Teddy Bear Clinic Crafts and Activities

There is nothing more fun than crafting and pretending with Preschoolers, and hosting a "teddy bear clinic" is a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. Recently, I had a "teddy bear clinic" theme for my weekly Preschool class, and today I am sharing the details of our Teddy Bear Clinic crafts and activities.

As the kids arrived with their stuffed animals / patients, we filled out a patient info form together. You can download the patient info worksheet here.

Then, the kids spent some time "examining" all of their stuffed animals/ patients.

You can even make the kids pretend lab coats from old white t-shirts. No sewing required!

After we were finished playing, the kids got started on some fun doctor crafts. Check out this adorable paper doctor's bag. I cut out the bags from black construction paper, and the kids coloured the crosses, and glued all the medical supplies to the inside of the bag.

We also made a little doctor coat craft. The kids had fun gluing all the items to the white coat.

Do you know a little one that would enjoy an afternoon playing "teddy bear clinic"? Or perhaps you have a preschool class that would have fun with this theme?

These teddy bear clinic crafts and activities are easy to plan and do with Preschoolers. I love the doctor bag, but it's all super-cute, don't you think?

♥ Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

DIY Costumes Made from Old T-Shirts

Homemade costumes are original, fun, and a lot cheaper than store-bought alternatives. Today, I am sharing a collection of DIY costumes made from old shirts (or new shirts from the dollar store). You just need a pair of scissors and a little imagination.

Superhero Cape - My boys and I love these superhero capes made from dollar store t-shirts. I cut them, and my boys decorated them with stickers. Soooo easy and cute! Find the full tutorial here.

Mad Scientist - A white t-shirt becomes a lab coat when you cut it down the middle. Check out all the elements of this fun costume here. 

Doctor - A white t-shirt can easily become a doctor's coat with a pair of scissors and a Sharpie. Check it out here.

Ninja - The secret to this t-shirt transformation is duct tape! You can find all the DIY details here. 

Clown - A white shirt becomes a perfect clown costume with the addition of colourful foam circle buttons paired with dollar store accessories. Cute, right?

Peter Pan - A green t-shirt becomes a perfect Peter Pan tunic with a few simple cuts. I absolutely love this simple costume, and you can find the step-by-step tutorial here. 

These DIY costumes are fantastic options for Halloween, but they are also wonderful (and easy) additions to dress up bins. Is there anything better than seeing a child "pretend" and use his/her imagination?

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

PS - You can find more easy and inexpensive Halloween ideas here.

Simple Pirate Hooks

I am planning a Jake and the Neverland Pirate party for my youngest son, and I thought it would be fun to make pirate hooks for all the party guests.  After the party, the hooks (that don't go home with our guests) will be added to our "dress up bin".  We love playing pirates!

Want to make your own pirate hooks from cups and tin foil?

1)  Start with a square piece of tin foil.
2)  Roll up the tin foil and "squish it".
3)  Cut a little hole in the bottom of the cup.  Make sure it isn't too big.  The tin foil needs to fit tightly in order to stay in place.
4)  Place the foil through the hole, pull through, and twist into the shape of a hook.

That's it!  Do you have a little pirate that would love dressing up with this pirate hook?

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

You might also like this pirate party post.

No-Sew Doctor Lab Coat

My boys love to engage in pretend play, and recently they decided to set up a teddy bear clinic in our living room.  We needed a quick doctor lab coat costume, so I came up with this simple no-sew version.

Isn't it cute?  I started with an inexpensive (adult) white t-shirt.

Then, I used a sharpie to draw a red cross onto the t-shirt.

Finally, I used sharp fabric scissors to cut straight up the middle of the shirt.

My boys had a great time playing "doctor" with all of their stuffed animals.  Such a great way to spend an afternoon, don't you think?  Would your little ones love this "no-sew" doctor lab coat?

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Indoor Campfire

Today I want to share a really simple indoor activity that my 4 year old came up with.  We decided to play "indoor camping", and my little guy had a fantastic idea for an indoor campfire.

We put a flashlight inside a container (which was actually our play tunnel), and then we covered the flashlight with crumpled up tissue paper.  Doesn't it look like a real fire?

We sang songs around our fire and pretended to "roast" marshmallows.  Such a fun way to spend an afternoon!  Have you ever played "indoor camping" with your little one?

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Cowboy Fun

My boys love dressing up and using their imaginations... so a few weeks ago, we had a Cowboy Day.  These ideas would also be great for a simple DIY Cowboy Party.

We started by making some "Wanted" posters.  I used my computer to make simple posters using pictures of the boys.  If you were having a cowboy party, you could make posters using photos of all the party guests.

You can leave the posters "as is", or you an make them look older by ripping the edges, crumpling them up, dipping them in tea, and allowing them to dry completely.

We had some cowboy hats from the dollar store in our dress up box, but the boys wanted some cowboy belts, so we got creative with some old cereal boxes.

I cut out belts and buckles from a cereal box, and the boys used crayons and markers to decorate them.  I taped the pieces together, and added slits on the ends so that the boys could easily put the belts on themselves.

We had a great day... and seriously.... don't my boys make the cutest cowboys?

I think this would be a great theme for a simple DIY birthday party.  Doesn't everyone love pretending to be a cowboy?

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Doc McStuffins Fun

We are huge fans of Doc McStuffins on Disney Junior Canada, and it inspired my boys and I to come up with a Doc McStuffins craft and adorable little snack.

We thought it would be fun to make a "Big Book of Boo Boos". I took an inexpensive journal, and added a heart (that you can download here). Then, my boys added a couple of bandaids. Cute, right?

After we finished our book, we made a cute "Band Aid" Snack. It looks kind of gross, but my three little boys thought they were hilarious.

I just cut up some graham crackers, added some white frosting for gauze, and finished with a smear of red gel icing blood.  Simple but fun! 

Do your little ones like pretending to be a doctor like Doc McStuffins?  Watching my boys "pretend" always makes me happy.

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Disclosure:  I’m part of the Disney Junior Mom program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.