Are you looking for some quick fall crafts? Here are some of the crafts Rosebud and I have done so far this fall. These are simple glueing activities that are perfect for toddlers and preschoolers.
Leafy Tree
Supplies
Leaves,
Paper,
Glue,
Green paint.
First, we made this leafy tree. It started out as just a simple leaf collage. Rosebud and I went for a walk and found a bunch of leaves. She wanted to make art with them, so we just started gluing. After she glued all the leaves, we realized there was a vertical space in the middle, so we painted it green to look like a tree.
To make it look more like a tree, you can draw the outline first or use other natural items to decorate it.
Halloween Spider
Supplies
Craft sticks,
Pompoms,
Google eyes,
Glue,
Glitter,
Construction paper.
I asked Rosebud what she wanted to make one afternoon and she really wanted to make a spider. When I asked her how she wanted to make it, she said she wasn’t sure, so I looked through my craft basket. We started off by gluing craft sticks for legs, adding a pompom for the body and then adding the eyes. Then she wanted to add a mouth and nose. To top it off, she wanted to add glitter and there is our Halloween spider. Not scary, but definitely a Rosebud creation.
Haunted House
Supplies
Craft sticks,
Construction paper,
Halloween foam stickers,
Jewels,
Glitter,
Glue.
I found a bunch of Halloween stickers at the dollar store and thought they’d be great for a collage. I got the idea to do a haunted house, so we did a 2d version with craft sticks. This project is great for fine motor skills because not only are they gluing and arranging items, but pealing stickers as well. Plus halloween is right around the corner. We started this project by painting a big piece of white paper all black for the night sky. At Rosebud’s haunted house, there is a pumpkin patch, a graveyard, the bat cave and the night sky with half moons and stars. Not to mention all the black cats and ghosts in and around the actual house. We had fun with this one.
Here are some supplies for your convenience.
What crafts are you doing this fall? Tell me in the comments.
Rosebud has been talking a lot about the bugs we’ve been seeing outside lately. She’s decided that a lot of them are scary which is why I put together the rice and bugs sensory bin. Honestly, I can’t stand bugs. there’s just something about them being creepy and crawly, but I didn’t want Rosebud to be scared every time she saw some sort of insect, so we’ve been reading some bug books as well. There are a lot of books out there about bugs. Some of them teach life lessons while others are educational in a different way, teaching us about how bugs are beneficial to our environment. While not all the bugs in these books are scientifically classified as insects, they are still apart of the bug category in my book. Whether your child is afraid of bugs or curious about them, you’ll find something interesting on this list of 12 bug books for preschoolers.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
By Eric Carle
I had to include this one because it is a classic and Rosebud loves still loves this book!
Description
In the light of the moon, a little egg lay on a leaf.” So begins Eric Carle’s modern classic,The Very Hungry Caterpillar. More than 12 million copies of this book have been sold in its original, full-sized edition, and the beloved tale of science and gluttony has been translated into 20 languages. This five-by-four-inch miniature edition is truly tiny, with tiny type, but it is a nice size for small hands to hold and flip through the pictures. Despite its diminished state, the book is complete in every detail, following the ravenous caterpillar’s path as he eats his way through one apple (and the pages of the book itself) on Monday, two pears on Tuesday, three plums on Wednesday, and so on, through cherry pie and sausage–until he is really fat and has a stomachache. And no doubt you know what happens next! Kids love butterfly metamorphosis stories, and this popular favorite teaches counting and days of the week too.
National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Bugs
By Catherine D. Hughes
While doing some research for this post, I found this informative book. I haven’t read this one yet with Rosebud, but I’m including it because it’s nonfiction and is perfect for our little scientists. Not only does it talk about our typical backyard bugs, but it also shows bugs from around the world.
Description
The experts at National Geographic present a delightful reference that introduces young children to bugs of all kinds: big and small, jumping and crawling, colorful and creepy. This charming book explores backyard favorites, such as ladybugs and lightning bugs, and introduces kids to more exotic species that inhabit rain forests and deserts around the world. Colorful photos are paired with profiles of each insect, along with facts about the creatures’ sizes, diets, homes, and more. This book will quickly become a favorite at story time, bedtime, and any other time!
The Very Impatient Caterpillar
By Ross Burach
A book perfect for any kid that struggles with being patient.
Description
Hey! What are you guys doing?
We’re going to metamorphosize.
Meta-WHAT-now?
Transform into butterflies.
Right. Right. I knew that…
WAIT?! You’re telling me I can become a BUTTERFLY?
Yes.
With wings?
Yes.
Wait for ME!!
Ross Burach’s hilarious, tongue-in-cheek exploration of metamorphosis will make you flutter with glee, while also providing real facts about how caterpillars transform into butterflies.
The Very Busy Spider
By Eric Carle
This is another classic by Eric Carle that Rosebud loves. I love that the illustrations are tactile as well.
Description
Early one morning a little spider spins her web on a fence post. One by one, the animals of the nearby farm try to distract her, yet the busy little spider keeps diligently at her work. When she is done, she is able to show everyone that not only is her creation quite beautiful, it is also quite useful!
This multi-sensory book allows children to feel the pictures as well as see them. And with its rhythmic text, The Very Busy Spider becomes an experience to touch, to see, and to hear.
How the Ladybug got her Spots
By Caren D Green
I had never seen this book before doing research for this post. This looks like a cute story with a message that all kids should hear. We are all different and that is a good thing.
Description
Once, in the leafy, green plants lived a small red and black bug that did not feel as special as all of her garden friends, and so she set out to find something to set her apart. Follow her through this charmingly illustrated, adorable tale that teaches how even the tiniest among us can be special.
Backyard Books: Are You a Dragonfly?
By Judy Allen
Here’s another nonfiction book. This one is about dragonflies.
Description
The most colorful wings on the pond belong to the nimble dragonfly, but this delicate flying insect didn’t begin life in the air. In Backyard Books: Are You a Dragonfly? by Judy Allen with illustrations by Tudor Humphries, the secrets of metamorphosis are unfurled through the story of a familiar backyard creature.
Ten Magic Butterflies
By Danica McKellar
This is a cool book that Rosebud and I read recently. It has magic, counting and the message that is a good thing to be yourself.
Description
Fairies, butterflies, and magic help to make this math-focused picture book from Danica McKellar, the New York Times best selling author of Goodnight, Numbers and star of The Wonder Years, positively enchanting!
Join ten flower friends for a night of excitement that mixes a little math with a lot of magic. As each flower turns into a butterfly, children will discover different ways to group numbers to create ten, an essential building block of math, all while watching each flower’s dream come true. (And keep an eye out for the adorable caterpillar who wishes he could fly, too!)
Alpha Bugs: A Pop-up Alphabet (David Carter’s Bugs)
By David A. Carter
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’ll have seen a post or two about interactive books. I couldn’t finish this post without including some. Here’s a pop-up book that includes bugs and the alphabet, so it’s perfect for a bug theme.
Description
From boogie-woogie Bubble Bugs
to upside-down Umbrella Bugs,
this fun-filled pop, pull, and peek book
makes learning the alphabet
exactly eight egg bugs excellent.
Review
Publishers Weekly “Where will they strike next? A jar of olives, a waffle iron, a rock — each conceals a daffy insect… They are wittily transformed into members of an odd but comical alphabet species… Amusing alliteration and a zany sense of humor deliver fun with every letter.
Bee & Me
By Elle J. McGuinness
This book not only has a story, but it has a short fact list about bees as well. The coolest thing about this book is the motion. Each page has something that moves. While some of the information in this book is over Rosebud’s head, she loves the colorful illustrations and the way the bee moves.
Description
The New York Times bestselling Bee & Me, in a new mini-Animotion format.
Just like the New York Times bestselling Bee and Me, the mini abridged Bee and Me is filled with all of the action of AniMotion windows, and the same great story and pictures that have won the hearts of legions of kids and parents all across the country. The heart of the book is a sweet tale teaching kids the important roll bees play in nature. This new smaller format is ideal for younger children and smaller hands.
“A beautiful, heart-warming book that helps children (and adults
Understand how essential bees are to the planet.
Bee & Me
By Alison Jay
You read that right. I’ve included two Bee & Me books. This one is a picture book and it is totally different from the first one. Not only does it show friendship, but it also shows the importance of saving bees.
Description
A beautiful wordless picture book brings a personal note to the plight of the honeybee and offers a message of hope.
A little girl befriends a bee that takes her on a journey of discovery, revealing an action that every child can take to aid in conservation. In a wordless story told through enchanting illustrations, Bee & Me tells a tale of friendship and offers an introduction to the ecology of the natural world. Alison Jay’s original artwork brings the story gently to life, pointing out the sadness of a world without bees. An afterword makes clear to readers the important role these endangered insects play.
The Very Greedy Bee
By Steve Smallman
A book that teaches us not to be greedy.
Description
A greedy bee learns a lesson when he “slurps and burps” too much nectar, falls asleep in a meadow, and needs help from other insects to find his way home after dark.
The Very Quiet Cricket
By Eric Carle
I’m wrapping up this post with another classic by Eric Carle. This book also has an interactive feature, the chirping cricket at the end. Even without the chirping cricket, it’s a great story.
Description
One day a tiny cricket is born and meets a big cricket who chirps his welcome. The tiny cricket tries to respond, but there is no sound. The quiet cricket then makes his way into the world, meeting one insect after another, each of whom greets the little cricket with a cheery hello–the hum of a bee, the whirr of a dragonfly, the whisper of a praying mantis. The cricket rubs his wings together each time, but nothing happens, not a sound. Until the day he meets another cricket, a female, and something different happens . . .
As children turn the page on this wonderful moment, they are greeted with a surprise–an actual chirp!
Are there any cool bug books that should be on this list? Tell me in the comments!
I’ll leave you with some more bug related items to explore.
Here is another quick sensory bin that I set up for Rosebud. I love having a couple sensory bins on hand in the kitchen to occupy Rosebud while I make dinner. I’ve limited her screen time to a bare minimum which I’ll write about in another post, but I need plenty of activities that will entertain her. This one does the trick and it was super simple and quick to put together.
What’s in the bin?
Rice,
Plastic bugs,
Glass marbles,
Scoops,
Tongs,
A funnel.
I included scoops of different sizes and the mini tongs for picking up the bugs. The glass marbles were for buried treasures. I got two small bags of rice at the dollar store and that was enough, but you may need more or less depending on the size of your bin. These bugs that I found by Melissa & Doug are great! They are a hard rubber/plastic material, but they are slightly larger than other plastic bugs I’ve seen and they are well made. Also, they are not sharp, so I had no problem using them in my toddler class a few years ago. Unfortunately, I could not find the link for them, but I’ve had good luck with the Safari figurines which would work just as well.
So, there you have it. Another quick spring/summer themed sensory bin. What are your favorite sensory bins to do this time of year? Tell me in the comments. I have more sensory bins to show you in the next few weeks, so definitely come back and check them out.
It has been a long winter and these past couple of days have been especially horrible at work. One bright spot has been the weather. It’s finally warmed up a bit and not feeling so much like the arctic. Normally, the last thing I want to do when I get home is to go outside and freeze. I get my fill of that in the mornings as my classes almost always go outside no matter how cold it is. All I want to do is sit in my favorite chair and zone out, but I don’t do that. Most days, I play with Rosebud as soon as I get home. She waits for me all day and she usually gets things set up so that we can play as soon as we walk through the door. Some days, she’ll have a picnic set up or she’ll create a pretend bakery.
Now that the sun is out later and we had a taste of spring, she asked to go play in the back yard. When we got out there, we started testing the snow to see what we could make. We have one of those plastic molds that makes bricks out of snow. We only managed to make one brick that stayed together. The others fell apart. It could’ve been good snowman making snow, but it was too warm for it to stay together. We couldn’t make a decent snowman, but we could make some fantastic snowballs. Even though most of them melted quickly, they were perfect for throwing. Rosebud picked one up and threw it at me. Then it was on! We threw snowballs back and forth and just kept laughing. We had so much fun.
It reminded me of my childhood. Back then, we used to get a lot more snow than we do now and we’d spend hours out there. I remember helping my mom shovel snow and thinking how fun it was. Of course, now it’s not so fun. I remember making huge snowballs with my classmates. We’d just make gigantic snowballs to push around, just seeing how big we could make them. We made tall snowmen, experimented with spraying the snow with colored water, taking sleds down a huge hill on the school’s playground. I remember making a snow fort at the baby sitter’s house. We wanted to make it really strong because the kids who lived next door decided that they’d throw snowballs at our fort. I think we were going to throw some at their’s too, but we thought we were so clever when we got some water and started making ice as the top coat of our fort.
We didn’t care if they came with snowballs because we were busy seeing how strong we could make our fort.
I’d often go down to the pond with those same kids and pretend to ice skate. There were holes all over the pond and it definitely wasn’t the safest thing to be doing, but back then, kids were allowed to take risks. Maybe more than we should have, but we learned to be careful. We knew what our limits were. We learned through trial and error. We learned how to share, make our own rules and most of all, we learned to look out for each other.
Every day, I’m constantly telling kids about how this isn’t safe and that isn’t safe. We tell them not to climb the slide, stay out of puddles, don’t play on the ice, don’t throw snowballs and on and on. It gets old. I start to wonder what came first. Do we tell them not to do these things because they show us they don’t know how to be safe or are we just assuming it before giving them the opportunity to learn? We tell them not to throw snowballs, but why exactly? It seems as though that it’s just one of those childhood memories we all have. At least those of us who grow up in winter climates.
With some of the kids, I’ll tell them to stop because they always take it too far. If they throw snowballs, they go for the other kid’s face. If they play on the ice, they pick up a piece and throw it. Is it because we’ve hovered too much that they have to push the envelope even farther or does it come down to the fact that they don’t know how to play and interact with other kids? Is all this hovering crushing their spirits? Can we step back a little or is all of this necessary? My guess is the answer lies somewhere in the middle.
When Rosebud and I played outside, I thought of my own childhood and I wanted her to have some of those same memories. I want her to remember happy times even if they were just playing with mommy instead of the neighborhood kids. I let her throw snowballs and threw some back. I let her see if she could climb her slide with her boots on. She discovered that it was slippery, but if she held on tight and paid close attention, she could still get to the top safely. She discovered that she shouldn’t run on the ice or she might fall. I pulled her around the yard in her sled and her laughter was contagious. The hint of spring with the warm sun on my back and seeing Rosebud’s pure joy was the perfect ending to my day.
Recently, this brilliant article called,The Most Overlooked Reason Why Your Kids Won’t Listen, Focus or Sit Still came across my newsfeed. It discusses the consequences of children not having the opportunity to take risks and not getting enough time outdoors. It’s worth reading. What are your thoughts? Are our children missing out?
We had our first real snowfall on Friday. When Rosebud woke up, she was so excited to see snow. Unfortunately, both of us have been fighting off colds for the past few weeks so I’ve only taken her out a couple of times since the weekend. However, I figured why not bring some snow inside to play with? I don’t have to stand outdoors and freeze and she gets to play with snow. An almost perfect compromise.
The stones and acrylic crystals were our treasures. She liked those the best. Digging in the snow and watching it fly everywhere.
She loved finding the different penguins.
Of course, those scoops and shovels were used to dig and uncover those treasures. Not to mention the added benefits of getting snow all over mommy. It was the perfect snow to make snowballs and we found out that when we put it into the little containers, the snow would be shaped like them when we took it out. We watched how snow melted and how we could put it together and break it apart.
It’s play, it’s science and it’s fun on a winter day. What are some of your favorite winter activities? Let me know in the comments.
We took a nature walk the other day to collect leaves for our glitter leaf sun catcher and we had some left over. One idea was to just simply glue the leaves on paper, but I wanted to be more creative. So, I decided to break the leaves into small pieces. That way it would make an interesting collage. Then to make it pretty and sparkly, I added some glitter.
1. Put glue on your paper. I’d suggest using a paintbrush to spread it out. I used glitter glue from the dollar store which doesn’t appear to be a good choice because it barely glues things down, but it’s the only glue I had. Rosebud didn’t want me to take a good picture of this. Each time, she’d move the paper or put her hand in the way.
2. Glue the objects on to the paper. We used an acorn printable for our first project, but you can’t even tell it’s an acorn after Rosebud dumped all the leaves on top. Our second collage was on a blank piece of paper and that looked much better.
3. Make sure the items stick to the paper. Rosebud would place the items where she’d want them and I’d hold things in place so they would stick to the paper. I had her count to five or ten with me. Holding the items down were helping them stick.
4. If you used standard glue, you can sprinkle glitter on top as the final step. I mixed some glitter in with the leaves, but I wouldn’t do that again because when Rosebud dumped the leaves, the glitter went along with it.
Overall, this was a simple and fun project to do and Rosebud liked it. Since we’ve used all our leaves, it’s time for us to go on another nature walk. What are your favorite crafts using natural items? Tell me in the comments.
Lately, we’ve been doing activities with leaves. I was inspired by this post from, On Your Own, But Never Alone. I thought why not use the glitter leaves as sun catchers?
What you need:
Leaves that are dry, but not crunchy,
Glitter glue,
Paint brushes,
Mod podge,
Contact paper or clear sheet protectors,
String.
What you do:
1. Lay leaves on a flat surface and paint them with the glitter glue. You can paint just parts of the leaf or the entire thing. We used three different colors of glitter glue.
2. Set aside to dry.
3. Paint leaves with mod podge.
4. When dry, arrange leaves in contact paper or sheet protector. I didn’t have any contact paper so I just glued the leaves inside the sheet protector.
5. Punch hole in contact paper and tie a string. If you use a sheet protector, the holes are already there.
6. Find a nice place to hang your creation. Some leaves will catch the sun and others will not depending on the color. Either way, you have a nice glittery fall decoration.
What are you making with leaves this fall? Let me know in the comments.
I just took a cookie sheet, lined it with foil and put some globs of paints in different colors on it. Then I put one leaf in each color of paint so they wouldn’t be mixed at first.
All you do is cover the leaf with paint and stamp it on the paper. I showed Rosebud once and then she got to work, creating her pictures.
I didn’t have much paint so by the time we got to our third picture, I showed her how she could use the leaves as paintbrushes.
I’m looking forward to doing more fall activities. What are your favorite fall crafts and activities? Let me know in the comments.
Here is another simple painting activity. All you need are some paints, paper and pinecones. Rosebud and I went over to the playground yesterday where she found a pinecone. I immediately thought we could use it for a painting activity.
We were trying to stamp with the pinecone because using it like a brush was too hard on the paper. As the title says, the process is more important than the product with this activity. My only suggestion would be to have more paints and more pinecones. I would put each color of paint in a container large enough to dip the entire pinecone so it could be stamped or rolled across the paper. I’d also suggest having one pinecone for each color of paint. I didn’t think of this until we had already gotten started.
Eventually I had to just dump the paints on the paper because trying to dip the pinecone wasn’t working. I had little containers of paint from the dollar store. Although this didn’t work as expected, I’m interested in trying to paint with other natural items to see what we come up with.
Yesterday Rosebud and I did another simple painting activity. I set out several colors of paint in a bowl. A flower fell off one of my plants and recently we painted with flowers in my preschool class so I wanted to do the same with Rosebud.
I grabbed the paint, paper and the flower and headed outside. We sat at Rosebud’s picnic table and painted. That was after Rosebud smelled the flower and decided it smelled good. After a few minutes, the flower started to fall apart so we stamped with the petals instead of using the flower like a paintbrush.
I want to try this with different flowers and other natural items throughout the summer. This is how her picture came out. We are waiting for the next flower to fall so we can work on the next master piece.
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Every day, I’m constantly telling kids about how this isn’t safe and that isn’t safe. We tell them not to climb the slide, stay out of puddles, don’t play on the ice, don’t throw snowballs and on and on. It gets old. I start to wonder what came first. Do we tell them not to do these things because they show us they don’t know how to be safe or are we just assuming it before giving them the opportunity to learn? We tell them not to throw snowballs, but why exactly? It seems as though that it’s just one of those childhood memories we all have. At least those of us who grow up in winter climates.
1. Put glue on your paper. I’d suggest using a paintbrush to spread it out. I used glitter glue from the dollar store which doesn’t appear to be a good choice because it barely glues things down, but it’s the only glue I had. Rosebud didn’t want me to take a good picture of this. Each time, she’d move the paper or put her hand in the way.
2. Set aside to dry.
4. When dry, arrange leaves in contact paper or sheet protector. I didn’t have any contact paper so I just glued the leaves inside the sheet protector.
5. Punch hole in contact paper and tie a string. If you use a sheet protector, the holes are already there.
