So You Think You Can Meke? The following activities are available for children in kindergarten through grade 3. Children should be closely supervised at all times while doing these activities. Adults should always supervise children's hands-on activities. Felt Crafting: Felt crafts come in all shapes and sizes. Let children make felt animals and then give them to the animals in their classroom. Older children may want to try making larger shapes like cars, and buses. They can make these larger shapes from scraps of felt. The scraps can be any size from 1x1 inch (scraps) to 3x3 inches (large shapes). For younger children, it is OK for them to make shapes out of squares of felt. Colorful Dough and Playdough: Using food coloring, explore with children the color wheel and the effects of combining colors. Let children experiment with doughs and playdough in the art area or any area where kids can feel free to make a mess and have a good time while they are at it. Children can also explore with the playdough by trying making shapes (small or large), or try using Playdough Recipes and make fun shapes or colorful creatures. Children can also decorate playdough figures by adding paint and glitter. Coloring: Make coloring materials available to children for free choice. Using crayons and markers, let children explore different colors, shapes, and lines. Children can be as creative as they like. This is a great activity to do at home as well. Playdough: Make and decorate playdough with the children and let them experiment with playdough recipes. Make new shapes, draw with playdough, make pictures, and write on the playdough. Some great ways to use playdough are making a playdough figure that the children can take home and to school, or for a fun playdough painting with the children in the art area. Ceramics: Make a simple clay sculpture in kindergarten. After a week, have children wash out the sculpture and have them color it with crayons. Allow the children to display their creations in the art area. Sensory: Create clay or playdough sensory boxes, which are sensory and learning toys that children can take home to be creative with. They can be used for math, science, and art activities. Playground Ideas: Have fun exploring your classroom playground. Look for things that stick out, that feel different, or just something you might want to try. What do you discover? Do you notice what is missing? Do you see patterns or things that look different? Is there anything you don't like about the way it looks? What do you want to try and make? Share your creations with the class. Be creative. Have fun! Make a Paper Toy Materials needed: A piece of paper folded into an 8- or 9-inch triangle, with one corner of the triangle folded under. Scissors Masking tape Glue stick Crayons Construction paper Scrapbook paper Glue Make a Star Block for a Paper Toy The paper triangle is made with a fold on the right and left side with the right side glued to the left side. A small diagonal fold with the point on the left is made and a small diagonal fold with the point on the right. This can be done on a table and the paper can be folded over if you are practicing with a long triangle. To make a smaller paper triangle, you would fold both sides over twice instead of once. Fold the triangle in half, folding the point into the middle of the block. To make a star block: Fold the triangle in half diagonally, with the corners on the inside. Then fold over the right side of the triangle to form a straight edge and glue the two short sides together. Make a Paper Toy, Steps 1–2: Cut a strip of paper that is four to five inches wide. Fold the strip in half lengthwise. Glue each side together. Hold the triangle with the point sticking out. Use a scissors to cut off the tip of the triangle. Make a Star Block for a Paper Toy Cut 2 strips of construction paper and glue them together. The length is the same as the height. Then cut a strip of red, yellow, orange, and blue construction paper. The width is about 3 inches. Fold it in half. Glue the strip with the colors on the fold. You could also use pink, light blue, yellow, green, and brown. Glue the other strips around the edge of the first two. Glue the triangle to the front of the circle. Make a Paper Toy, Steps 3–5: Take a small circle of green and a piece of red construction paper and glue them to the top of the paper triangle. For fun, you could try paper chains to make the toy star-shaped. This idea works for a star block of wood or foam as well. Have fun making these cool paper toys! Crafts Make and Play with a Paper Bag Valentine Materials Needed: Paper bags Scissors or hole puncher Crayons or markers Paper String or yarn Glue How To: Cut out a hole in one side of a paper bag. Glue a paper heart to the back of the bag and decorate it with hearts, flowers, birds, animals, and so on. Hang the bag up and let your child take turns looking through the holes to see what is in the bag. The teacher can help the children cut out their own hearts. Hang one or more paper bags with a heart drawn on it. Tie some yarn to each bag. Place the bags in front of your child, who should try to touch the "knot" on the yarn with the heart. Hang a large piece of fabric in the window and let the child try to toss a paper bag through the window from the outside. If the child can throw it through the window without knocking it off, he or she will have a chance at winning. Let the child go through the holes to see what is inside the bags. Take turns hiding things in the bags. Let the children see what other craft activities are available to them. Be creative and remember, "Let's make something together!" Cardboard Box Make Your Own Valentine Materials Needed: Glue Cards Paper Paper plates Scissors Let the children decorate some cardboard boxes with glue, colored markers, crayons, paints, and whatever else they want. Have the children glue a valentine or paper heart to the front of the box. Then let them glue various designs on the box with the other items that they have decorated. This would be a fun way to recycle the boxes that they might not want at home. Have them pick a box with lots of color or a lot of designs to put the boxes in, or keep them in their backpacks, lunch boxes, or purses. You can also make valentines or boxes out of an old purse or box. Put the valentines in a small bucket with a ribbon tied around it. Then let the children take turns opening them. Decorate the buckets with hearts and ribbons. You can give them home made valentines. You can do this activity with a large group or smaller groups. Crafts Paint With a Child Have some "happy" art time and a nice little paint session. The children can choose whatever colors and designs they want. Some people like finger painting, whereas others like using their hands and brushes. Use your imagination to create some fun designs and ideas. Some materials you could use are: washable crayons, watercolors, tempera paints, markers, chalk, paint pens, tempera paint, and so on. Make Crayon Playdough Worms Let the children use tempera paint or watercolors and make a variety of worms, snails, bugs, and animals. Let the children make their own playdough (or just plain old play dough) and mold into what they want. You can even let them mold into creatures they draw with crayons. Let the children set up their little animal habitats for the little animal friends they are making. Have fun