This penguin shape sort activity is one of my post popular posts! We made these cute little penguins from construction paper and then matched foam shape stickers to each penguin. This activity is perfect for developing shape recognition and fine motor skills. But most importantly, it’s simply fun!! And you can scroll down for FREE printable versions of the activity too.
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This is what you will need:
Construction paper
Scissors
Glue stick
Googly eyes
Foam shape stickers
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This is what you will need to do:
1. Cut your penguin shapes and glue down some googly eyes.
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2. Sort your stickers to each penguin.
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If you would like a FREE printable version of this activity click this link:
This easy scissor skills activity is perfect for developing fine motor skills. You can make your own version of this activity with some scraps of colored paper or you can download my FREE printable worksheet to save time. Scroll down to find your copy.
1. Cut your paper into strips and paste a Christmas tree shape to the end of each strip. This will give your paper snipping activity direction. Once the glue is dry, draw some lines along the length of the strips with black marker pen. These lines can be straight, curved – anything that you like.
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2. Then grab some kids safety scissors and ask your kids to carefully snip along the lines.
This cute spider activity is perfect for helping kids learn about shapes and patterns this Halloween! Simply print out the templates below, snip the shapes carefully with scissors and then paste them onto the spider legs to continue the patterns. This activity is great for developing early numeracy skills, scissor skills and fine motor skills. And it’s heaps of fun too!
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This is what you will need
Construction paper
Scissors
Recycled cardboard
Glue stick
Stickers
Washi tape (optional)
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This is what you will need to do
1. Cut a spider shape from black construction paper and glue it down onto a piece of recycled cardboard. Add some stickers to start a pattern. Your pattern could be simple alternating patterns or more complicated ones that involve 3 or more colors or shapes. You might also like to add a border of washi tape to finish your game.
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2. Next ask your child to finish the patterns with their stickers. We used small square stickers, simply because that’s what we had on hand. You could use sticker dots or even paints and Q-tips to finish the patterns.
Dominoes are such a great learning tool for kids. As well as helping preschoolers develop number recognition, they also help teach patterns, subitizing, 1:1 correspondence and even fine motor skills. There is such a lot of learning in such a simple toy! In the following activities, I actually use paper dominoes that I have made into a printable worksheet. You can scroll down for your own FREE copy if you would like.
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This is what you will need:
Dominoes
Pom poms
Tweezers (optional)
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This is what you will need to do:
1. Print out your FREE copy of the paper dominoes and carefully cut around each individual piece with scissors. Match pom poms to the dots on the dominoes. Count the dots and pom poms as you go.
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2. You may like to extend the activity by making it into a rescue game. To do this, place a dominoes piece into each well of a muffin tray. Add some pom poms to each well and then tape down some layers of sticky tape.
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3. Then carefully snip away the washi tape to reveal your dominoes and pom poms. Once the playing pieces are revealed, match the pom poms to the dominoes.
!WARNING! Remember that scissors are sharp! Always supervise children when they are using scissors!
I loved learning about greater than and less than numbers when I was at school. My teacher had this really neat way of teaching us the underlying principals. She used this cute crocodile analogy to show us that the crocodiles open mouth pointed to the bigger number! It’s something I still remember to this day, and has proven a great way to help my children learn these math basics.
You can easily make one of these crocodiles with some craft sticks, or scroll down below to find a FREE printable version of the activity.
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This is what you will need:
A piece of recycled cardboard
White computer paper
Clear sticky contact or packing tape
Green craft sticks
Googly eyes
Scissors
Blue tack or a glue stick
Dry erase or white board marker
Washi tape (optional)
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This is what you will need to do:
1. Start by making your game board. To do this, paste down two squares of white paper onto the recycled cardboard. Cover these squares with clear contact or packing tape to make a wipeable board. You can then write the number of blocks you will need to build in each square with white board marker.
Next, make the crocodile. To do this, take two craft sticks and use blue-tack or a glue stick to attach two googly eyes. Cut a strip of sharp white teeth from the your left over white computer paper.
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2. Collect some blocks – we used Duplo blocks, and then you are ready to play. Build your towers and move your crocodile mouth to point to the largest tower.
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Here is your FREE printable version of this activity:
This super cute activity is great for helping kids develop their scissors skills. It is a really quick activity to put together and only requires a couple of easily accessible materials. You will only need some paper, a marker pen, scissors and a glue stick. The end result is a super cute piece of art too!
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This is what you will need:
Colored construction paper
Scissors
Black marker pen
Gluestick
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!WARNING! Remember that scissors are sharp. Adult supervision is always required when children are using scissors!
This is what you will need to do:
1. Cut circles from orange and yellow paper. You might like to trace a circle onto the paper first to help with the cutting. For each lion, you will need one large circle and one smaller circle.
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2. Use the glue stick to paste the smaller circle into the center of the larger circle.
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3. Using a black marker pen, draw a face on the lion.
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4. Grab a pair of child safe scissors and snip from the outside of the larger circle to the smaller circle. Keep cutting until you have snipped around the entire circle.
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5. Paste your lion down onto a piece of colored paper using your glue stick.
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If you would like a copy of the FREE printable version of this activity, download the file below.
We loved this fun counting and early numeracy game for kids! It was super easy to put together and was a fun way to recycle a piece of cardboard. It is also a mess-free activity and once made, the game board can be played with over and over again.
If you don’t have time to make your own game board or you would prefer the FREE printable version, simply scroll down for your copy.
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This is what you will need:
A piece of recycled cardboard
Colored construction paper
Scissors
Marker pen
Pom poms
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This is what you will need to do:
1. Cut some cupcake shapes from colored construction paper and paste them onto your piece of recycled cardboard. You could also draw them with marker pens. To be honest, this will probably be a lot quicker and easier than cutting the paper ones out 😉
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2. Label each cupcake with a number. The number will correspond to the number of pom poms you will add to each cupcake.
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3. Grab some pom poms and place the corresponding number onto each labelled cupcake.
I love this colorful mitten number match game I posted on my Instagram this morning! The mittens are super simple to cut from colored construction paper and then you can play with them anyway that you like. You could match pom poms, stickers – any loose parts that you might have. Don’t feel restricted to only adding the pegs.
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What you will need:
Construction paper
Pencil
Scissors
Glue
Pegs or clothespins
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What you will need to do:
1. Draw and cut mitten shapes from colored construction paper. I used my Cricut maker to cut mine. Once you have cut your mitten shapes, label them with a number.
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2. Match pegs or loose parts to each mitten. You can match numbers, colors, shapes – anything that you like.
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Here are some fun and FREE mitten match printables for you!
It doesn’t snow where we live here in Melbourne. In fact, I have probably seen actual, real snow only two or three times in my entire life. I do love the idea of snow though, and how pretty it looks – I am not sure I love that it’s so cold!
In this activity, you will make a fun sensory writing tray that uses coconut as it’s sensory base. The coconut sort of resembles snow, and as well as feeling great – it smells divine! Making this activity is a true sensory learning experience, and a fun way to keep writing practice interesting.
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This is what you will need:
A shallow dish or container. We used this tray from Melissa and Doug. Here is an amazon affiliate link to the product:
1. Pour a small amount of coconut into your tray or dish so that it is covered with a thin layer of coconut. I rarely use food as a crafting material – it is such a waste. But I found this in my pantry and it was close to its use by date, so we decided to use a small amount in this activity.
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2. Place your tray of coconut on a flat surface. You may like to spread out an old sheet or some paper towel under your tray to catch any coconut spills and make clean up easy. Then start writing in the tray. This time, we used a paintbrush to keep things interesting. But you can use any tool that you like – or even just your finger!
We started with letters. I typed up some words and then we used our paint brush to write each letter in the coconut snow! Once you have formed your letter, simply smooth over the coconut letter and start again!
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Don’t feel restricted to only writing letters. Try writing numbers and add some counters to practice counting, subitising and 1:1 correspondence skills. [Have you heard of the term subitising before? Subitising is the ability to recognize the number of objects in a small group without actually counting each item out].
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And you can also practice shape formation too! To do this, I simply printed out some shapes and then placed them next to the tray for my little guys to copy.
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These are the shapes that I printed. You can download your own shape file here:
Once you have finished with your writing tray, you might like to store the coconut in an air tight container to use again another day. You might even like to dye your coconut with some food coloring. It is up to you how you choose to play and learn!
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Thank you so much for reading! Any thoughts or questions, please pop them in the comments section below. Jacinta Xx
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Please enjoy these fun FREE winter counting printables!
Getting out and exploring our neighborhood and enjoying nature has been so important to us this year. It has allowed for fresh air, calm and a change of scenery! While we have been out and about exploring, we have collected all sorts of beautiful natural specimens that we have turned into these wonderful crafts!
!WARNING! remember to watch for car and bike traffic while out walking, and always walk safely with an adult.
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Nature Vases
These vases are made from a piece of recycled cardboard, this particular one was cut from the side of a delivery box, and are a great way to go on a nature hunt around your local neighborhood.
This is what you will need:
Recycled cardboard
Marker pens
Bamboo skewer
!WARNING! please be careful when using the bamboo skewers to make holes in the card. Bamboo skewers are sharp. It is strongly recommended that an adult makes the holes in the card using the bamboo skewer.
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This is what you will need to do:
1. Draw a vase onto the piece of cardboard with black marker pen. Add some pattern and detail to your vase. Feel free to be as creative as you like! Then, color your vase with marker pens.
2. Take your bamboo skewer and make holes in the cardboard above the vase. Remember that bamboo skewers are sharp! So it is best to ask an adult to do this step.
3. Take your cardboard outdoors and search your neighborhood for colorful flowers and leaves. Push the stems of the leaves and flowers through the holes in the card.
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Flower Crowns
This gorgeous flower crown craft is super easy to put together! You will only need a couple of easy to source materials to make this beautiful piece of art.
This is what you will need:
Recycled cardboard
Pencil
Scissors
Acrylic paint
Paintbrush
Black marker pen
Bamboo skewer
!WARNING! please be careful when using the bamboo skewers to make holes in the card. Bamboo skewers are sharp. It is strongly recommended that an adult makes the holes in the card using the bamboo skewer.
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This is what you will need to do:
1. Using your pencil, draw the face shape onto your piece of cardboard. Cut around your drawing with pencil. Then paint the hair and use the marker pen to draw the face.
2. Carefully take the bamboo skewer and make holes across the hairline. Remember that bamboo skewers are sharp! It is best to ask an adult to do this step!
3. Now head outside on a nature hunt and search for all sorts of flowers that will make a beautiful flower crown!
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Nature Color Hunt
This nature hunt is fun to make and is a great way to learn colors! Again, all you will need is a piece of recycled cardboard and some paint to make your very own.
This is what you will need:
Recycled cardboard
Paint
Paintbrush
Bamboo skewer
!WARNING! please be careful when using the bamboo skewers to make holes in the card. Bamboo skewers are sharp. It is strongly recommended that an adult makes the holes in the card using the bamboo skewer.
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This is what you will need to do:
1. Paint strips of color onto the piece of recycled cardboard.
2. Carefully use the bamboo skewer to make holes along each strip of color. Remember that the bamboo skewers are sharp. It is best to ask an adult to do this step.
You may even like to add some little labels to bring some literacy and early reading skills into the activity.
3. Head outside and collect all sorts of flower and leaf specimens and push them into their correct colored holes.
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There are so many fun ways to use nature specimens in kids crafts! What is your favorite activity? Thank you for reading! Jacinta Xx
cintaandco.com 