Symmetrical Cutting Valentine’s Heart Collages!
Preschool time was fun and full of learning yesterday morning. After two lessons in our Horizon’s Preschool Curriculum (which we love!!!!), it was time for some extra scissor practice. Derek’s scissor skills have improved dramatically over the past few months and it’s possible for him to cut for longer periods of time (more than 2 seconds). I let him choose two colorful sheets of construction paper and we folded them, then drew half-hearts along the seams. I taped the edges closed so he wouldn’t get confused and helped him get his scissors in position correctly. Cutting time!
Cutting is definitely a skill that requires patience to learn, on both of our parts. I find myself getting frustrated after telling him for the 50th time, “Don’t cut the heart in half! Cut around the lines!” He gets frustrated having to slow down and cut careful, concerted lines. He did it, though! Derek was so excited to unfold each new heart! Once they were all cut out, it was time for some gluing! Derek made a lovely symmetrical cutting Valentine’s heart collage!
- Gluing is so fun!
Ethan joined in the fun once he finished his penmanship and phonics lessons. He’s a much quicker and more accurate cutter than Derek and loves rubbing that in. Stinker.
When Derek finished cutting, he wanted to paint. That boy loves to paint EVERYTHING. I got him his paint set and a variety of brushes, rolled up his sleeves, and let him at it.
This was a fun and easy project that kept the boys engaged while also honing their fine-motor skills. Who doesn’t love a little Valentine’s Day art?
So proud!
Festive Thankful Leaves Wreaths to Warm Any Thanksgiving Hearth
Without cute kid art, any holiday hearth is pitifully empty. Utterly lonely. Completely barren. Okay, maybe not barren, but you get the point. We sadly don’t have a hearth in this house, but our kitchen counter-ledge serves as a second-choice. Friday’s school day was all about Thanksgiving and we began our lessons with Thankful Leaves Wreaths. A home seems so much homier when it’s full of carefully crafted kid projects, and I want ours all ready by Thanksgiving to show off to the family. Not only is this project super easy, but it also is fantastic coloring, cutting, and gluing practice. That’s always great for small hands.
Here’s what you need to make your own adorable wreaths this holiday season:
Printer paper or construction paper (print your leaves on white paper and color them, print them on construction paper, or trace leaf shapes on construction paper)
Leaf Templates (I printed ours from www.enchantedlearning.com)
Scissors
Crayons or Markers
To create your fabulous wreath, here’s what you do:
1. Draw a half-circle on the top- center of your paper plate and cut it out. The bottom half is where you’ll write what you’re thankful for and the sides are where you’ll glue your leaves.
2. Color and cut out lots of leaves. Each of my kids colored and cut eight leaves. That was barely enough to cover the sides of the wreath, but it really depends on the size of your paper leaves. Coloring and cutting are both excellent ways to practice fine-motor skills!
3. Glue leaves along the outer-rim of the paper plate.
4. On the lower center area of the paper plate, write “(Child’s name) is thankful for…” and have your child come up with something creative. The boys came up with great ideas quickly and loved it. Alex complained about having to think of another thing to be thankful for since it’s not our first thankful-project. I told her to pick one from our Thankful Tree project that was really meaningful.
Derek had fun decorating his wreath with glitter glue once the leaf-gluing was done and all three outlined their names with glitter-glue. They were occupied for nearly an hour with this project. Happy mom time! Our gleeful little wreaths are hanging in a row on the counter’s edge, celebrating creativity and the spirit of Thanksgiving. I hope our study in thankfulness sticks in their little brains for a while!
Related articles
- Our Thankful Tree: Teaching Kids To Be Thankful for What They Have (homeschoolinghelicoptermama.wordpress.com)
- Thankful Tree Progress Update… Celebrating the Little Things in Life (homeschoolinghelicoptermama.wordpress.com)
Hand-print Turkeys to Brighten Your Day! :-)
What pre-school curriculum would be complete without hand print turkeys to celebrate Thanksgiving? Paint and three-year-olds are always an interesting combination. If you don’t mind paint-covered preschoolers (and tables, clothes, floors, skin, and wherever else it happens to land), this is an awesome keepsake project you should do too. 
First, choose some colorful, washable paints to apply to your child’s hands. We painted the palm and thumb brown for the body and head, then painted the other fingers bright colors for the turkey’s colorful feathers.
Next, carefully press your child’s hand to the construction paper. Apply a little pressure to each finger to make sure each feather comes out nicely. Derek needed a little help with this step.
If you’d like more than one turkey, repeat the above steps. Next, add a beak, a gobble, eyes, legs, and feet. I helped Derek with this. With an older child, they could do this themself.
Ta-da! Here’s our final masterpiece! I love his little handprints and can’t wait to put this in my scrapbook. Until then, it is proudly displayed on our counter-top. Derek had a blast and put the remainder of the paint to good use. First he painted another picture and then…
He turned himself into an Indian Brave. Now, what did I say about paint getting everywhere? 
Our Thankful Tree: Teaching Kids To Be Thankful for What They Have
Our Thankful Tree
In today’s fast-paced world of entitled kids, play rooms stock-full of flashing gadgets, and parents who give into junior’s every desire, it may seem odd to teach kids to be thankful for what they have. Isn’t that an old fashioned, outdated belief? That’s how it seems every time I see an ungrateful, spoiled little monster screaming uncontrollably at the toy store and their doting parent giving in because their child “deserves” whatever they want. When did this happen? Our ancestors would be ashamed.
November is a season of thanks and the perfect time to remember to thank God for the gifts he’s given us. Even if you’re not religious, it’s a great time to recall where we came from as Americans and be thankful for the great things we have today. The pilgrims endured great hardship to colonize this land. They suffered extreme hardships like disease and starvation and braved the elements in a time when there weren’t big, insulated homes and Target around the corner full of must-have cold-weather gear. November is a time to remember that we’re lucky and also to remember those who are less fortunate.
I’m far from perfect. My kids are very well-off and have many more toys and gadgets than they could possibly ”need” and I’m not that great at drilling thankfulness into their heads. While they’re not screaming beasts who demand new toys at every outing (we do believe in swatting when required…), they have a ways to go in the thankfulness department.
Borrowing an idea from my awesome and super-creative friend Laura, Alex and I constructed a “Thankful Tree” on our garage door this evening from a brown grocery bag and lots of tape. We drew leaf shapes on colorful construction paper and cut them out, then gathered the other children around.
Alex helps construct the Thankful Tree
Each day throughout the month of November, each of us will write something we’re thankful for on a cutout leaf and tape it to the tree. Alex was exuberant and wanted to make 30 leaves tonight. Not so fast, kiddo. This is a learning process. She quickly wrote “My family” on her thankful leaf and was the first to tape hers to the Thankful Tree.
Derek immediately grasped the concept of being thankful and was so cute. I asked him, “What are you thankful for, buddy?” His reply? “I is thankful that mommy made me a paper leaf.” Okay, then. He was so happy with himself for his creativity that I wrote it down on his Thankful Leaf and helped him tape it to the Tree too. It’s a start!
Ethan didn’t grasp the concept of being thankful no matter how many ways I rephrased it and how many examples I gave him. His answers made no sense, like “I will be good” or “I cry.” Hmmm. Eventually, I got “I like a good meal” out of him and figured that was a good start.
Hubby and I also wrote Thankful Leaves and added them to the tree. This is a lesson for all of us in realizing the blessings and richness around us. It’s a lesson in being happy for what we have. It’s a perfect lead-up to Thanksgiving and a way to bond as a family as well.
Thankful Leaves
We should be thankful every day for the glorious life we have. We’re mostly healthy and always have plenty to eat. We have a roof over our heads and clean clothes to wear. Sometimes we don’t stop to realize these things. Yet so many people go without these necessities. It’s time to slow down and smell the roses, so to speak.
What do you and your family have to be thankful for this year?
Our Thankful Tree
It’s a Bright, Bright Sunshiny Day! Fun Hand Print Sunshine Craft
Who doesn’t love little kid handprints? I know I do. I love the hand print ornaments and projects my kids made in the past because their hands were so tiny. They remind me just how much my kids have grown. I know I’ll treasure these little mementos of their childhood forever.
This morning, we began our school day reading books about the sun. We had a blast with some cute spacey finger plays and had a discussion about our closest star and why it’s important to life on Earth. To tie in an art project, we made paper plate sunshines! They turned out super cute, were very easy to make, and used basic craft supplies. I couldn’t resist sharing this one!
Hand print Paper Plate Suns
Supplies:
Paper plates
Construction paper (yellow, orange, or red)
Pencils for tracing hands
Yellow paint and brushes or sponges
Markers or crayons for making faces
Scissors
Glue
Directions:
1. Paint the back side of a paper plate yellow. We used cut-up sponges and finger paint.
2. Trace your child’s hand on construction paper lots of times. I traced Alex’s hand more than Ethan’s because he has less patience when it comes to cutting them out. Cutting hones fine-motor skills and is very important!
3. Cut out handprints. Encourage kids to do this themselves. Practice makes perfect!
4. Glue the handprints to the paper plate. We glued ours to the front edges so that they peeked around the side. These are the sun’s rays.
5. After the paint dried, each kid drew a face or design on their sun.
That’s it! It’s easy, fun, and builds fine-motor skills. This project could easily be altered to make hand-print flowers too. Enjoy!
