Sandpaper Letters

This activity is short and sweet. Give your child a sheet of coarse sandpaper and a few short pieces of yarn (the fluffier the better). Practice making letters, shapes, anything you want. The yarn will "stick" to the sandpaper. It's nice to have a little textile variety!

Do-It-Yourself Mobile

I know. I know. Valentine's has come and gone, but this is a project that is EASILY adapted to any burst of creativity. Learning about clouds? Rain? Moon? Stars? Flowers? You name it. You can make a mobile out of it. You'll need:

Colored paper

Crayons or paint

Long, thin supports

String

Scotch tape

1. Cut out paper into whatever shapes you want. Kids can color it, paint it, etc.

2. Attach string securely (aka tape generously) to the ends of of your supports (I just used colored pencils...it's not like this mobile will hang in your house for years to come) and tape the cut-out shapes to the string.

3. Tie another string in the middle of the support, don't secure yet. Hold up the mobile and slide the middle string back and forth until it balances at its fulcrum (yes, we're talking simple machines/levers here). Tape string securely into place.

4. Work your way from bottom to top, making the mobile as elaborate as you'd like.

5. Hang up your child's mobile for all to see.

5. Gush over how awesome it looks to anyone passing by. Make him/her agree with you. Because really, mobiles are the BOMB of all hanging, preschool art projects, right?

-original idea from...whoever first invented the mobile, I guess.

Paper Chain Butterfly

Materials:

Construction paper (3-4 colors)
Paint
Tape
Marker

1. Fold one piece of construction paper in half. This will be the wings.

2. On one half of the folded paper, put small dots of paint. (My daughter was too little to do this herself, so she chose the colors and I poured the paint.)

3. Fold the paper in half again so the paint spreads out on both sides. While it is folded, cut out around the paint to create the wing shape. Unfold and allow to dry.

4. While the paint is drying, create the butterfly's body by cutting paper into thin strips. (I wanted more loops, so I made them pretty small.) Loop them together and tape them closed to make the paper chain.

5. Add one loop of a different color at the top of the chain for the head. Draw a face and add small antennae (curl them around a pencil to make them round).

6. When the paint is dry, attach the paper chain between the two wings by taping it down in each place where the loops lay flat.

Idea originally from www.dltk-kids.com