Monday, October 26, 2015

Fantastic Fall Forest Sculptures for Kids: The Thinker by Auguste Rodin.

Easy Paper Sculpture Ideas for Preschoolers

We made Fall Forest paper sculptures - they turned out fantastic! An awesome creative activity for kids, these sculptures are great for playing with colors, scissors, and glue! This activity was inspired by the book "Art Is..." by Bob Raczka.

Artists is the theme for October at Poppins Book Nook. You can find our previous Poppins Book Nook activities here: Spider Craft: Charlotte's Web.


The Thinker by Auguste Rodin: Creative Art for Kids

 "Art Is..." by Bob Raczka is our book of the month. How would you explain "art" to the little ones? This book has neat and simple explorations with a great sample of art and a rhyming sentence on each page.


"Art is how artists get you to think," is the conclusion at the end! The last page features The Thinker by Auguste Rodin.

Observing this sculpture led us to the discussion of what is "thinking"... and inspired us to make paper sculptures.


Fantastic Fall Forest Sculptures for Kids

For this activity we used construction paper in fall colors, scissors, white glue, hole punch, crayon, a piece of cardboard for the base.

Pictured below, My Firefly's favorite was making "rolls" and "spirals" using a crayon and strips of paper. For a roll, apply glue at the end of the strip and hold. For a spiral, let it loose.


We tried creating different forms and different sizes. There was little waste at the end of this activity. My Firefly used the colorful scraps all over her fantastic forest.


To attach bigger forms to the base, dip them in glue and press it in place, let the glue dry.


Forest Sculptures for Kids

The fall forest sculptures were created during several sessions. My Firefly started slow and unsure, then became very involved into the creative process. I think our forest will make for a great table centerpiece for these holidays. Oh, and I am very happy that she got lots of practice with scissors and glue out of this activity!


Artists Is the Theme for October at Poppins Book Nook

It's time for the Poppins Book Nook - a book club that goes live on the last Monday of each months.
You can find our previous Poppins Book Nook books and activities here:
 Poppins Book Nook.



Enchanted Homeschooling Mom - 3 Dinosaurs - ABC Creative Learning - As We Walk Along the Road - Brain Power Boy - Chestnut Grove Academy - Embracing Destiny - Every Bed of Roses - Farm Fresh Adventures - Growing in God's Grace - Kathys Cluttered Mind - My Bright Firefly - Peakle Pie - Preschool Powol Packets - Pray Species - SAHM I am - Stir The Wonder - Sunny Day Family - Sweet Silly Sara - Teach Beside Me - To the Moon and Back - Tots and Me - Tree Valley Academy - Witty Hoots

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Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Go Away, Big Green Monster Activities. Sight Words Is, Go, Away.

Playful Words. Sight Words Preschool Art with the Big Green Monster.

Our sight word of the week activities were all about nocturnal animals and monsters this month. We painted and drew our way through sight words is, go, and away. The first article from our "Sight Word of the Week" series can be found here: Playful Words: Sight Words The, See, At, My, and Me.
 

Nocturnal and Diurnal Animals: Sight Word Is

We sorted diurnal and nocturnal animals and created charts using the sight word "is".

For this activity, we used:

Kids cut out an animal of their choice, practiced writing the word "is" on the tray, drew the sun or the night sky and applied star stickers, read the chart back to me. This is an early writing activity. They managed to write the letter "i" easily - and were so surprised that they did! It is way too cute to watch them writing their first letters!


Painting with Planes and Cars: Sight Word Go

We painted the word "go" using toy planes and cars. The paper is fixed to the floor with tape. I applied dots of paint and offered My Firefly to drive the toys through the paint. It was a never ending fun!


Go Away, Big Green Monster Activities: Sight Word Away

"Go away, Big Green Monster" by Ed Emberley is our favorite book at this time. This beautiful book is a great help for little readers with their fears of imaginable creatures!

My Firefly painted green monsters using strands of yarn. Our inspiration for this activity is this article: Painting with Yarn from Fantastic Fun and Learning. Please, visit this blog for fun details and helpful tips for this activity.

For our monsters, we used a mix of colors. Since there is no need to be precise with colors of the monster, we mixed all the paints in the same paper plate which made this activity very easy to set up. We started with green, and when half of it was gone, I added yellow. Then, we decided to mix green with blue. Black was added at the end. We used some red at the very end.


My Firefly loved making rainbow letters using glitter markers and an awesome "away play dough mat" printable found here: Romping & Roaring Pre-primer Set 1: A, And, Away, Big Packs.


Sight Words Is, Go, Away were so much fun! What's your favorite sight words activity?

Our previous Sight Word of the Week activities:

 
Sight Words Can, Look: Dinosaurs: Sight Words Can and Look.
 
Sight Words You, To, And, For: Superheroes, Fruits and Vegetables, Magic Pumpkin, Water Balloons.



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Friday, October 16, 2015

11 Fantastic Process Art Ideas: Painting Coffee Filters

Coffee Filters Process Art

Painting coffee filters using various media has many opportunities for creative play, process art, fun explorations and problem solving. Coffee filters are very absorbent and withstand water playing nicely. We found some wonderful creative process art ideas using coffee filters. Leaves, pumpkins, bats, turkeys, flowers - they were created through some fantastic sensory play!



Pictured above:
Fall Leaves Mobile from Miranda Made. This decorative mobile looks so festive - a perfect decoration for the holidays!

"Stained Glass" Pumpkins from I Can Teach My Child. Kids will enjoy exploring different types of markers and using water to create these beautiful pumpkins.

Coffee Filter Bats Process Art from My Bright Firefly. This opportunity to paint coffee filters has so many pretty options for some creative process art. My Firefly loves letting bats "fly" around the house, just has to remember these bats are nocturnal - they  sleep during the day!

Science for Kids: Chromatography Butterfly Craft from Buggy and Buddy. Use coffee filters to separate various pigments in markers. Such a beautiful science!

Easy Thanksgiving Craft: Coffee Filter Turkey from Buggy and Buddy. Beautiful details make this Thanksgiving decoration very special. You can also find some helpful tips and a free template in this article.


Pictured above:
Sunflower Collage from The Imagination Tree. Mixed media and coffee filters are the perfect opportunity for creativity!

Cardboard Tube and Coffee Filter Turkey Craft from Reading Confetti. Turkey's feathers are so colorful and so much fun to create!

"Welcome, Fall!" Sign with Coffee Filter Leaves from Frugal Fun for Boys. Beautiful leaves make for a beautiful sign. Kids of any age will enjoy this activity!

Painting with Snow from Happy Hooligans. They were painting coffee filters using markers and snow - such a fantastic painting technique!

Foil Printed Fall Tree Art from Munchkins and Moms. This activity did not include coffee filters. I thought we should try it on filters though - that is a wonderful painting idea!

Fall Craft Idea: Suncatchers from TinkerLab. Problem solving skills and bright colors are at play here!

More preschool painting and process art ideas from My Bright Firefly:

Painting the Moon Process Art
Clothing Preschool Theme: Invitation to Design a Costume
Fall: Paint and Sing


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Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Bats Nocturnal Animals. Coffee Filter Process Art.

Coffee Filter Bats Preschool Craft

Nocturnal animals was our point of interest these days. My Firefly got very creative and involved in painting coffee filters and assembling her flying  bats. Three days of coffee filters and cloth pins was getting under my skin - when she finally settled on the last perfectly engineered bat. She used paper, tape, and several black pins for that one.

Nocturnal animals was a new and exciting area to explore. You can find more of our nocturnal animals crafts and play here: Oliver's Wood: Meet Nocturnal Animals.


Coffee Filter Bats Process Art

My Firefly loves playing with water and colors. This opportunity to paint coffee filters has so many pretty options for some creative process art!



Pictured above:
  • We started by finding the center of a circle with the Do-a-Dot marker. This gave her a nice starting point in creating patterns in a circle.
  • She used markers or brush with water colors for the lines from the center to the edges.
  • Do-a-Dot markers were the favorite: they work nice with water and watercolors, dissolving and spreading with bright colors.
  • She also used an eye dropper in her art - happily!

Nocturnal Animals: Bats

My Firefly was able to color cloth pins black and assemble the bats. I helped with forming bat's wings a little and cutting off semicircles along the edges.


The bats are flying with the help of black thread and tape. They love to relocate: from a light to the window, to the refrigerator.


Do I want to know where they'll go next?


Our coffee filter bats were pleasure to create. Happy crafting this Fall!

More preschool painting and process art ideas from My Bright Firefly:

Painting the Moon Process Art
Clothing Preschool Theme: Invitation to Design a Costume
11 Fantastic Process Art Ideas: Painting Coffee Filters

 

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Monday, October 12, 2015

Nocturnal Animals Preschool Activities: Owl, Badger, and Hedgehog

Owl, Badger, and Hedgehog Preschool Crafts

Nocturnal animals theme is pretty exciting for preschoolers. My Firefly has got a hedgehog and a badger. Both turned out excellent for fine motor skills practice! Our favorite book for this theme is "Oliver's Wood" by Sue Hendra.


Oliver's Wood: Meet Nocturnal Animals

"Oliver's Wood" by Sue Hendra was our inspiration for these activities. Oliver and his friends are busy playing at night. Would they care to see the sun? This is a simple and very happy story!

My Firefly loved exploring nocturnal animals. And I loved that all these crafts and play encouraged her to use her hand muscles. Three-finger grip to pincer grip: great fine motor activities!



Nocturnal Animals: Hedgehog

Pictured above: I introduced her to the three finger grip to pull a hedgehog's nose out of the blob of play dough. First, she showed 3 fingers. Then, she tried to gently pull the dough to form a nose and two indents for eyes. Of course, she had to try several times until she got happy with the nose. An awesome pencil grip practice for this age!



The reward: put a button up on top! For this activity we used play dough, buttons, googly eyes, spaghetti.


Nocturnal Animals: Badger

My Firefly was happy to get new friends for Oliver. I made a badger for her, and she happily took him to bed with her. Then she stopped and said, "I don't want to go to bed because I am nocturnal too. It's time for us to play!" Aren't they creative with their reasoning at bedtime?


I cut two pieces of the bandage tape and made holes in them for badger's eyes. For the nose, I sewed a bead on top of the middle finger. The badger is ready to say "Hi". The "talking badger" is another good practice for the pencil grip.

 

Nocturnal Animals: Owl

We also had our Oliver craft found here: Painting the Moon Processed Art and Handprint Owl.

 
Our favorite Forest Animals preschool activities from My Bright Firefly:
 
 


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Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Clothing Preschool Theme: Invitation to Design a Costume

Clothing Preschool Theme

Clothing preschool theme is very exciting for the little ones: they love exploring and playing with their familiar everyday objects! With this invitation to design a costume, we reviewed colors and patterns, discovered different types of cloths for different occasions (a party dress, pajama for sleeping, a costume for Halloween, etc.). My Firefly's new witch's costume is her new favorite dress-up item!

Clothing preschool theme is the best at the change of the season. We love playing with cloths in our annual hats, scarves, and mittens sensory bin. It can be found here: The Mitten Preschool Activities.


Invitation to Design a Costume

I made a skirt, legs, and shoes using paper, tissue paper, and a shoe lace. My Firefly was very excited when she saw it, and even more excited when she realized that she can "personalize" it as a witch's costume.


The older kids can make it by themselves - no glue required. To make a skirt, I folded two sheets of tissue paper as pictured above. One sheet of construction paper is folded in three to serve as a support for the lace. I punched holes and strung the lace, then made folds and fluffed the tissue paper to form a skirt.


Each leg is a sheet of construction paper cut in two lengthwise and glued together. I cut the bottom of each leg to fit into the shoe. The length of legs was measured to a child and several inches cut off at the top to fit. The legs were taped to the skirt after the stockings and shoes were colored.


Pictured below: Invitation to Design a Costume! Oh, it had to be a witch after reading her favorite "Room on the Broom" so many times... again.


We started by ripping the paper to form fun edges of the skirt. My Firefly used Halloween themed cookie cutters and tempera paint to stamp her fun patterns on the layers of the skirt. She wanted to use her glitter pens and paints to add more random elements. I helped her to place an extra protective paper in between the layers: the painted tissue paper is sticky!


She used oil pastels to color stockings and shoes. Of course, stockings had to have stripes, and shoes got polka dots.

After that was done, I taped legs to the skirt... and we had to run to find a broom!


The life is so much easier when a designer and a model is the same person! She played for quite some time taking selfies and posing with the broom.


Have you picked your Halloween costumes for this season? We have not decided on that yet.

Related articles from My Bright Firefly:

"Stay warm and happy" Sensory Bin
Colorful Creepy Castle: Printing with Blocks
Pattern Blocks Challenge

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Monday, October 5, 2015

Acorns and Squirrels Preschool Writing Activities Tray

Fall Writing Tray: Early Writing through Pretend Play

My Firefly got happily prewriting/ writing/ drawing in this Acorns and Squirrels sand tray. She tried writing trays at different times before. They can be filled with sand, salt, foam. She loved them and worked with them for several minutes max. I know: short attention span. But prewriting doesn't have to be boring; and kids learn better through play - including writing!

Hence, our new fall sensory bin has gone a sand writing tray. It is working nicely! Acorns and Squirrels sand tray is based on the book "Acorns Everywhere!" by Kevin Sherry.

  • Do you want to write a message to the squirrel?
  • No, I am a squirrel, and I want to find acorns.
  • Then what are you writing now?
  • Oh, look, it is "M" is for Mom!


Acorns Everywhere! Preschool Activities

Our sand tray is based on the book "Acorns Everywhere!" by Kevin Sherry. My Firefly loved following the adventures of a squirrel in the fall forest. There are not many words in this book: all the actions are through the pictures, and the repetition of the words makes the book a nice first book for reading!

The squirrel needs to gather... dig.. bury... acorns. That makes her hungry, but she forgets where all the acorns are hidden! Squirrel got scared by the bear, but the bear does not want her acorns, he needs berries.


Acorns and Squirrels Writing Sand Tray

The tray is a plastic serving tray. It is transparent. So I taped fall leaves and acorns themed pictures under the tray. When we drew or wrote in the sand, the pictures underneath became visible and created fun fall impressions.

There is just enough play sand on the tray to cover it in a thin layer. I added some colored sand and glitter on top in yellow, red, and purple colors.

We added some finds from nature to create the fun forest floor. The squirrel is "just pretend", but the toy bear with his berries is there if we need him. Also, there are some Playmobil toys and miniature baskets and buckets.


Preschool Writing Activities Tray

To keep the space open for writing and drawing, there is an additional container for toys. So that My Firefly starts her playing with writing activity, then adds more items to the tray as she goes.

I love how the toys and nature materials are not a distraction for writing. They make this early writing meaningful and engage in writing practice in a fun way.



Do your little ones like their prewriting or early writing activities? Which ones are their favorites?

Related articles from My Bright Firefly:

13 Most Exciting Ideas for Learning with Spiders
30 + Creative Fall Sensory Bins
Tips for Making Coloring Activities Fun

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