Putting The Pretty In Preschool

Finding Beauty In Everyday Early Childhood Experiences

crafts

Woodland Fox Treat Holder

by Leave a Comment

_______

This woodland fox treat holder is inspired by gingerbread man stories, which I often read to my preschoolers in December.

The interaction between the fox and the gingerbread cookie is always a highlight of each story. One of the first years we read a series of gingerbread stories, we happened to start by reading tales wherein the gingerbread cookie outsmarted the fox. When we finally read a version in which the spicy cookie did get eaten by a sly fox, one little preschooler couldn’t believe it. After a round of gingerbread man stories this year, a little learner asked “Do you think the gingerbread cookie will ever really get away?”

_______

At the end of our current gingerbread storybook theme, I thought it would be fun to craft a fox treat holder for each preschooler. And to have a little gingerbread cookie in it. Below are instructions to make the treat holder, and a template to download for the craft.

_______

Follow me on Pinterest for more early learning ideas.

_______

Woodland Fox Treat Holder Supplies

Gather the following supplies to make the whimsical fox treat holder:

  • rust-colored cardstock paper
  • cream-colored cardstock paper
  • light brown pipe cleaner
  • black pom pom
  • wiggly eyes
  • black felt pen
  • glue stick
  • glue gun
  • crafted gingerbread person or a gingerbread cookie
  • candy cane

_______

Making The Woodland Fox Treat Holder

_______

To make the woodland animal treat holder, start by cutting two fox faces from rust-colored cardstock paper. Feel free to download this fox template for the craft.

_______

Fox Treat Holder PrintableDownload

This printable is for individual or one classroom use only.

_______

Then bend the cream-colored pipe cleaner into a half circle and use a glue gun to affix it to the ears of one fox head to create a handle.

Next, glue the edges of the fox together starting just below the ears.

Afterward, cut a heart shape from the cream-colored cardstock and glue it to the second rust-colored fox head. Then draw a mouth with a black marker.

Finally, glue on a black pom pom nose just above the mouth, and add two wiggly eyes.

_______

Gingerbread Person and Candy Cane Favors

When the woodland fox treat holder is finished, have your little learner craft a gingerbread person to put inside. Then add a candy cane. The treat holder holds a small crafted gingerbread person and a large candy cane nicely.

_______

Or you could add an edible gingerbread cookie and candy cane to the treat holder.

This crafted duo also makes a cute decoration to add to a Christmas tree.

_______

More Gingerbread Man Activities

Melted Candy Gingerbread Ornaments

Gingerbread Sensory Bin

Gingerbread Playdough

Scissor Skill Gingerbread Man

_______

[Read more…] about Woodland Fox Treat Holder

Edible Playdough Turkey Craft

by Leave a Comment

_______

Here’s a sweet, edible playdough turkey craft just in time for Thanksgiving Day. It is suitable any time of the year for a farm animal theme. It is simple to make and uses five easy-to-find ingredients.

_______

Follow me on Pinterest for more early learning ideas.

_______

Supplies To Collect

Gather the following supplies for this color-infused playdough turkey:

  • chocolate frosting
  • vanilla frosting
  • powdered sugar
  • candy corn
  • white candy eyes
  • small serving plate
  • large mixing bowl
  • large spoon for stirring
  • knife

_____

Making The Edible Playdough

_______

To make this edible playdough, first select a large bowl for the ingredients.

Next, empty half a container of vanilla frosting into the bowl.

Then scoop in an equal amount of powdered sugar.

With a large spoon, stir the powdered sugar and frosting together.

Afterward, knead the ingredients thoroughly, adding more powdered sugar or frosting if necessary, until the dough is a non-sticky playdough consistency.

Make a similar batch of playdough using chocolate frosting, incorporating powdered sugar with the brown icing.

Then form a ball of vanilla playdough and a smaller one of chocolate. Knead the two balls together to get a light brown shade.

Finally, add a little vanilla playdough to a ball of chocolate. Knead them together to get the medium brown shade.

_______

Little learners will love to help make this tasty edible playdough, and will especially enjoy the kneading part. Discussions about color mixing, spheres, and small and large sizes can be introduced during the playdough and turkey-making process.

_______

The Edible Playdough Turkey

Fashioning the playdough turkey is almost as easy as making the two colors of dough.

First, form a ball of medium brown playdough and flatten it into a circle on a dessert plate.

Next, make a light bulb shape from the light brown playdough and press it on top of the circle, designing a turkey head and neck.

Then add two candy eyes and a candy corn beak.

Tip: Slice off the wide end of a piece of candy corn with a knife to make a shorter beak if desired.

Finally, position candy corn pieces all around the edge of the large playdough circle.

_______

You may have noticed that this playdough is super sweet. It’s a good idea to encourage participants to design their turkey first and then snack on some of the extra supplies.

After the turkeys are made and participants have had the chance to do a little snacking, wrap leftover frosting playdough in saran wrap and place it in a jar or plastic bag. Store the playdough and part containers of frosting in the fridge to use another time.

_______

Festive Graham Cracker Turkeys

_______

The leftover frosting and candy eyes will come in handy for desserts, so nothing will go to waste. One idea is to spread a thin layer of chocolate or vanilla frosting on graham crackers. Add two candy eyes to each one, and five candy corn pieces around the upper edges. Slice off the wider end of some of the candy corn pieces and place them under the eyes for beaks. You’ll end up with festive turkey treats that will quickly be gobbled up by your little charges.

_______

Non-Edible Playdough Turkey

The tasty turkey can be made with a basic playdough recipe instead of the sweet, edible dough. You can leave the playdough uncolored to create a white farm turkey or add varying amounts of brown gel icing color to small batches of playdough to get similar turkey colors as with the edible playdough turkey.

_______

More Turkey Activities

Paper Plate Turkey Craft

Turkey Sensory Tubes

Coffee Playdough Turkey

Turkey Playdough Tray

_______

More Playdough Recipes and Activities

Apple Playdough Tray

Scented Playdough Activities

Pumpkin Playdough Activities

Orange-scented Playdough Invitation

Chocolate Mint Playdough

Santa Claus Playdough Tray

Valentine’s Day Playdough Activities

St. Patrick’s Day Playdough Tray

Easter Playdough Tray

_______

[Read more…] about Edible Playdough Turkey Craft

Q-tip Skeleton Craft

by Leave a Comment

_______

Out shopping this fall, I couldn’t help but notice the beautiful skull art in craft and home décor stores. Pastel skull heads were one of my favorite finds, and this colorful dyed Q-Tip skeleton craft is inspired by them. It is super fun to do, so why not give it a try.

_______

Follow me on Pinterest for more early learning ideas.

_______

Supplies To Collect

_______

For this cute skeleton craft, gather the following supplies:

  • Q-tips
  • liquid food coloring
  • paint pots or small jars
  • paint brushes
  • black fadeless construction paper
  • white paper
  • paper in pastel shades
  • thin marker
  • scissors
  • paper towel roll
  • white glue
  • glue stick
  • glue paddle

_______

How To Dye Q-Tips

_______

Before setting out supplies for this craft, dye a package of Q-tips in various pastel shades.

To dye Q-tips, pour liquid food colors of choice into small paint pots or jars, and mix in a little water. My chosen colors were turquoise, orange, violet, and neon green.

Next, quickly dip each soft Q-tip end into a jar of liquid color and lay the Q-tips out to dry onto paper towel strips.

When dry, gather the Q-tips and sort them by color into a compartment tray.

_______

The Q-tip Skeleton Craft

The first thing to do when making a Q-tip skeleton is to select or craft a skull to use. Here are three options:

  • Draw a skull on white or pastel paper using a marker, and fill in the eye socket and teeth details. Then cut it out.
  • Select a sticker or crafted skull.
  • Use a skull rubber stamp/ink pad to print the skull.

On a last-minute shopping trip, I was happy to find a package of skull-themed paper doilies, from which I cut a few skull heads. They work perfectly for the craft as they can be painted.

_______

After picking out a skull design and painting it with a pastel shade if desired, use white glue or a glue stick to tack it near the top of a black piece of fadeless construction paper.

Next, lay out Q-tips in the shape of a skeleton below the skull. Whole Q-tips work fine for the rib cage and backbone, and Q-tips cut into various lengths with a pair of scissors are best for the arms and legs. Q-tip ends are perfect for the little fingers.

_______

When you have a design that you are happy with, use a glue paddle to add white glue to the Q-tip ends, and carefully affix them one by one to your skeleton design.

_______

A group of crafted Q-Tip skeletons would be eye-catching if displayed together, as each pose is bound to look different.

_______

Q-tip Skeleton Arm

Instead of making a whole skeleton out of Q-tips, trace an arm from black construction paper, cut it out, and glue Q-tip pieces to it. This Q-tip craft version draws attention to the many bones in the hands, and the two bones in the lower arm.

_______

Q-tip Skeleton Transient Craft

If you are short on time but would still like to offer a Q-tip skeleton-building experience, this craft project could be set up as a transient craft invitation.

_______

More Skeleton Activities

Skeleton Preschool Theme

Glam Skeleton Sensory Bin

Skeleton and Eyeball Waterplay

Glam Skeleton Playdough Tray

Floral Decorated Skeleton

Skeleton Treasure Blocks

Spaghetti and Eyeball Sensory Bin

_______

[Read more…] about Q-tip Skeleton Craft

Paper Plate Turkey Craft

by Leave a Comment

_______

Paper plate crafts are always a hit, and this paper plate turkey craft is a super cute one. Fit it during a farm animal theme or letter T mini-theme, or save it for a Thanksgiving Day celebration. Download the free turkey template to prepare this craft with ease.

_______

Follow me on Pinterest for more early learning ideas.

_______

Supplies To Collect

For this adorable farm animal craft, gather the following supplies:

  • large paper plate
  • red, yellow, orange, and brown construction paper or cardstock
  • red pipe cleaner
  • wiggly eyes
  • white glue and glue paddle
  • glue stick
  • glue gun

_______

Paper Plate Turkey Prep

_______

To prepare this animal craft, first cut a paper plate in half.

Next, cut a large circle from brown construction paper or cardstock, and two sizes of smaller circles from red, orange, and yellow sturdy paper.

Then cut a narrow diamond and two small hearts from orange paper.

The last thing to do is snip a three-inch strip from a red pipe cleaner.

To make things easier, download this free turkey craft template to use for cutting out the shapes.

_______

Paper Plate Turkey PrintableDownload

This printable is for individual or one classroom use only.

_______

Tip: Paper punches are very helpful in preparing this craft.

_______

Making The Paper Plate Turkey Craft

To make this cute turkey craft, start by using white glue and a glue paddle to adhere red, orange, and yellow circles to the semi-circular plate.

Next, glue the brown circle to the bottom middle of the straight edge of the plate, allowing a little bit of the circle to fall below the edge. This will be the turkey head.

_______

Then glue two wiggly eyes to the large circle.

Afterward, fold the narrow diamond shape in half to make a beak. Glue the folded bottom half of the beak underneath the eyes.

Then fashion the red pipe cleaner strip into a narrow loop. Glue the loop to the beak so that it hangs down as a snood.

Finally, glue two heart-shaped feet to the bottom of the turkey head.

Let the crafted turkey dry overnight and it will be ready for display.

Note: A glue stick or glue gun will also work to adhere the shapes in this craft.

_______

This paper plate turkey is made entirely of geometric shapes, so the craft presents a great opportunity to discuss and review them.

_______

Paper Plate Turkey Headband

For a fun twist to this craft, turn the paper plate turkey into a headband.

_______

First, make sure to adhere the bottom edge of the turkey head to the straight edge of the semi circle.

Next, glue on the eyes, beak, and snood as in the first craft.

Then cut two 1 ½ x 11 inch strips from a piece of cardstock. Glue the two strips together on one side, and then adhere the paper plate turkey on top, lining it up with the bottom edge.

Measure the headband to fit the wearer, and glue the remaining two ends together.

_______

More Turkey Activities

Coffee Playdough Turkey

Thanksgiving Tablescape Pretend Play

_______

[Read more…] about Paper Plate Turkey Craft

Cauliflower Theme Activities

by Leave a Comment

Easy and fun cauliflower theme activities. Art, craft, science and snack ideas are included in this hands-on vegetable theme.

_______

Beans in a variety of colors weren’t the only thing I discovered on a recent street market stroll. I also stumbled upon a delightful vegetable stall with three different colors of cauliflower. The uniquely hued vegetables are the inspiration for cauliflower theme activities to try, including super easy raw and cooked cauliflower snacks, cauliflower science, and arts and crafts activities.

The easiest cauliflower to find is white, but did you know that this popular vegetable also comes in green, orange, and purple colors? These additional hues have recently popped up at vegetable stands. They add variety to food offerings and would certainly be a conversation piece at any gathering.

Three cauliflower colors spotted at a farmer's market to use in a vegetable tray or a roasted dish.

_______

Follow me on Pinterest for more early learning ideas.

_______

The cauliflower colors I feature in the snacks below are cream, light green, and medium green.

Note: On another street market stroll I came across an orange variety, shown in a photo below. I am still on the hunt for purple and look forward to being able to find it.

_______

Cauliflower Snacks

Cauliflower is a versatile vegetable and can be used in many different dishes. Two easy ways to introduce cauliflower are in a vegetable tray or as a roasted dish.

Cauliflower Vegetable Tray

An eye-appealing vegetable tray with cream and green cauliflower and orange cherry tomatoes.

_______

To give them a moment to shine, include different-hued cauliflower florets in a vegetable tray. Add a favorite dip in the middle of the eye-appealing snack. A little shredded cheese sprinkled on top of the dip and a few cherry tomatoes placed around the cauliflower add pops of color to the tray.

An eye-appealing vegetable tray with cream and green cauliflower and orange cherry tomatoes.

_______

Roasted Cauliflower

How to make a roasted cauliflower vegetable dish. Three different hues of cauliflower are featured in this easy-to-make recipe.

_______

Offer different colored cauliflower varieties in an easy-to-make roasted dish. First, pour a little olive oil in a bowl. Then cut the heads of cauliflower into florets and toss them in the oil. Spread the cut pieces in a baking pan lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Finally, sprinkle a little salt and pepper on the florets and bake them in an oven heated to 400 degrees for about 25 minutes.

How to make a roasted cauliflower vegetable dish. Three different hues of cauliflower are featured in this easy-to-make recipe.

_______

Cauliflower Science

Before cutting a few different colors of cauliflower into florets, set them on a table for participants to view. Discuss cauliflower parts such as the head and stem leaves.

Green and cream cauliflower cut lengthwise into slabs to compare inside and outside colors.

_______

Next, slice a cauliflower into wedges to see cross sections of the cruciferous vegetable. View the stem and florets. If the cauliflower is green, orange, or purple, note if the insides of the cauliflower slabs are the same color as the outsides.

Discuss that this nutrient-rich vegetable has lots of vitamins and minerals, and is very healthy to eat.

_______

Cauliflower Arts And Crafts

You may not be able to find purple and orange cauliflower at your local grocery store, but their hues can certainly be included in cauliflower art and craft projects. In addition to green and cream, they are eye-catching colors to introduce in arty activities.

Vegetable Printing With Cauliflower

Create interesting, unexpected designs by using cauliflower florets as printmaking tools.

First, cut cauliflower into different-sized florets.

An invitation to make vegetable prints with cauliflower florets and orange, purple, green, and cream tempera paints.

_______

Next, paint the flatter sides of the florets with tempera paint. Cauliflower hues are a standout in this painting activity.

Then press down the florets onto a piece of sturdy art paper to make vegetable prints. Black and green fade-resistant construction paper work nicely for this cauliflower printmaking project.

How to make vegetable prints with cauliflower florets and orange, purple, green, and cream tempera paints.

_______

Paint Mixing Tips:

  • Add a drop of yellow tempera paint in the white to make a lovely cream color.
  • Mix a little yellow paint into green to make a lighter and brighter hue.
  • Drop in a teaspoon or two of white paint into purple and orange to make softer hues.

_______

How to make vegetable prints with cauliflower florets and orange, purple, green, and cream tempera paints.

_______

Cauliflower Paper Craft

How to make cauliflower paper crafts in green, orange, purple, and cream hues. These crafts incorporate a cotton ball painting technique.

_______

This cute cauliflower paper craft also includes printmaking.

To do the craft, first cut cauliflower heads from manilla tag or cream construction paper, and humps and stem leaves from one or two shades of green cardstock or construction paper. Choosing fadeless paper for the project is recommended.

Feel free to download this template for the vegetable craft project.

Download this free cauliflower vegetable template to use for arts and crafts activities. Make purple, orange, green, and cream cauliflower paper crafts.

_______

Cauliflower PrintableDownload

This printable is for individual or one classroom use only.

_______

Next, print color onto the paper cauliflower heads in hues of cream, green, orange, and purple using painted florets. Or simply use cotton balls dipped in tempera paint for the printmaking process.

How to make an orange cauliflower paper craft. This craft incorporate a cotton ball painting technique.

_______

After the painted cauliflower heads are dry, use a glue stick to affix a hump to the back of each one.

Finally, glue two or three paper stem leaves onto each side of the cauliflower heads.   

How to make an orange cauliflower paper craft. This craft incorporates a cotton ball painting technique.

_______

How to make a purple cauliflower paper craft. This craft incorporates a cotton ball painting technique.

_______

How to make a green cauliflower paper craft. This craft incorporates a cotton ball painting technique.

_______

How to make a cauliflower vegetable paper craft. This craft incorporates a cotton ball painting technique.

_______

These cauliflower theme activities celebrate the vegetable’s vibrant colors and are perfect for a fall or garden theme.

_______

Related:

Corn Theme Activities

Beet Science And Sensory Activities

Carrot Theme Activities

Pumpkin Color Activities

_______

[Read more…] about Cauliflower Theme Activities