Winter is sure to provide plenty of inspiration for even the littlest of learners! With the changing weather and variety of holiday celebrations, there are plenty of opportunities for hands to get messy as creativity soars! Here is a wintry mix of some of our favorite arts and crafts children are sure to love as they learn about the beauty of the season from the comfort of indoors:
Bright Filter Snowflakes
Love coffee? Make brightly colored snowflakes from coffee filters to hang in the windows for the holidays!
- To make a brightly colored snowflake, fold a coffee filter, making a point at the center of the circle and folded edges on the sides.
- Partly fill small cups or flat jar lids with liquid watercolor paints. Dip the point and edges of a folded filter into different colors of paint. (For muted colors, mix a little water in each cup of paint.) Place the coffee filter on newsprint to dry briefly.
- Without unfolding the coffee filter, snip large holes from the edges and point, leaving intact spaces between the holes. (Save the colorful scraps.) Unfold to view the brightly colored snowflake.
- Note: To flatten the snowflakes, an adult can iron them on low heat—no steam—between pieces of paper.
- Display snowflakes in windows to show off the colors. Use the scraps for other artworks where colorful paper bits are needed.
Source: 101 Great Gifts Kids Can Make by Stephanie R. Mueller and Ann E. Wheeler
Sit –Down Paint Dancing
Encourage your child to dance to holidays favorites as they use their wiggly feet to paint wrapping paper!
Materials:
- Butcher or craft paper
- Tape
- Child-height chairs
- Dishpan or tub
- Paint
- Dishpan or tub of soapy water
- Old towels
- Bare feet, rain boots, or old shoes
Prepare (Adult)
- Tape a sheet of paper beneath a child-height chair.
- Pour about 1 cup (240 ml) paint into a dishpan or tub and place it next to the chair.
- Place old towels and a tub of soapy water next to the chair.
Process (Child)
- Ask the child to sit on the chair and place the tub of paint on the paper so the child can dip his or her feet into the paint. Then remove the tub.
- Turn on some cheery holiday music your child can dance to!
- While seated, press and dance feet on the paper until the paint no longer makes prints. If desired, “re-dip” feet or add new paper.
- When the child is finished, first wipe his or her feet with an old, dry towel. Then help your child put their feet in the soapy tub of water, then wipe feet dry. (Additional cleaning may be needed.)
- And the best part? You can now use the dried paper for wrapping paper!
Source: First Art: Art Experiences for Toddlers and Twos by MaryAnn F. Kohl
Holiday Orchestra
Homemade instruments your child can play to bring in the holidays!
Materials:
- Various sized boxes without lids
- Assorted rubber bands
What to Do:
- Wrap three to four rubber bands around each box.
- Give a box to each child.
- Help the children select a holiday song such as “Jingle Bells” to sing while strumming their musical box.
- Talk about what a conductor does. Let the children take turns “conducting” the classroom orchestra.
- Use the instruments to strum along to your favorite holiday tune!
