Happy 4th of July!

In need of a last-minute Independence Day project for your kiddos? [...like I was...]


Crayola has some fun coloring pages.

Color the flag of the USA.

Color in a picture of fireworks behind the Statue of Liberty while you talk with your kids about why we light fireworks on the 4th of July. 

Learn about past and present flags of the United States of America, then color them in.

Learn about and color the Statue of Liberty.

Color the flag and map of the United States of America.

President's Day Coloring Pages

Crayola provides a variety of presidential coloring pages for kids.

Abraham Lincoln:

George Washington:

Also:

Happy Birthday, Presidents!

George Washington

US Presidents

Valentine's Day Project

In the spirit of loving, my children and I crafted a fun project. 

We call it our "prayer chain", but you can call it whatever you would like to.

We wrote down names of people we know on strips of paper and linked them together.  Each evening at bedtime the kids tear off the end link of their chain and pray for that person.  As they get older, I would like to have them send an encouraging note or thoughtful gift to each person...maybe next year.   :)

For this project, you will need:
- strips of scrap paper - any color you choose.
- glue or tape
- pen, pencil or marker to write with

First, cut your paper into strips of similar length and width [no need to be precise for this activity].  I used blue for my son and pink for my daughter.

Then have your child[ren] write out names of people they know on the strips, such as family, friends, classmates or teammates, etc.  If you have younger children, you can write out the names for them or enlist your older children to help their younger siblings by writing them down.  Each strip should have only one name written on it.

Begin creating your chain by bending one strip of paper so that the two ends meet together.  Glue or tape the paper together at the ends, forming a circle.  You will continue to form "links" with each piece of paper, by looping the paper through the end link before forming and gluing your paper circle.  Once all your paper strips have been chained together, find a fun place to hang your chain. My children have a white board in their room where they can display all their art projects...so this was a perfect place for us to hang our chains.

Spend some time with your kids remembering to love the people who have been placed in your lives.

Teeny Tiny Tree Trimming

My Mother-in-law gave the kids a tiny little tabletop tree to decorate...and I had no tiny decorations...soooooo

We made some. 

I had a book the kids were uninterested in reading anymore and wanted to get rid of...

I loved the colors in the book, so I did the unthinkable and let them...*gasp*

...cut it up.

[I cringe a little even as I say it]

We used 2 different sized circle shaped paper punches and cut out various sizes and colors from the pages.  Once we had a big pile of them, 

we glued our paper circles to some thread using this method [just scroll down to the circle garland].

This would make a great ribbon for tying gifts too! 

So our tree went from ho-hum...

To so fun!

Yay!

How to Make a Paper Snowflake Garland...

This has been the scene outside lately...

And THIS has been the scene around our dining table...

'Tis the season to make paper snowflakes!

I had a box of old feeder printer paper that my husband found for the kids to color on - it was perfect for this project!

Both J. and I had forgotten how to fold the paper to cut snowflakes...so we googled it...and found these pages.

This is how to make our paper snowflakes:

First fold one corner over to form a square.

Cut off the extra rectangle...but save it...we used them for another snowflake project, I'll show you further down.

Fold your remaining triangle in half to form a smaller triangle.

[I turned the page around to better show how to fold.]

Fold one end to form a new triangle in the center of the page.

Fold the opposite end over similarly, covering the previously folded side.

You will end up with this.

Then cut along the straight edge, removing the small triangles on top.

Cut along both sides...but not through [except the tip if you want, or the top to make a smaller flake].

You will end up with something like this.

Then unfold your paper - ta da - pretty paper snowflake!

Finally, we set then in a large, heavy book to smooth out the creases.

We got creative and used paper punches & shaped scissors too.

We threaded the paper snowflakes along a string of yarn and hung then as garland along our windows...so pretty.

This was lots of fun for my 5 year old, but too hard for my 3 year old, so we came up with another "snowflake" project for her.

Remember that extra rectangle?  We cut circles out of the scrap papers and made a simpler garland for her.

Here is how to make a "simple" paper snowflake garland:

I used a circle cutting system I purchased from Creative Memories years ago.  You can use any system...or trace a circular object [jar lids...cups, ect.] and cut them out using scissors.

I used 3 different size circles and cut 2 circles for each flake.

Next, I spead glue on one side of a circle.

Then I placed the circle, glue side up under the string.

I had my daughter find the matching size and line the second circle up with the first.  This is great practice for size differentiation and coordination - plus fun for her!

We repeated this until we had the length of garland we desired for each doorway.

And that's it for how to make a simple paper "snowflake" garland.

Festive, educational & fun...a perfect preschool project!

Happy Thanksgiving! - hope you get to do some fun things with your families this weekend!