Easy Halloween Shaving Cream Sensory Activity

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Click here to read Easy Halloween Shaving Cream Sensory Activity on Hands On As We Grow

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Get goopy and messy with a fun Halloween shaving cream sensory activity for preschoolers and toddlers!

I love a good sensory activity! Halloween is a great time of year to get a little messy, too.

This fun Halloween shaving cream sensory activity is the perfect combo of messy fun and holiday spirit!

Easy Halloween Shaving Cream Sensory Activity

Sensory activities are such a fun way to help little ones explore and learn.

George and I had a little time while Henry was at school, so we decided to discover color mixing with a fun sensory activity!

This one is pretty simple. It’s just shaving cream on a baking sheet.

I added food coloring in orange, red, and yellow to add some Halloween spirit!

George was very hesitant to touch it at first. Until he held out his hand and I squirted the shaving cream directly in his hand, he wouldn’t touch what was in the pan.

That opened the gate though. He was all about the slimy shaving cream then!

As he was playing, I added some school glue (affiliate link) to the mix. This made it a little stickier, slightly a different texture.

It also made it into puffy paint.

I grabbed some scrapbook paper in Halloween colors. Orange, yellow and white.

Then, I showed George how to transfer the shaving cream and paint it with his hands.

That was even messier fun for him! George spent a lot of time on the first paper.

Globbing on the shaving cream. Smearing it around. Exploring it further.

Once the first one was covered though, he asked for another piece of paper.

Then it became a game. To cover it all with shaving cream, as fast as he could, smearing it quickly to all the corners.

Then he handed it to me. Asking for “More!”

Lots and lots of paper got shaving cream smeared all over.

Lots and lots of George got smeared all over as well with shaving cream! He was pretty much covered from head to toe.

Cleaning up was fun!

Here are my Top 10 Indoor Activities for Toddlers to play!

However, once we got all cleaned up in a new change of clothes, I remembered I wanted to add a little glitter to the papers while the shaving cream was still wet.

George dove into it and sprinkled glitter all over. He only got slightly messy this time at least!

Yet later that day…. there was yet another change of clothing (stay tuned!). The fun he had with the shaving cream though made it so worth it!

How can you not love this, even when he’s a mess?

We’ve made shaving cream prints before, and cut them out for Easter eggs. With that method, we scraped off the shaving cream to leave a marbled effect from the food coloring.

This time we left the shaving cream, or puffy paint, on to dry.

What shall we make with our Halloween shaving cream papers?

Easy Halloween Shaving Cream Sensory Activity

Hands On As We Grow https://ift.tt/2xJST8w

Click here to read Easy Halloween Shaving Cream Sensory Activity on Hands On As We Grow

---

Get goopy and messy with a fun Halloween shaving cream sensory activity for preschoolers and toddlers!

I love a good sensory activity! Halloween is a great time of year to get a little messy, too.

This fun Halloween shaving cream sensory activity is the perfect combo of messy fun and holiday spirit!

Easy Halloween Shaving Cream Sensory Activity

Sensory activities are such a fun way to help little ones explore and learn.

George and I had a little time while Henry was at school, so we decided to discover color mixing with a fun sensory activity!

This one is pretty simple. It’s just shaving cream on a baking sheet.

I added food coloring in orange, red, and yellow to add some Halloween spirit!

George was very hesitant to touch it at first. Until he held out his hand and I squirted the shaving cream directly in his hand, he wouldn’t touch what was in the pan.

That opened the gate though. He was all about the slimy shaving cream then!

As he was playing, I added some school glue (affiliate link) to the mix. This made it a little stickier, slightly a different texture.

It also made it into puffy paint.

I grabbed some scrapbook paper in Halloween colors. Orange, yellow and white.

Then, I showed George how to transfer the shaving cream and paint it with his hands.

That was even messier fun for him! George spent a lot of time on the first paper.

Globbing on the shaving cream. Smearing it around. Exploring it further.

Once the first one was covered though, he asked for another piece of paper.

Then it became a game. To cover it all with shaving cream, as fast as he could, smearing it quickly to all the corners.

Then he handed it to me. Asking for “More!”

Lots and lots of paper got shaving cream smeared all over.

Lots and lots of George got smeared all over as well with shaving cream! He was pretty much covered from head to toe.

Cleaning up was fun!

Here are my Top 10 Indoor Activities for Toddlers to play!

However, once we got all cleaned up in a new change of clothes, I remembered I wanted to add a little glitter to the papers while the shaving cream was still wet.

George dove into it and sprinkled glitter all over. He only got slightly messy this time at least!

Yet later that day…. there was yet another change of clothing (stay tuned!). The fun he had with the shaving cream though made it so worth it!

How can you not love this, even when he’s a mess?

We’ve made shaving cream prints before, and cut them out for Easter eggs. With that method, we scraped off the shaving cream to leave a marbled effect from the food coloring.

This time we left the shaving cream, or puffy paint, on to dry.

What shall we make with our Halloween shaving cream papers?

Simple and Fun Disappearing Letters Chalk Activity for Preschoolers

Hands On As We Grow https://ift.tt/2pyXiVx

Click here to read Simple and Fun Disappearing Letters Chalk Activity for Preschoolers on Hands On As We Grow

---

Practice the alphabet and letter sounds with a fun disappearing letters chalk activity from our Member of the Month, Liz!

It might seem simple from the outside looking in, but being a stay-at-home parent can be challenging! Our Member of the Month, Liz, knows just how tough parenting 24/7 can be!

When she was stuck for fun and easy activities, she turned to The Activity Room for inspiration.

Liz has been an active member of The Activity Room’s Community for just about a year. In that time, she’s found simple ways to engage her son, Kade, age 3.

He’s an active preschool-aged child, so keeping him busy every day is a full-time job! Liz loves the engaging and fun activities in the monthly plans from The Activity Room.

But planning enough activities for a busy child can be overwhelming!

“I felt like I was all over the place,” explains Liz. “Being a new parent, you don’t have anything to draw from, as far as past experience. I felt like I needed something more tangible.”

Enter The Activity Room!

“I was super excited, and I still am, about all the activities that are available,” Liz says. “(The Activity Room) was something that I hadn’t run into before! This takes it a step further and it’s more interactive.”

Having all these resources on hand, with the current monthly plans or in the archives, makes Liz’s mom-life so much easier!

“The biggest reason for doing activities with Kade is to connect with him in a creative way,” Liz shares. “It’s fun for me, too!”

Being in The Activity Room has also allowed Liz to relax and go with the flow.

“It wasn’t that fun because I was trying to control it too much,” explains Liz. “Now, I let go of that control a little bit and let it go naturally wherever it needs to go.”

Mostly, The Activity Room helps Liz, and other busy moms, make it incredibly easy to be hands-on at home or on the road. Last year, Liz took The Activity Room Challenges on vacation with her!

“When we were in Florida, we were able to fit it in a little bit,” said Liz. “I was trying to keep Kade busy. While we were in the hotel, I would try to do these little activities, like Letter Stomp, that he really enjoyed. Those activities came in handy. It was so nice to have it as a resource!”

“I am so thankful to you, Jamie and crew, for making your easy to create crafts and activities available to stay-at-home moms like me!!”

Let’s Meet Liz

How many kids do you have and how old are they?

One 3 yr old boy

How long have you been in The Activity Room?

1 year

What is your favorite activity you’ve done in The Activity Room?

Letter stomp

What’s your favorite thing to do with your kids when you get a few moments?

Snowball fight with rolled up socks

What’s your best tip for doing activities with your kids?

Let the activity go where it’s supposed to naturally.

If you were to tell a friend about The Activity Room, what would you say to them?

The Activity Room is very helpful to me! I struggled with ways to keep my child busy at home.

I enjoy using the activities for playtime at home on days when we don’t feel like going outside, sick time, or bad weather.

It eases my mind knowing I have your wonderful site as a great resource to keep my very active 3 year old engaged!

Share your favorite quote

If you know who you are and what you want in life, the less things bother you.

Disappearing Letters Chalk Activity for Preschoolers

I am not sure if this was featured in the Activity Room, but we love this fun alphabet activity!

First, I helped my son write the alphabet in chalk outside on the driveway this summer a few times. Kade and I took turns writing each letter.

As we wrote, we said each letter name and sound out loud together. For a challenge or older kids, you could ask your child to name something that starts with each letter!

Then, I took a spray bottle of water and showed him how to spray each letter to make it disappear.

Once all the letters were gone, we moved to a drier spot and started all over again!

This disappearing letters chalk activity was just so much fun! We spent close to an hour on this activity and Kade loved it!

What is your favorite alphabet activity? Find tons of learning and activity resources in The Activity Room!

Simple and Fun Disappearing Letters Chalk Activity for Preschoolers

Hands On As We Grow https://ift.tt/2pyXiVx

Click here to read Simple and Fun Disappearing Letters Chalk Activity for Preschoolers on Hands On As We Grow

---

Practice the alphabet and letter sounds with a fun disappearing letters chalk activity from our Member of the Month, Liz!

It might seem simple from the outside looking in, but being a stay-at-home parent can be challenging! Our Member of the Month, Liz, knows just how tough parenting 24/7 can be!

When she was stuck for fun and easy activities, she turned to The Activity Room for inspiration.

Liz has been an active member of The Activity Room’s Community for just about a year. In that time, she’s found simple ways to engage her son, Kade, age 3.

He’s an active preschool-aged child, so keeping him busy every day is a full-time job! Liz loves the engaging and fun activities in the monthly plans from The Activity Room.

But planning enough activities for a busy child can be overwhelming!

“I felt like I was all over the place,” explains Liz. “Being a new parent, you don’t have anything to draw from, as far as past experience. I felt like I needed something more tangible.”

Enter The Activity Room!

“I was super excited, and I still am, about all the activities that are available,” Liz says. “(The Activity Room) was something that I hadn’t run into before! This takes it a step further and it’s more interactive.”

Having all these resources on hand, with the current monthly plans or in the archives, makes Liz’s mom-life so much easier!

“The biggest reason for doing activities with Kade is to connect with him in a creative way,” Liz shares. “It’s fun for me, too!”

Being in The Activity Room has also allowed Liz to relax and go with the flow.

“It wasn’t that fun because I was trying to control it too much,” explains Liz. “Now, I let go of that control a little bit and let it go naturally wherever it needs to go.”

Mostly, The Activity Room helps Liz, and other busy moms, make it incredibly easy to be hands-on at home or on the road. Last year, Liz took The Activity Room Challenges on vacation with her!

“When we were in Florida, we were able to fit it in a little bit,” said Liz. “I was trying to keep Kade busy. While we were in the hotel, I would try to do these little activities, like Letter Stomp, that he really enjoyed. Those activities came in handy. It was so nice to have it as a resource!”

“I am so thankful to you, Jamie and crew, for making your easy to create crafts and activities available to stay-at-home moms like me!!”

Let’s Meet Liz

How many kids do you have and how old are they?

One 3 yr old boy

How long have you been in The Activity Room?

1 year

What is your favorite activity you’ve done in The Activity Room?

Letter stomp

What’s your favorite thing to do with your kids when you get a few moments?

Snowball fight with rolled up socks

What’s your best tip for doing activities with your kids?

Let the activity go where it’s supposed to naturally.

If you were to tell a friend about The Activity Room, what would you say to them?

The Activity Room is very helpful to me! I struggled with ways to keep my child busy at home.

I enjoy using the activities for playtime at home on days when we don’t feel like going outside, sick time, or bad weather.

It eases my mind knowing I have your wonderful site as a great resource to keep my very active 3 year old engaged!

Share your favorite quote

If you know who you are and what you want in life, the less things bother you.

Disappearing Letters Chalk Activity for Preschoolers

I am not sure if this was featured in the Activity Room, but we love this fun alphabet activity!

First, I helped my son write the alphabet in chalk outside on the driveway this summer a few times. Kade and I took turns writing each letter.

As we wrote, we said each letter name and sound out loud together. For a challenge or older kids, you could ask your child to name something that starts with each letter!

Then, I took a spray bottle of water and showed him how to spray each letter to make it disappear.

Once all the letters were gone, we moved to a drier spot and started all over again!

This disappearing letters chalk activity was just so much fun! We spent close to an hour on this activity and Kade loved it!

What is your favorite alphabet activity? Find tons of learning and activity resources in The Activity Room!

20+ Super Cute Batty Crafts, Snacks, and Activities for Halloween

Hands On As We Grow https://ift.tt/2N02o6g

Click here to read 20+ Super Cute Batty Crafts, Snacks, and Activities for Halloween on Hands On As We Grow

---

Get in the Halloween spirit with super cute batty crafts, snacks, and activities from Brigitte that are just perfect for kids to make for Halloween!

Tis the season for pumpkins, apples, skeleton bones, costumes, and bats.

Yes, bats! Have fun learning about those cute (okay, maybe creepy) fluffy mammals that fly through the air with these batty crafts, snacks, and activities.

Batty Crafts

Your house will swoop into Halloween with these fun batty crafts for kids to make!

• Spruce up your refrigerator with a bat magnet as seen on The Inspiration Edit using a black bottle cap and other supplies.
• Use a different type of bottle cap to create this bottle top bat as seen on Love and Lollipops.
• Use cupcake liners to create cute cupcake liner bats as seen on I Heart Crafty Things.
• Hang paper plate bats as seen on A Dab of Glue Will Do from your ceiling.
• Reuse an egg carton by creating this egg carton bat from Crafty Morning.
• Have fun creating another egg carton bat as seen on Crafts by Courtney.
• Reuse a toilet paper roll to create this cute hanging bat craft as seen on Buggy and Buddy.
• Practice fine motor skills by creating a yarn wrapped bat as seen on Housing a Forest.
• Create an origami bat like the one seen on Red Ted Art.

Batty Snacks

You might not want to eat the same food as bats, but everyone can enjoy bat-themed treats! Which one of these batty snacks will you enjoy?

• Create a simple bat brownie as seen on Keeper of the Cheerios with prepackaged brownies, construction paper, and googly eyes.
• Make a simple bat pudding treat as seen on I Heart Crafty Things using a premade chocolate pudding cup and a few other basic supplies.
• The bat oreo truffles found on One Sweet Appetite require more preparation, but the end result looks delicious.
• Enjoy even more chocolatey goodness with this chocolate bat as seen on Hungry Happenings.
• If you are looking for a bat treat that doesn’t feature chocolate, you may enjoy bat cinnamon tortilla crisps as seen on Simply Recipes.
• You may get a little messy with these ice cream sandwich bats as seen on Laura’s Little House Tips.
• Create fruit bats (or maybe even veggie bats) as seen on Copy-Kids for a healthy snack. Before enjoying these healthy treats, you may want to use a tape measure to show the length of the flying fox bat’s wingspan of around five feet. Aren’t you glad these giant bats eat fruit?
• Make mini bat treats with only four ingredients as seen on Chelsea’s Messy Apron.
• Let your little one create a bat snack cup to fill with tasty treats as seen on Alice and Lois.

Batty Activities

Enjoy some batty activities to practice number and letter recognition, fine motor skills, counting, and more.

• Practice number and letter recognition and fine motor skills by taking bats out of a bat cave as seen on Mom Explores the Smokies.
• Practice counting with a bat counting game as seen on Fantastic Fun and Learning.
• Reuse your pieces from the bat counting activity and have fun with a word matching game as seen on Fantastic Fun and Learning.
• Have fun playing and practicing fine motor skills with this bat sensory bin shown on Modern Preschool.
• Practice counting skills with this bat counting activity as seen on Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas.
• Have you ever heard the phrase “blind as a bat”? Well, bats aren’t really blind. They do use echolocation, though. Learn more about echolocation with these easy echolocation activities shown on Preschool Powol Packets.

Which batty craft, snack, or activity will you enjoy right off the bat?

20+ Super Cute Batty Crafts, Snacks, and Activities for Halloween

Hands On As We Grow https://ift.tt/2N02o6g

Click here to read 20+ Super Cute Batty Crafts, Snacks, and Activities for Halloween on Hands On As We Grow

---

Get in the Halloween spirit with super cute batty crafts, snacks, and activities from Brigitte that are just perfect for kids to make for Halloween!

Tis the season for pumpkins, apples, skeleton bones, costumes, and bats.

Yes, bats! Have fun learning about those cute (okay, maybe creepy) fluffy mammals that fly through the air with these batty crafts, snacks, and activities.

Batty Crafts

Your house will swoop into Halloween with these fun batty crafts for kids to make!

• Spruce up your refrigerator with a bat magnet as seen on The Inspiration Edit using a black bottle cap and other supplies.
• Use a different type of bottle cap to create this bottle top bat as seen on Love and Lollipops.
• Use cupcake liners to create cute cupcake liner bats as seen on I Heart Crafty Things.
• Hang paper plate bats as seen on A Dab of Glue Will Do from your ceiling.
• Reuse an egg carton by creating this egg carton bat from Crafty Morning.
• Have fun creating another egg carton bat as seen on Crafts by Courtney.
• Reuse a toilet paper roll to create this cute hanging bat craft as seen on Buggy and Buddy.
• Practice fine motor skills by creating a yarn wrapped bat as seen on Housing a Forest.
• Create an origami bat like the one seen on Red Ted Art.

Batty Snacks

You might not want to eat the same food as bats, but everyone can enjoy bat-themed treats! Which one of these batty snacks will you enjoy?

• Create a simple bat brownie as seen on Keeper of the Cheerios with prepackaged brownies, construction paper, and googly eyes.
• Make a simple bat pudding treat as seen on I Heart Crafty Things using a premade chocolate pudding cup and a few other basic supplies.
• The bat oreo truffles found on One Sweet Appetite require more preparation, but the end result looks delicious.
• Enjoy even more chocolatey goodness with this chocolate bat as seen on Hungry Happenings.
• If you are looking for a bat treat that doesn’t feature chocolate, you may enjoy bat cinnamon tortilla crisps as seen on Simply Recipes.
• You may get a little messy with these ice cream sandwich bats as seen on Laura’s Little House Tips.
• Create fruit bats (or maybe even veggie bats) as seen on Copy-Kids for a healthy snack. Before enjoying these healthy treats, you may want to use a tape measure to show the length of the flying fox bat’s wingspan of around five feet. Aren’t you glad these giant bats eat fruit?
• Make mini bat treats with only four ingredients as seen on Chelsea’s Messy Apron.
• Let your little one create a bat snack cup to fill with tasty treats as seen on Alice and Lois.

Batty Activities

Enjoy some batty activities to practice number and letter recognition, fine motor skills, counting, and more.

• Practice number and letter recognition and fine motor skills by taking bats out of a bat cave as seen on Mom Explores the Smokies.
• Practice counting with a bat counting game as seen on Fantastic Fun and Learning.
• Reuse your pieces from the bat counting activity and have fun with a word matching game as seen on Fantastic Fun and Learning.
• Have fun playing and practicing fine motor skills with this bat sensory bin shown on Modern Preschool.
• Practice counting skills with this bat counting activity as seen on Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas.
• Have you ever heard the phrase “blind as a bat”? Well, bats aren’t really blind. They do use echolocation, though. Learn more about echolocation with these easy echolocation activities shown on Preschool Powol Packets.

Which batty craft, snack, or activity will you enjoy right off the bat?

Super Simple Paper Plate Letter Learning Activity for Preschoolers

Hands On As We Grow https://ift.tt/2AfDrhN

Click here to read Super Simple Paper Plate Letter Learning Activity for Preschoolers on Hands On As We Grow

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Learning letters doesn’t have to be worksheets and drills. Try a fun hands-on paper plate letter learning activity to help your preschooler build letter recognition!

Letters are a funny thing. They’re just a shape, a squiggle, a design… but they mean something.

Getting kids to recognize letters takes repetition. I love the letter learning activities we’ve done in the past, like Find the Letter on the Heart.

This paper plate letter learning activity is a super simplified version of my other find the letter activities.

This idea came during a recent 7 Day Challenge! A challenger suggested laminating a pumpkin to be able to redo it over and over with different letters.

I love that idea!

Going off of that, I thought of paper plates. They’re cheap and easy to keep on hand.

Super Simple Paper Plate Letter Learning Activity for Preschoolers

First, write four letters around a paper plate, several times each. Then, just call out which letter to find and your child can paper clip it.

This is another variation on that.

My new paper plate letter learning activity is simpler, too. It doesn’t take the refined fine motor skills of using a paper clip or clothespin.

On one side of the paper plate, I wrote the letter “e.” On the other side, I wrote the letter “c.”

This means I can use this activity with two different letters, and more than once!

Around the edges of both sides of the plate, I wrote the letters “e,” “c,” and “a.” I added the extra letter make this activity slightly more advanced.

Space the letters at about the same intervals.

Then I cut slits between each letter.

Next, I gave the plate to Louis. He laid it with the letter “e” side up first.

Remember how I said that letters are just marks, squiggles and such? Well, that’s true to a preschooler that doesn’t know what they mean yet.

Your job while doing letter learning activities is to put meaning to the squiggles.

Before starting the activity, introduce those squiggles to your child.

I showed Louis the plate and said:

“This is the letter ‘e.'”

I pointed to the letter in the middle of the plate.

“Can you find any other places with letter ‘e’?”

He found the letter “e” on the plate flaps and folded them toward the center.

When he was done, he flipped it over. Then, we did the same thing with the letter “c” on the other side.

It’s so quick to prep, that I made another plate with the letters “s” and “t.”

For this paper plate letter learning activity, I chose to have Louis work on lowercase letters. I just wanted to introduce lower case letters, no other reason.

You could make this paper plate activity with anything though! Numbers, shapes, sight words, you name it!

You could even use quick addition/subtraction facts, like my oldest is currently working on.

I would put the total, like 15, in the center of the plate. Then he could find all the problems that add/subtract to equal 15.

What would you make this paper plate learning activity about?

Super Simple Paper Plate Letter Learning Activity for Preschoolers

Hands On As We Grow https://ift.tt/2AfDrhN

Click here to read Super Simple Paper Plate Letter Learning Activity for Preschoolers on Hands On As We Grow

---

Learning letters doesn’t have to be worksheets and drills. Try a fun hands-on paper plate letter learning activity to help your preschooler build letter recognition!

Letters are a funny thing. They’re just a shape, a squiggle, a design… but they mean something.

Getting kids to recognize letters takes repetition. I love the letter learning activities we’ve done in the past, like Find the Letter on the Heart.

This paper plate letter learning activity is a super simplified version of my other find the letter activities.

This idea came during a recent 7 Day Challenge! A challenger suggested laminating a pumpkin to be able to redo it over and over with different letters.

I love that idea!

Going off of that, I thought of paper plates. They’re cheap and easy to keep on hand.

Super Simple Paper Plate Letter Learning Activity for Preschoolers

First, write four letters around a paper plate, several times each. Then, just call out which letter to find and your child can paper clip it.

This is another variation on that.

My new paper plate letter learning activity is simpler, too. It doesn’t take the refined fine motor skills of using a paper clip or clothespin.

On one side of the paper plate, I wrote the letter “e.” On the other side, I wrote the letter “c.”

This means I can use this activity with two different letters, and more than once!

Around the edges of both sides of the plate, I wrote the letters “e,” “c,” and “a.” I added the extra letter make this activity slightly more advanced.

Space the letters at about the same intervals.

Then I cut slits between each letter.

Next, I gave the plate to Louis. He laid it with the letter “e” side up first.

Remember how I said that letters are just marks, squiggles and such? Well, that’s true to a preschooler that doesn’t know what they mean yet.

Your job while doing letter learning activities is to put meaning to the squiggles.

Before starting the activity, introduce those squiggles to your child.

I showed Louis the plate and said:

“This is the letter ‘e.'”

I pointed to the letter in the middle of the plate.

“Can you find any other places with letter ‘e’?”

He found the letter “e” on the plate flaps and folded them toward the center.

When he was done, he flipped it over. Then, we did the same thing with the letter “c” on the other side.

It’s so quick to prep, that I made another plate with the letters “s” and “t.”

For this paper plate letter learning activity, I chose to have Louis work on lowercase letters. I just wanted to introduce lower case letters, no other reason.

You could make this paper plate activity with anything though! Numbers, shapes, sight words, you name it!

You could even use quick addition/subtraction facts, like my oldest is currently working on.

I would put the total, like 15, in the center of the plate. Then he could find all the problems that add/subtract to equal 15.

What would you make this paper plate learning activity about?

42 Stunning Leaf Crafts for Kids to Make

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Click here to read 42 Stunning Leaf Crafts for Kids to Make on Hands On As We Grow

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Vibrantly colored leaves are a beautiful and fun seasonal craft project for kids! We love these leaf crafts that are just perfect any time of the year.

We are blessed here in Iowa to have four distinct seasons. Fall is a favorite!

I love making crafts that use the beautiful colors of the Fall leaves. Reds, oranges, yellows, and even some last hints of green.

So pretty!

I love Fall the most, but these winter activities are super cute, too!

42 Stunning Leaf Crafts for Kids to Make

I love these colorful Fall leaf crafts for kids to make! There’s something for everyone, too.

From painting to suncatchers to working with clay, you and your child are sure to find a fun fall craft to do together!

Are pumpkins more your thing? Check out our 35 ways to play, learn and decorate pumpkins!

42 Stunning Leaf Crafts for Kids to Make

Hands On As We Grow https://ift.tt/2fRhMaJ

Click here to read 42 Stunning Leaf Crafts for Kids to Make on Hands On As We Grow

---

Vibrantly colored leaves are a beautiful and fun seasonal craft project for kids! We love these leaf crafts that are just perfect any time of the year.

We are blessed here in Iowa to have four distinct seasons. Fall is a favorite!

I love making crafts that use the beautiful colors of the Fall leaves. Reds, oranges, yellows, and even some last hints of green.

So pretty!

I love Fall the most, but these winter activities are super cute, too!

42 Stunning Leaf Crafts for Kids to Make

I love these colorful Fall leaf crafts for kids to make! There’s something for everyone, too.

From painting to suncatchers to working with clay, you and your child are sure to find a fun fall craft to do together!

Are pumpkins more your thing? Check out our 35 ways to play, learn and decorate pumpkins!

Boost Pre-Writing Skills with an Art Dice Creative Activity

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Click here to read Boost Pre-Writing Skills with an Art Dice Creative Activity on Hands On As We Grow

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Art dice are a fun tool for your child to develop their pre-writing skills while creating some fun art at the same time! Try this fun activity from Lisa to work on these early learning skills.

My boys love rolling dice in board games and learning activities. The natural anticipation of what they will land on makes learning fun!

This open-ended activity with many different possibilities will have your child wanting to create for hours!

Boost Pre-Writing Skills with an Art Dice Creative Activity

I am always looking for opportunities for my kindergartner to develop his writing skills. So his activity was perfect for him!

My eight-year-old also jumped in on it, too!

Our Art Dice Creative Activity needed:

• Wooden blocks OR regular dice OR jumbo dice
• Paper (plus extra if you’re covering up traditional or numbered dice)
• Tape (only if you’re covering dice with paper)
• Paint (if  you’re re-painting a jumbo dice)
• Markers
• Kid’s art supplies

I converted two plain wooden blocks into dice because that is what I had on hand to use. If you have regular dice, use tape and paper overlay to cover up the sides.

If you would like to plan ahead, most dollar stores carry jumbo sized dice which are so fun for children. You can paint the dice one single color before you add the “art.”

DIY Art Dice

On whatever dice you’re using, you’ll be adding different types of art elements.

On my first dice, I covered each side with different lines: vertical, horizontal, diagonal.

I also made sure there were different patterns and lengths: straight, squiggly, round, short, long.

Drawing lines of all shapes and sizes is a great pre-writing activity for your preschoolers and kindergartners. It is also great practice for children to develop their pencil grasp.

On my second dice, I colored dots on each side with a different color using markers. The goal of this dice is to add color to the art.

How to Play Your Art Dice Creative Activity

I set up a long sheet of paper on our big dining room table for him to work on.

I like to give my children a large surface to create with when doing any art activity.

Big art allows children more freedom to create!

I instructed my five-year-old to roll both dice at the same time. He just loved shaking them in his hand and the anticipation of what was to come.

On his first roll, I told him that whatever side the dice landed on, he could draw that line in the color that it told him to.

That was it!

He had complete freedom in deciding where and in what orientation he wanted to draw the lines.

As he continued to roll, I observed that he would pass on a certain line and roll the dice again until he landed on the one he wanted to add to his picture.

This told me he was already creating a picture in his mind that he wanted to put to paper!

This was such a great open-ended activity for my children.

It was an activity that was perfect for kids on different developmental levels. They were both able to participate equally and they were both engaged throughout the duration of their creating!

Keep Your Art Dice Rolling

Here are some suggestions to try and extend the activity even more:

• Have your child practice their scissor and gluing skills by cutting up their picture and recreating it through a collage.
• Use the finished picture and have your child create a story about the images they have drawn.  Storytelling is such a great activity for your child to develop verbal and expressive communication.
• Turn it into collaborative art! If you have more than two children, have them take turns and share one piece of paper. They will have so much fun creating a picture together!

What other activities does this Art Dice activity inspire you to try? Share your ideas in the comments!

Boost Pre-Writing Skills with an Art Dice Creative Activity

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Art dice are a fun tool for your child to develop their pre-writing skills while creating some fun art at the same time! Try this fun activity from Lisa to work on these early learning skills.

My boys love rolling dice in board games and learning activities. The natural anticipation of what they will land on makes learning fun!

This open-ended activity with many different possibilities will have your child wanting to create for hours!

Boost Pre-Writing Skills with an Art Dice Creative Activity

I am always looking for opportunities for my kindergartner to develop his writing skills. So his activity was perfect for him!

My eight-year-old also jumped in on it, too!

Our Art Dice Creative Activity needed:

• Wooden blocks OR regular dice OR jumbo dice
• Paper (plus extra if you’re covering up traditional or numbered dice)
• Tape (only if you’re covering dice with paper)
• Paint (if  you’re re-painting a jumbo dice)
• Markers
• Kid’s art supplies

I converted two plain wooden blocks into dice because that is what I had on hand to use. If you have regular dice, use tape and paper overlay to cover up the sides.

If you would like to plan ahead, most dollar stores carry jumbo sized dice which are so fun for children. You can paint the dice one single color before you add the “art.”

DIY Art Dice

On whatever dice you’re using, you’ll be adding different types of art elements.

On my first dice, I covered each side with different lines: vertical, horizontal, diagonal.

I also made sure there were different patterns and lengths: straight, squiggly, round, short, long.

Drawing lines of all shapes and sizes is a great pre-writing activity for your preschoolers and kindergartners. It is also great practice for children to develop their pencil grasp.

On my second dice, I colored dots on each side with a different color using markers. The goal of this dice is to add color to the art.

How to Play Your Art Dice Creative Activity

I set up a long sheet of paper on our big dining room table for him to work on.

I like to give my children a large surface to create with when doing any art activity.

Big art allows children more freedom to create!

I instructed my five-year-old to roll both dice at the same time. He just loved shaking them in his hand and the anticipation of what was to come.

On his first roll, I told him that whatever side the dice landed on, he could draw that line in the color that it told him to.

That was it!

He had complete freedom in deciding where and in what orientation he wanted to draw the lines.

As he continued to roll, I observed that he would pass on a certain line and roll the dice again until he landed on the one he wanted to add to his picture.

This told me he was already creating a picture in his mind that he wanted to put to paper!

This was such a great open-ended activity for my children.

It was an activity that was perfect for kids on different developmental levels. They were both able to participate equally and they were both engaged throughout the duration of their creating!

Keep Your Art Dice Rolling

Here are some suggestions to try and extend the activity even more:

• Have your child practice their scissor and gluing skills by cutting up their picture and recreating it through a collage.
• Use the finished picture and have your child create a story about the images they have drawn.  Storytelling is such a great activity for your child to develop verbal and expressive communication.
• Turn it into collaborative art! If you have more than two children, have them take turns and share one piece of paper. They will have so much fun creating a picture together!

What other activities does this Art Dice activity inspire you to try? Share your ideas in the comments!

Super Simple Autumn Landscape Art Activity for Kids

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Click here to read Super Simple Autumn Landscape Art Activity for Kids on Hands On As We Grow

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Practice different painting techniques, with a colorful Fall twist, when you try a fun and easy Autumn landscape art activity from Julie!

With Autumn in the air, now is the perfect time to break out some new painting techniques!

We got cozy at our kitchen table and created some art to display for Fall.

Super Simple Autumn Landscape Art Activity for Kids

My preschooler loved the big, bold colors of scrape painting, and enjoyed transforming his blank paper into a colorful autumn landscape art, complete with fall leaves!

We made our Autumn landscape with:

• white art paper
• tape (clear or painter’s tape would work well)
• assorted paint colors
• credit card or thick plastic card
• Q-Tips
• rubber band

Autumn Landscape Art Art Activity

To begin with, you should know that we used a total of three different painting techniques for our fall tree art. Yes, three!

I know this sounds overwhelming for a preschooler or young child, but I was so impressed by how well my four-year-old son did.

I think the key to success here is that each painting technique is still rooted in that “process art” concept.

There’s still plenty of room for experimentation, which means lots of fun for your little one!

The three techniques we used were tape resist, scrape painting, and pointillism with Q-Tips.

Each of these techniques uses fine motor skills that are totally within the ability level of young children.

This autumn art project is much easier than it looks!

Try a simple leaf garland to decorate for fall!

Start with Tape Resist

To begin, my son put lines of tape from the top of his paper to about halfway down. These would later become our white tree trunks, so just estimate where you would like the tree trunks to be on your own paper.

Make sure to let the tape overlap the top of your paper. This will make it easier to pull the tape up later without tearing the artwork.

We used scotch tape, but you could experiment with painter’s tape, masking tape, packing tape, or even duct tape!

Discover 13 more ways to get creative with tape resist art.

Get Ready to Scrape Paint

We did scrape painting in two separate steps.

First, my son squeezed dots of orange, brown, and yellow on the lower half of his paper.

Then, using the plastic card, he scraped through the dots of paint.

The mix of colors together looked just like a forest floor covered in autumn leaves!

After the warm colors on the bottom, we dropped blues and whites on the top half of the paper.

He scraped these colors together to make a bright blue autumn sky!

Keep the fall tree theme going with a window fall tree craft for toddlers!

Remove the Tape

We let the sky paint dry for a few minutes. Then, we carefully pulled each strip of tape up from the paper.

Magic white trees appeared in our forest!

Make Leaves with Pointillism

Our last step was to add in fall leaves in the autumn landscape.

This was so simple.

I put a bit of yellow and orange paint on a plate. Then, I bundled a handful of Q-Tips together with a rubber band.

My little guy went back and forth with his Q-Tips.

First, dabbing his “paintbrush” in the colors. Then adding colorful bunches of fall leaves to the painting.

Try these easy Q-Tip painting techniques to take it up a notch!

We were so pleased with our autumn landscape art!

I love how the colors bounce off each other and remind us of our favorite fall trees.

My preschooler really enjoyed trying out new painting techniques.

His favorite new technique was definitely scrape painting. We will be sure to try this again soon!

What’s your favorite art technique or tool for kids to try? Be sure to let us know how your autumn landscape art turns out!