Hot Chocolate

Here's an easy winter craft for kids!

Cutting and gluing activities help young children strengthen their fine motor skills. So, this simple and fun winter craft is just the right activity for preschool children to make.

The Snowy Day written by Ezra Jack Keats, is a lovely book to read to children on a winter's day.  And, there are so many great activities to go along with the book, like this easy hot chocolate winter craft.


Items I used:
Yellow and brown construction paper
Mini marshmallows
Winter stickers
Glue

Instructions:
I cut a hour chocolate mug from yellow construction paper.  Older children can cut it out themselves.  Cut out a half circle from brown construction paper. This will be the hot chocolate.

Have the children glue the hot chocolate at the top of their mug.
After that, have the children glue the mini marshmallows on top of their hot chocolate.
Once done, have the children decorate their hot chocolate mug with winter stickers.

Pointsetta's

Cut out Pointsetta leaves and use a brad to attach them together.

When you fan out the leaves, it turns into a pretty Pointsetta.

This is a great opportunity to teach the letter P.

Happy Holidays

Homemade Gift Idea for the Holidays

Snowman Ceramic Christmas Plate: A Homemade Gift Idea for Mom
Ask any mother or grandmother around what are the best gifts they have ever received. Their reply will most likely be those gifts that were homemade and from the heart. These kinds of gifts carry so much meaning and can be treasured throughout the years. If you are looking for a sweet and unique homemade gift idea, try making handprint art on any kind of ceramic dish. Preserving your child's handprint is a wonderful way to remind you and others just how small your kids use to be.

What Kind of Paint to Use on Ceramic Dishes?
You may be wondering what kind of paint to use on your ceramic dishes. I suggest choosing an enamel acrylic paint. This kind of paint is a little more expensive than your standard acrylic paint, but it is more durable and scratch resistant. You also can wash these dishes on the top shelf of your dishwasher once they are dried and cured in the oven.

If you are planning on using these dishes around food, you need to make sure your ceramic paint states toxic-free and safe to use around food. Some ceramic paints contain harmful ingredients that should never be used near food. If you are hand painting a ceramic dish for home decor, you do not have to worry about the toxic-free label.

How to Paint Child's Handprints on Ceramics
To get started making handprint art on a ceramic dish, you will first need to gather all the necessary supplies and decide what kind of dish you are going to paint. Be sure the dish has been thoroughly washed and dried. You also need to wipe it down with alcohol and a paper towel to remove any hidden residue.

Before attempting to make the handprints, make sure to wash your child's hand. Dirt and oil from his or her hand could potentially affect the quality of the paint. Below are the supplies you will need and step-by-step directions for painting your ceramic platter.

Supplies:
• Ceramic serving platter
• Ceramic paint – white, black, orange
• Paintbrushes
• Permanent Marker
• Alcohol
• Paper towels

Directions:
1. Wash and dry ceramic dish. Wipe down dish with alcohol and a paper towel to remove any residue.

2. After washing your child's hand, use paintbrush to cover the hand completely with white ceramic paint.

3. Press child's hand firmly down on the platter. The gloss on the ceramic platter makes it slippery but try to keep the hand from moving.

4. If you want to start again: Quickly wash platter with warm water or use alcohol to help remove paint.

5. Paint hats, eyes, buttons with black paint and an orange nose.

6. Write title with Permanent marker. I used white acrylic paint because I wanted the letters to stand out on the green plate.

7. Once satisfied with the design, set platter on baking pan. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes on 300 degrees. Do NOT preheat the oven. Let the platter gradually warm with the oven to prevent cracking or shattering.

8. Carefully take the pan out of the oven and set aside in a safe area to allow the platter to completely cool.

Other Ideas:
Birthday – Balloon Hand prints (Happy Birthday)
Mother’s Day – Flower Hand prints (Happy Mother’s Day)
Thanksgiving – Turkey Hand print (Happy Thanksgiving)
Veterans Day – Red White and Blue Hand print (My Hero)

Decorating the Classroom

Christmas Ornaments

This is a simple and yet beautiful craft for children to make.

There faces light up when they hang one of their very own decorations on the Christmas tree.

Supplies:

Plastic, clear ornament.

Tissue paper cut up into squares.

Elmer Glue

Paint Brush

Glitter Glue (optional)

Ribbon (optional)

Directions:

With paint brush, apply glue on the ornament, small sections at a time.

Place tissue paper on the glue.

You may have to help the child make the tissue paper flat.  

(I used the paint brush to go over the tissue paper).

Ribbon around the middle of the ornament is optional.

Glitter glue applied over top of the ornament gives a nice touch!

This is an easy craft for preschool and kindergarten kids to make.

You may have to help the younger children, but they are just as proud of their Christmas Ornament.

Merry Christmas!