Activities, Crafts and More

Easy to Make Play Dough

What You Need:
  • One-cup cold water
  • One-cup salt
  • Two-teaspoon vegetable oil
  • Three cups flour
  • Two tablespoons cornstarch
  • Tempera paint or food coloring (adjust amount for color desired)
What You Do:
  • Mix the water, salt, oil and paint together. Gradually work in the flour and cornstarch until you get the consistency of bread dough.
  • Play, play, play!
  • Store in airtight containers (disposable tupperware-type containers work well).

Get Your Children Involved

There is no better learning experience for a child than the hands-on helping that they can do while cooking, readying craft projects or completing household chores. By helping with the “set up” process, children buy into the activity quicker and their excitement over a new activity increases. Helping will also teach children valuable lessons about following directions, measuring, and managing their expectations.

  

Special Event and Holiday Countdown Chain

Paper chains are more than just a fun, home-made garland for the Christmas tree. They can also be used as “Countdown Aids” for helping preschoolers begin to understand time and learn patience. By looping pieces of paper and chaining them together, you not only give them a craft that helps with many of their fine motor skills, but you also give them something to look forward to, every day.

What You Need:
  • Safety scissors for the child, regular scissors for you
  • A calendar
  • Several pages of paper (either plain white or colored)
  • Glue sticks
  • Markers, stickers and other decorating supplies
  • A decent block of time
What You Do:
  • Use the calendar to help your child count the number of days from now until the special event or holiday that is planned.
  • Using the scissors, cut one-inch wide, six-inch long strips of paper. You’ll need as many strips as there are days between now and the event/holiday.
  • If desired, help the child decorate the strips of paper. This may include a theme (e.g., Christmas colors and images, icons or pictures representing the upcoming event, etc.). You may also choose to print something out beforehand on the paper to help guide your child in his art endeavors.
  • Using the glue stick, help your child glue the strips into circles, interweaving each new link of the chain with the last link of the chain.
  • Let the glue dry thoroughly, and put the chain somewhere accessible, where everyone can see it and will be reminded of it, but that your child can have ownership.
  • Each day, have your child tear off one ring (representing another day gone by) and help them count the number of days remaining until the holiday or event.
Your Child’s Involvement
This can be a time-consuming project depending on the age and fine motor skills of the child. Encourage participation in every aspect of this project: they can count, help measure, cut, decorate and glue. Being able to help will generate excitement, not only about the craft but about the upcoming event or holiday.

  

By March 27, 2011