase the crafted tree is to cut a thin cylinder from a toilet paper roll and cut two slits opposite from each other. Gently slide the bottom of the fall pom pom tree in the slits. The tree stands up sturdily on a table or shelf.

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Pom poms in pink, purple, ochre, and white provide the color scheme for this seasonal tree craft. But the craft would look spectacular in any color scheme.

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Related:

Bat Theme Pretend Play

Bat Necklace Craft

Neon Finger Paint Tree Art

Gorgeous neon finger paint tree art inspired by the picture book "The Tree In Me" by Corinna Luyken. An all-ages, easy-to-do art activity. A free template is included.

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More Fall Activities

Fall Tablescape Pretend Play

Fall Leaf Salad Spinner Art

Fall Scissor Skills Activities

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Paper Plate Sun Craft

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A few weeks ago, I was looking for tableware for a space kitchen dramatic play center and found speckled and silver supplies that fit the bill. These metallic rainbow plates gleamed next to the iridescent silver ones I chose, and caught my attention. It was a no-brainer to use them in an easy and cute paper plate sun craft.

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Supplies To Collect

Just the following few supplies are needed for this simple sun craft:

  • 9-inch metallic rainbow party plates
  • bright yellow cardstock paper
  • marker
  • glue stick
  • scissors and pencil

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Follow me on Pinterest for more early learning ideas.

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Preparing The Paper Plate Sun Craft

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Craft preparation is easy for this paper plate sun craft. First, use a marker to draw lines along the ribs on the edge of 9-inch rainbow plate backs. The lines will be about two inches long.

Next, cut circles from bright yellow cardstock, about 6 inches in diameter.

Then choose a marker in a matching color to use for creating sun faces.

Set out a paper plate front side down and a pair of scissors for each child participating.

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The Paper Plate Sun Craft

For this craft, invite children to cut along the lines on the back side of their plate. This is great scissor skill practice.

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Next, have each participant draw a face on their yellow circle using a color that matches one of the metallic plate hues.

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After turning their paper plate right side up, give each child a glue stick to affix their yellow paper face to the center of their sun.

Finally, encourage participants to bend up every other fringed section on the edge of their plate to enhance the sun’s rays and create a 3D effect.

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The shiny, adorable paper pate suns beg to be displayed and will look cute together tacked to a bulletin board or wall.

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Variation of the Paper Plate Sun Craft

As an alternative to using metallic plates for this craft, offer plain white paper plates. Invite children to paint or color their plate yellow or orange, snip sun rays around the edge, and then glue on a round yellow paper face.

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Related:

Scented Moon Playdough

Outer Space Pretend Play

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Baby Chick Theme Activities

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These baby chick theme activities are inspired by Mo Willem’s picture book titled “That Is Not A Good Idea.” The activities include two storybooks about chicks, a chick headband craft, chick songs and chants, a hen and chick coloring page, discussing the life stages of a chicken, and performing “The Chicken Dance.” A free downloadable chick headband template is included in the post.

Picture Books About Hens and Chicks

Two picture books perfect for a baby chick theme day are:

  1. “The Cow That Laid An Egg” by Andy Cutbill. In the humorous story, chickens hatch a plan to help a cow that thinks she is ordinary feel extraordinary. A little chick hatched from an egg is part of the plan.
  2. “That Is Not A Good Idea” by Mo Willems. The characters in the picture book are a wolf, a hen, and a brood of chickens. The story is suspenseful and fun and has a delightful surprise ending.

Chick Headband Crafts

These simple chick headband crafts look super cute and help get little learners in the mood to act out baby chicks in rhymes, chants, and action songs. Pick one design to create with your little learners. Then invite them to wear it for music time and dramatic play.

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Children welcome the opportunity to use specialized art supplies in a craft. Wiggly eyes and a feather tuft accent this first chick headband.

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To keep the craft simpler, use construction paper for the entire headband. The colorful paper headband looks equally sweet.

To make craft preparation super easy, download this free chick headband template to use for the craft.

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Chick Headband PrintableDownload

This printable is for individual or one classroom use only.

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Don’t have construction paper in the colors needed? No problem. Download the template and invite participants to use crayons to color the pieces before assembling them into a chick headband.

Songs And Chants About Baby Chicks

Wearing a chick headband sets the mood for language arts and musical activities. The fun baby chick songs and chants featured in a blog post by Teaching Mama are perfect for the theme.

Chick Coloring Page

A simple hen and chick coloring page is a good calming activity. There are many options to choose from online.

Life Cycle of a Chicken Figurines

Hen and chick life cycle figurines by Safari Ltd. are great accessories to use to explain the life cycle of a chicken.

The Chicken Dance Song

A fitting ending for the baby chick theme day is dancing to a version of The Chicken Dance song. It’s bound to send everyone off in good spirits.

These baby chick theme activities are perfect for an Easter, spring, or farm animal theme.

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Celebrate Diversity Paper Craft

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April is Celebrate Diversity Month, and people are encouraged to participate in activities that celebrate people from different ethnic backgrounds. This easy Celebrate Diversity paper craft draws attention to the diversity in people by representing different skin colors.

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Supplies to Collect

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To create this eye-catching diversity craft, gather the following:

  • skin-colored construction paper
  • green, blue, and red construction paper
  • 18-inch x 18-inch sheet of white art paper
  • glue stick
  • scissors and pencil

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Follow me on Pinterest for more early learning ideas.

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The Celebrate Diversity Paper Craft

To make this celebrate diversity paper craft, start by tracing each child’s hand and arm on a skin-toned piece of construction paper.

Next, cut out the traced arms and hands.

Then cut a circle from blue construction paper, a half circle from green construction paper, and a heart from red construction paper.

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Use a glue stick to affix the blue circle onto a large sheet of art paper that is a minimum of 18 inches x 18 inches in size. Glue the green half circle on top of the blue circle, and add on the red heart.

Afterward, arrange the skin-toned arms and hands around the paper earth and glue them on.

Finally, trim off pieces of paper arms that extend beyond the sides of the white art paper background. If desired, write the words “Celebrate Diversity” on the top section of the craft.

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Your diversity craft project is ready for display.

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Earth Day Paper Craft

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Earth Day was first celebrated in 1970 and is now scheduled every year on April 22. Including an earth with a heart on it depicts the importance of caring for our earth, and allows this Celebrate Diversity paper craft to double up as an Earth Day activity.

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More Celebrate Diversity Arts and Crafts

Celebrate Diversity Heart Art

Three Black History Month Crafts

Five Black History Month Crafts

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More Earth Day Arts and Crafts

Earth Day Bead Craft

Earth Day Heart Art

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St. Patrick’s Day Gnome Craft

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Leprechaun activities are a fun part of St. Patrick’s Day for children, and this St. Patrick’s Day gnome craft is a fun one to include in the Irish-themed celebration. There is a free leprechaun gnome template to download to make the paper craft easy to prepare.

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Follow me on Pinterest for more early learning ideas.

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St. Patrick’s Day Gnome Craft Supplies

This cheeky craft is made primarily of cardstock paper, with a few additional supplies. Gather the following for the craft:

  • three shades of green cardstock paper
  • tan, orange, black, and white cardstock paper
  • 8 ½ x 11-inch white, yellow, or mint green cardstock
  • green glitter cardstock
  • shamrock confetti
  • tiny gold pom poms or craft buttons
  • glue stick and white glue
  • scissors and pencil

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St. Patrick’s Day Gnome Craft Preparation

To prepare this March craft, cut a leprechaun body and hat from two different shades of green cardstock.

Next cut a round nose, two round hands, and two oval feet from tan cardstock paper. I used paper punches for the shapes but included circles and ovals in the downloadable template in this post.

Afterward, cut a heart-shaped beard from white or orange cardstock, and a money pot from black cardstock.

Cut the rim of the hat from green glitter cardstock.

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Click on this link to download the leprechaun template for this craft.

Leprechaun Gnome PrintableDownload

This printable is for individual or one classroom use only.

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Then select mint green, white, or yellow 8 ½ inch x 11-inch cardstock to glue the leprechaun parts on.

Finally, pick tiny gold pom poms or small buttons to represent gold, and have available shamrock confetti.

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The St. Patrick’s Day Gnome Craft

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To make this leprechaun gnome craft, use a glue stick to affix an oval body onto a piece of 8 ½ x 11-inch cardstock, and add the heart-shaped beard and leprechaun nose.

Next, glue on the hat and add a glitter green rim.

Then add two oval feet, the money pot, and two round hands.

Affix a confetti shamrock to the end of the hat and add one or more to the center of it for decoration.

Finally, glue tiny pom poms or small buttons on and above the money pot to represent gold.

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Instead of using shamrock confetti, pom poms, or buttons as finishing touches, you can cut apart St. Patrick’s Day necklaces to use for your craft. The tiny coins on the necklace can be used as treasure, and the necklace shamrocks can be used instead of confetti ones.

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Wouldn’t a group of paper-crafted gnomes look adorable in a St. Patrick’s Day display?

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Related:

St. Patrick’s Day Sheep Craft

Shamrock Paper Plate Lion Craft

Leprechaun Sensory Jar

Leprechaun Sensory Play

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Black History Month Hair Decorating Art

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These Black History Month hair decorating art invitations are inspired by the photos of beautifully decorated classroom doors that frequently go viral online and a recyclable shopping bag design. The two art invitations are easy for little learners to participate in and are suited for people of all ages.

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Follow me on Pinterest for more early learning ideas.

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Black History Month has been celebrated in the US every year since 1926. Classroom door artwork displaying beautiful hairstyles with embellishments is a stunning way to draw attention to the celebration. Often, the artwork is accompanied by pictures and information about past role models and their contributions.

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Black History Month Transient Art

A variety of craft supplies in gold, silver, pink, white, and tan hues provide the color scheme for a simple Black History Month transient art hair decorating invitation.

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Supplies To Collect

  • 18 x 24-inch sturdy white paper
  • 12-inch x 18-inch black fadeless construction paper
  • brown and pink construction or scrapbook paper
  • gift bows
  • pipe cleaners
  • bead garland strips
  • clip on tree decorations
  • buttons
  • pom poms
  • dangling earring
  • glue stick and glue gun
  • glue stick
  • pencil and scissors
  • compartment tray

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Black History Month Transient Art Set Up

For this glitzy art invitation, start by selecting the above easy-to-find supplies in a color scheme of choice, and placing them in a compartment tray. My color scheme has plenty of gold and silver, which black people wear so well. It is balanced by neutral and light pink hues.

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Cut and wrap pipe cleaner pieces around a pencil to make curly adornments, and tie other pipe cleaners and bead garland strips into bows.

Next, draw and cut a side view of a human head from brown construction paper, hair from black construction paper, and the shoulders of a top from fabric or colored construction paper. Fadeless construction paper or cardstock holds color the best.

Afterward, using a glue stick or glue gun, adhere the profile head, top, and hair onto a large sheet of construction or art paper. Slide in a dangling earring if desired.

Note: You may want to trim a small piece off the upper edge of the paper background to eliminate unnecessary white space.

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The Hair Decorating Transient Art Invitation

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Once the design is glued together, set out the compartment tray and invite one or two children at a time to pick supplies and decorate the hair of the arty profile. Make sure to snap a picture of each child with their finished design before you invite someone new to embellish the profile image.

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Children may decide to decorate the clothing in addition to the hair.

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After everyone has a chance to participate in the Black History Month transient art activity, give each child an opportunity to contribute a few pieces to the design. Afterward, use a glue gun to affix the shapes permanently. You will have a beautiful wall art piece to display.

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Hair Decorating With Flowers and Butterflies

This second Black History Month hair decorating invitation gives participants a chance to complete a finished art project to take home, using a similar profile image as above.

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Supplies To Collect

  • 14-inch x 17-inch art paper
  • craft flowers and butterflies
  • construction paper
  • flower and butterfly paper punches
  • self-adhesive gem stickers
  • scissors and pencil
  • glue stick

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For this next black History Month art invitation, put together a smaller-sized profile image for each child participating. A 14-inch x 17-inch sized background piece of paper is a good fit for the project.

Paper punch flowers and butterflies from a few different colors of cardstock paper, and add self-adhesive sticker gems. Or use purchased craft flowers and butterflies.

Note: I am a huge fan of paper punches and use them all the time. They save oodles of preparation time and give art projects a professional touch.

Set out a profile image and butterflies and flowers on an art table for each child participating. Invite everyone to use a glue stick to embellish the hair of their paper person with the craft supplies.

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More Black History Month Activities

Three Black History Month Crafts

Five Black History Month Crafts

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Valentine’s Day Owl Craft

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Here’s a cute Valentine’s Day owl craft that doubles as a fun card to give to someone you love on February 14. It can be made entirely from paper or embellished with a few more supplies. Download the free template to make craft preparation easy.

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Follow me on Pinterest for more early learning ideas.

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Supplies To Collect

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Gather the following supplies for this sweet owl-themed Valentine’s Day craft:

  • various colors cardstock or construction paper
  • 8 ½-inch x 11-inch white cardstock paper
  • wiggly eyes
  • eyelash stickers
  • thin felt pen
  • scissors and pencil
  • glue stick

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The Valentine’s Day Owl Craft

This owl-dorable Valentine’s Day craft is so easy to make. The first thing to do is pick a few different colors of cardstock or construction paper to use.

Then, download this template and use it to cut out the owl’s body, wings, beak, and feet. Pick different colors of paper for the task.

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Get the free printable:

Valentine’s Day Owl Craft PrintableDownload

This printable is for individual or one classroom use only.

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Next, use a glue stick to affix the body onto a neutral-colored sheet of 8 ½ inch x 11-inch cardstock paper.

Afterward, cut out a paper heart and glue it in the center of the body.

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Then glue a wing on either side, positioning each one to touch the edge of the heart.

Glue on two small hearts on the bottom of the body to serve as feet.

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Then add two eyelash stickers or wiggly eyes to the head, and glue a paper beak. Or draw in the eyes with a thin felt marker or pencil.

Finally, add the words “You Have My Hoot” to the top of the picture using the art medium of your choice.

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The owl-themed saying on this craft can be varied. Below, the Valentine’s message is “You Hoot a Song in My Heart,” and the large heart is cut from musical note-themed scrapbook paper.

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The Valentine’s Day Owl Craft Simplified

For a simple classroom or home-based activity, print the free owl craft template below onto copy paper. Give a template to each child participating in the craft. Invite participants to color each owl body part with crayons or pencil crayons, and cut the parts out. Then have them glue the colored shapes to a cardstock background to create the Valentine’s Day owl craft. Finally, have everyone draw eyelashes or eyes on their bird and add the words “You Have My Hoot” with a felt pen or pencil.

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Get the free printable:

Valentine’s Day Owl Craft Printable 2Download

This printable is for individual or one classroom use only.

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More Valentine’s Day Crafts

Woolly Sheep Valentine’s Day Craft

Dinosaur Valentine Craft

Heart Doily Gnome Valentines

Ladybug Wand Craft

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Chinese New Year Dragon Craft

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The Chinese New Year celebration is just around the corner, and this year the feature animal is a dragon. The imaginary animal is fifth in the Chinese Zodiac and is linked with the element wood in the year 2024. So naturally, wood products are incorporated in this Chinese New Year dragon craft.

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Dragon Craft Supplies

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The supplies in this spectacular dragon craft are:

  • sandpaper
  • wood sample chips
  • wiggly eye
  • 11-inch x 14-inch sturdy paper
  • Asian coin play money
  • white glue and glue paddle
  • pencil and scissors

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The Chinese New Year Dragon Craft

For this woodsy dragon, I enlarged a dragon necklace pattern, a free printable on the blog. I used it to cut out the head, legs, and tail from a sheet of course sandpaper.

Small rectangular wood sample chips, donated from a hardware store, make up the curvy body.

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Gold Asian play coins add glitz to the design.

The creative invitation makes a unique transient art activity. Or the supplies can be glued onto a large piece of sturdy paper using white glue and a glue paddle.

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Variations Of The Dragon Craft

Instead of using wood sample chips, rectangles cut from wood-themed scrapbook paper would work beautifully.

Circles cut or punched from metallic or glitter gold cardstock could serve as the play money.

The entire project would look equally stunning made from one or more colors of construction paper.

The Chinese New Year dragon craft is a great fit for Lunar New Year 2024. Since dragons are part of the celebrations every year, it could become an annual project.

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More Chinese New Year Activities

Chinese New Year Pretend Play

Chinese New Year Sensory Tub

Orange-scented Playdough Invitation

Chinese Money Tree Art and Sensory Activities

Chinese New Year DIY Decorating

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New Year’s Rice Bin

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A sensory bin is one of the easiest ways to usher in a new theme, and this new year’s rice bin does just that. I have this gold and silver-laden bin waiting for my preschoolers to explore when they return from their Christmas break next week.

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Follow me on Pinterest for more early learning ideas.

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Supplies In The Bin

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The following supplies are in the glitzy bin:

  • gold and silver wrapped foam mini presents
  • silver star-shaped dessert cups
  • tiny gold trophies
  • gold play coins
  • silver beads
  • gold clip tree decorations
  • gold spoon
  • silver bell ornament

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New Year’s Rice Bin

As with many of my sensory activities on the blog, a white bus tub is the bin of choice. It is large enough for two or three children to explore comfortably and doesn’t require an exorbitant amount of sensory base.

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White glutinous rice is the base for the bin, another one of my favorite sensory supplies.

Scooping and pouring rice using the tiny gold trophies and silver star-shaped dessert cups develops eye-hand coordination.

Little learners can gather and count the gold coins.

Gold clip tree decorations and silver beads (cut from a garland) add glitz to the bin.

Spoons are a basic accessory my preschoolers always want to be included in a sensory bin.

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The silver bell is not just a plain bell. It is shaped like an octopus. To see how it is made, view my blog post Octopus Christmas Craft. There is a free template to download should you decide to make an octopus-themed bell to help ring in the new year.

Happy New Year!

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More New Year’s Activities

New Year’s Eve Sensory Tray

New Year’s All Gold Sensory Activity

New Year’s Countdown Activities

New Year’s Crafts

New Year’s Sensory Tray

New Year’s Art and Math Activities

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