Monster Crafts for Preschoolers

I teach weekly craft classes with a group of Preschoolers, and each week we have a new theme. One of my favourite themes is "Monsters". My 3-5 year old kids love making monsters out of paper and playdough, so today I am sharing some of my favourite Monster crafts for Preschoolers.

How cute are these playdough monsters? My preschoolers made them from playdough, googly eyes, and bits of pipe cleaner.

And don't you love these monster bookmarks? I drew monsters on strips of cardstock, and I added some curling ribbon to the top. Then, the kids coloured the monster and glued on googly eyes.

Making a monster from a paper plate is also easy. The kids coloured the plate, and glued on googly eyes. Then, we added strips of paper folded "accordion" style.

And finally, check out this monster puppet. I drew a simple monster shape on a piece of card stock and cut it out. The kids coloured it, added a giant eye, and decorated it with polk-a-dot stickers. We finished the puppet by taping a craft stick to the back.

I think these monster crafts for Preschoolers are adorable, don't you? There is nothing scary about these fun crafts for kids!

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Preschool Theme: Shapes

I teach a craft class for Preschoolers once a week, and I also have a simple theme to make the class cohesive. One of the themes I start with is "shapes". It's a simple theme, but it's a great one for the Preschoolers. Below, I am sharing some "shape" crafts and activities that kids will love.

Books for Shape Theme:

The Maid, the Mouse, and the Odd-shaped House by Paul O. Zelinsky

Circle Dogs by Kevin Henkes

Circles, Stars, and Squares by Jane Brocket

Round is a Pancake by Joan Sullivan Baranski

Press Here by Herve Tullet - my favourite!

Activities for Shape Theme:

Sort foam shapes into containers.

Bean bag toss onto pieces of paper with shapes on them.

Sort cars into parking spots… by shape.

Each child gets a card with a shape, they name things that are that shape, and the other children try to guess the shape.

Stick skewers into playdough and place “round” Cheerios onto the skewers.

Fish for shapes (using paper clips on the fish and magnets on the rods).

Play a matching game with shapes on the cards.

Crafts for Shape Theme:

Make a shape book.

Make a door hanger covered in foam “shape” stickers.

Make a “shape” name puzzle.

Make shape monsters.

Cover a shape with stickers.
Make a pig using shapes

Don't you just love these fantastic "shape" crafts and activities. I absolutely LOVE the shape pig with a curly tail made from a pipe cleaner!

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

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)

Music Crafts and Activities for Kids

Crafting with Preschoolers is a lot of fun... especially when the crafts centre around a fun theme. I love the idea of spending an afternoon making music crafts with little ones. So, today I am sharing three of my favourite music crafts to make with Preschoolers.

I love this xylophone craft, and it is a super-easy paper craft. Using different colours and sizes of paper, kids can easily use glue and scissors to make this fun craft. Just add some pom poms to a couple of craft sticks, and kids will love "pretending" to play this colourful musical instrument.

Jingle bells are another simple crafting option. Kids can practice their fine motor skills by stringing bells onto an pipe cleaner and then turning it into a "jingle bracelet".

And who doesn't love a good paper towel roll craft? Creating a kazoo from a paper towel roll couldn't be easier. Colour a paper towel roll, use a hole punch to make a hole near the top, attach a piece of wax paper to the top, and secure it with an elastic. The kids can make a fun kazoo sound by humming into it. It takes some practice, but it is a lot of fun!

You can also make rain stick from a paper towel role by twisting up a piece of tin foil, placing the tin foil inside the roll, and sealing both ends with wax paper and elastics.

Do you like crafting with preschoolers? Music crafts are fantastic, and you can always end the day with a good dance party... and who doesn't love a good dance party?

♥ 
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Birthday Letter to my Middle Son on his 11th Birthday

My boys' baby books did not get filled out (due to the fact that I had three boys in three and a half years), so when they were little, I started writing letters to them on their birthdays. My hope is that the letters will capture the unique things about their personalities that I never want to forget. Today, I am sharing the birthday letter I wrote for my middle son on his 11th birthday.

My sweet and spunky boy,

As you move too quickly toward your teenage years, I remember your adorable baby face, your crazy toddler hair and the kind boy are you right now. You draw people in with your easy-going personality, and I could not be more proud to be your mother. Here are a few things that make you the special boy that you are:

• You are friends with everyone. (You get invited to more birthday parties than anyone I have ever met.) People love to be around you, and you love to surround yourself with people.
• You have a smile that lights up your face, and you always have a twinkle in your eye. I think it's my favourite thing about you.
• You love to be moving. You enjoy hockey, golf, softball, tag, man-tracker, riding your bike, and more!
• You love playing hockey with your team, and you love playing street hockey with your brothers.
• Listening to music is one of your favourite things to do. You make great playlists, and you know the words to a lot of songs.
• You are really smart, and you enjoy figuring things out and building things. You love LEGO.
• You take your time with everything. It takes you forever to do your homework... but when you are done, it is perfect. You also take a long time to transition to a new activity. "Just a few more minutes" is one of your favourite lines! lol
• You love to cuddle. When I went on class trips with you this year, you weren't at all embarrassed to sit with me and give me hugs. I hope I have a few more years before you don't want to be seen with me! :-)

You can be very stubborn, and when you set your mind to something, it is not easy to change it... but although it can drive me crazy, it is a quality that I know will serve you well in life. I love you (and your sweet smile and perfect hugs) more than I can express in words. 

Love,

Mom

xoxo

"All About Me" Preschool Crafts

I teach a weekly preschool craft class, and each week we make crafts related to a different theme. Today, I am sharing some wonderful crafts related to the theme: "All About Me". Everyone wants to feel like they are the centre of attention sometimes, right? That's why this is such a great theme for Preschoolers.

Isn't this name rocket cute? The child can glue on all the pieces and add star stickers to create a starry night. It would look great on a black piece of paper too.

And this self portrait with a popsicle stick frame is adorable! A grown up can help the child put the frame together, and then the child can draw a picture and decorate the frame with jewel stickers.

This mirror craft is also great. Have the child colour the mirror, glue on a tin foil centre, and glue on his/her picture. Cute, right?

And, when you are done crafting, "show and tell" is the perfect activity to do with the kids. Getting kids to share info about themselves is wonderful for their self esteem, and because of this, "All About Me" is a great preschool theme.

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Insect and Bug Crafts Preschoolers will LOVE

Crafting around themes is always fun for preschoolers, and I love making crafts that become things to play with too. Today, I am sharing some of my favourite insect and bug crafts for Preschoolers.

Check out these three cute crafts. You could make a paper lady bug with heart shaped dots. You could also string a button and a bunch of Cheerios onto a pipe cleaner to make a little worm. Or you could make a colourful butterfly puppet with some paper taped to a craft stick and covered with scrunched up squares of tissue paper.

I like this butterfly too. The craft stick glued to the top allows the wings of the butterfly to be bent so it looks like it is flying. Cute, right?

And finally, how adorable is this little snake made from paper straw beads? Kids can practice scissors skills cutting up beads, and then they can practice their fine motor skills stringing the beads onto a piece of pipe cleaner. A button head at the end of the pipe cleaner will allow the kids to string the beads without having them fall off.

Don't you just love these insect and bug themed crafts for Preschoolers? I especially love the little paper straw bead snake.

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)