Activities

Cookie Cutter Cards

Materials

• Construction paper
• Crayon, pen, or marker
• Scraps of fabric or lace, paper doilies, glitter, and stickers

Directions

1. Fold a piece of plain or construction paper in half to make a greeting card.
2. Have your child trace around cookie cutters in appropriate shapes, e.g., hearts for Valentine's Day, trees or angels for Christmas.
3. The card can then be decorated with scraps of fabric or lace, paper doilies, glitter, stickers, and so on.

Finger-Paint Prints

Materials

• Fingerpaint
• Plastic tabletop
• Large sheets of paper

Directions

1. You can purchase commercial fingerpaint, or you can make your own.
2. Place a small amount of fingerpaint onto a plastic tabletop, and have your child mess around until her design is complete.
3. Have her wash and dry her hands thoroughly, then place a large sheet of paper on top of the fingerpainting.
4. Rub all over the back of the paper with clean, dry hands.
5. Slowly lift the paper off the table and hang to dry.

Egg Carton Flowers

Materials

• Empty egg cartons
• Scissors
• Paint, markers, or crayons
• Paintbrush
• Pipe cleaner
• Green construction paper
• Glue

Directions

1. Cut apart an egg carton into individual sections and have your child paint the sections with a variety of colors. (Markers or crayons can also be used.)
2. Poke a pipe cleaner through the bottom of each section to make a stem.
3. Cut leaf shapes out of green construction paper and glue them onto the pipe cleaners.
4. Several colorful flowers in a bud vase make a great gift or a decorative table centerpiece.

Paper Bag Vest

Materials

• Large brown paper bag
• Scissors
• Paint

Directions

1. Make a vest from a brown paper bag by cutting a head hole, arm holes, and a fringe along the bottom.
2. Your child can paint and decorate the vest.
3. When the vest is dry, your child can wear it.

Artful Party Hats

Materials

• Construction paper
• Crayons, markers, stickers, and other decorative items
• Tape or stapler
• Scissors
• Elastic thread or ribbon

Directions

1. Let your child decorate a piece of construction paper with crayons, markers, stickers, and so on.
2. Fold the paper into a cone shape, tape or staple the overlapping edges together, and cut the bottom edge so it is even.
3. Staple a length of elastic thread or ribbon to each side for hat straps.

Jelly Bean Picture

Materials

• Cardboard
• Ornamental Frosting
• Jelly beans

Directions

1. Help your child draw a picture with Ornamental Frosting on a piece of cardboard-this frosting works like glue and tastes great!
2. Have her place jelly beans on the frosting.
3. You can give this project a seasonal theme by using pastel jelly beans on a rabbit picture for Easter, or green jelly beans on a Christmas tree and beans of other colors for lights and decorations.
4. Avoid using glue for this project, because your child is sure to eat the jelly beans.

Make a Pinwheel

Materials

• Plain or construction paper
• Crayons, markers, glitter, stickers, and other decorative items
• Scissors
• Tape
• Paper fastener
• Cardboard cut into a small circle
• Straw, wooden dowel, or unsharpened pencil

Directions

1. Have your child decorate a square piece of paper with crayons, markers, paint, glitter, stickers, and so on.
2. Mark the center of the square and cut from each corner into the center, stopping one inch from the center.
3. Fold every other point into the center and tape; make sure the decorated side of the paper is on the outside.
4. Push a paper fastener through a small circular piece of cardboard, then through the center of the pinwheel.
5. Fasten around a straw, wooden dowel, or unsharpened pencil.

Tissue Art

Materials

• Glue
• Paper cup or small plastic container
• Water
• Paintbrush
• Paper
• Tissue paper cut into 1?2-by-16-inch strips
• Scissors
• Sequins, beads, glitter (optional)

Directions

1. Pour a small amount of glue into a paper cup or small plastic container, and add about a quarter cup water to get the consistency of paint.
2. Have your child use a paintbrush to paint the glue solution onto a piece of paper.
3. Then, crumple up strips of brightly colored tissue paper and press them onto the paper.
4. Use a variety of colors and add sequins, beads, and glitter for a real piece of art.

Hand Drawings

Materials

• Paper
• Crayons or markers
• Nail polish (optional)
• Sparkles or small beads
• Glue

Directions

1. Place your child's hands on a piece of paper and trace around them.
2. Give your child crayons, markers, or nail polish and have her paint the nails of her drawing.
3. Use glue and sparkles or small beads to add rings, watches, and other details.
4. For variety, try tracing your child's feet, then have her trace your feet and compare sizes.
5. Color the feet and add nail polish and funny rings with crayons or markers.