Give the children a large batch of play dough that you could
scent with cinnamon, and cookie cutters. Let them have fun
making bread, cookies and cakes.
On a sunny day, take a box of colored chalk outdoors and let
the children create a town or city with buildings, roads,
intersections with traffic signs, reailroads leading out of
town past the factories and farms, lakes, streams, and other
interesting roadside attractions - simply by drawing them to
life on the sidewalk, Various 'throw away' items may be used
to build bridges, tunnels, caves, waterfalls, and mountains.
A rock may serve as a car, or a leaf may be an airplane. The
children's imaginations will lead the way.
Cobbler, cobbler, mend my shoe.
(Hold one foot across other knee.)
Have it done by half-past two.
(Hammer shoe with fist.)
Stitch it up and stitch it down.
(Imitate sewing motion.)
Now nail the heel all around.
(Hammer heel of shoe with fist.)
Mailmen deliver mail,
Nurses help us when we're sick,
Bankers deposit money,
Farmers raise cows, goats and chicks.
Doctors, teachers and police.
We all need them so.
Each does his important part
Always on the go.
Bus drivers, slaes and firemen,
Couldn't do without them too!
Can't wait 'til you grow up,There's so many jobs for you!
This person drives a taxi.
This person leads a band.
This person guides the traffic.
By holding up a hand.
This person brings the letters.
This person rakes and hoes.
This person is a funny clown
Who dances on tiptoes.
My father said She had more things
'It's doctor day.' Than I can tell
The he and I To help her keep
We're on our way The people well.
To see our friend She checked me up
The doctor who And all the while
Would check me out She wore a big
As doctors do. And friendly smile.
So now I hope
That someday you
May go to see
The doctor too!
Doctor, doctor, I keep thinking there are two of me.
One at a time please!
Doctor, doctor, I keep thinking I am a garbage can.
Oh don't talk such rubbish!
Doctor, doctor, I feel like a pack of cards!
Wait and I'll deal with you later!
Doctor, doctor, I keep thinking I'm a strawberry.
Oh dear, you're really in a jam, aren't you.
Doctor, doctor, I feel like a pair of drapes.
Well, pull yourself together!
Doctor, doctor, I think I'm a clock.
Well, don't get wound up about it!
(next page)
Materials:black construction paper, red contruction paper],
stapler, white chalk, items such as band-aids, cotton balls,
etc....
1. Fold the black paper in half and draw a docot bag on it
so that the fold is the bottom of the bag.
2. Cut it out and staple the sides together
3. Cut a red cross out of the red paper and glue it on the
bag
4. Write Dr. **** on the other side of the bag
5. Put cotton balls, band-aids, and whatever else you would
find in a doctor bag that the kids could play with.
Contributed by Lori
Precut circular and rectangular shapes from construction
paper. Have the children glue the precut shapes on to a
piece of construction paper to resemble a fire truck. They
may add yarn or string for the fire hose and use straws to
make a ladder.
Using colours associated with fire (red, orange) squirt or
draw thick lines on the paper and add a few drops of black
paint here and there.
Press clear plastic wrap onto the paper and squeegee the
paint around. Pull plastic off of the paper using a strong
vertical pulling action. (This will cause the paint to look
like fire.)
When paint is dry have the children glue a black cutout of a
house (windows cut out) and/or a black cutout of a fire
truck.
Five brave firefighters, Sleeping so, (hold up a hand with
fingers flat across palm)
The fire bell rings, Down the pole they go, (open the hand
and make a downward motion)
Jump in the fire truck, Hurry down the street. Climb up the
ladder, (make the fingers climb)
Feel the fire's heat. (wipe sweat from your brow)
Five brave firefighters, (hold up five fingers)
Put the fire out. (make a wiping motion)
Hip! Hip! Hooray! All the people shout! (shout)
Invite the children to set up a firehouse. Allow the riding
toys to be the fire engines, ambulances and the fire chiefs
car. Set up a sleeping area, boots with pants can be set up
next to the bed. Give the children a bell to sound the alarm
and let their imaginations run wild!
Five sugar buns in the baker's shop,
Big and round with icing on top.
Along came _____ with a dime one day,
She/he bought a sugar bun and took it away.
Four...Three....Two....One....
No sugar buns in the baker's shop
Big and round with icing on top.
Please, Mister Baker, bake once again,
And this time bake eight, nine or ten!
Four busy firefighters could not retire
Because they might have to put out a fire.
The first one rang a big brass bell.
The second one said, 'It's the Grand Hotel!'
The third one said, 'Down the pole we'll slide.'
The fourth one said, 'Get ready to ride.'
The siren said, 'Get out of the way!'
'We have to put out a fire today!'
The red fire truck sped on to the fire,
As the big yellow flames grew higher and higher.
Swish went the water from the fire-hose spout
And in no time at all the fire was out.
The grocer stocks his shelves with care,
To make it easier shopping there.
He keeps his food so fresh and neat,
Mother says his store's a treat.
The milkman drives his truck this way.
He stops at our house most everyday.
Brings us cool fresh milk to drink.
These are four helpful friends I think.
This is Dr. Bell who keeps us well. (thumb up)
This is Nurse Rick, who cares for the sick. (index up)
This is Dr. Health, who cares for our teeth. (middle up)
This is Postman Dale, who delivers our mail. (ring up)
This one here -- hey, that's me! (pinky up)
We all work together for our community!
I want to be a carpenter and work the whole day long.
I'll use a great big box of tools;my arms are very strong
First, I'll saw and saw and saw,and cut the boards in two
Little boards and big boards-all kinds of boards will do.
I'll plane and plane and plane the boards for everyone is
rough.
Back and forth I'll plane the boards until they're smooth
enough.
I'll measure them and measure them - each one down to a T
And then I'll start to build a house for me up in a tree!
We watch for the mail truck to come down the street,
Then we run to the mailbox, eager to greet,
Our special mailperson.
And as you can see,
The one who brings our mail
Is a mail lady?
Miss Polly Had A Dolly who was sick, sick, sick
(rock dolly)
So she called for the doctor to come quick, quick, quick,
(pretend to call doctor on telephone)
The doctor came with his bag and his hat,
(pretend to hold bag with one hand,take off hat w. other)
And he knocked on the door with a rat-a-tat tat.
(knock on floor)
The doctor looked at dolly and he shook his head.
And he told Miss Polly, 'Put her straight to bed.'
He wrote out a paper for a pill, pill, pill.
'I'll be back in the morning with my bill, bill, bill'.
(for above, shake head, write pill, hand out bill)
Mr. Grocer had a store, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum.
And in his store he had some milk, yum, yum, yum, yum,
yum.
With a gulp-gulp here and a gulp-gulp there
Here a gulp, there a gulp, everywhere a gulp-gulp.
Mr. Grocer had a store, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum.
The police officer stands so tall and straight
Holds up his hand for cars to wait
Blows his whistle, 'Tweet, tweet!'
Till I'm safely across the street.
Over the towns and countrysides
Telephone wires stretch far and wide.
This first line worker climbs a pole
With bravery and self-control.
The second wears goggles on his eyes
In case some steel from wire flies.
The third one wears a belt with pride.
A safety belt is his best guide.
The fourth one climbs in cold and heat
With safe, strong climbers on both feet.
The fifth a telephone installs
Just so that you can make your calls.
One clerk works hard unpacking beans and rice.
Two clerks work hard arranging all the spice.
Three clerks work hard wrapping yellow cheese.
Four clerks work hard sorting drinks and teas.
Five clerks work hard marking all the jam.
Six clerks work hard slicing up the ham.
Seven clerks work hard packaging the sweets.
Eight clerks work hard selling all the meats.
Nine clerks work hard shelving rolls and bread.
Ten clerks worn out go home to bed.
Ten little firemen
Sleeping in a row
Ding-dong goes the bell
And down the ple they go
Off on the engine oh! oh! oh!
Using the big hose so, so, so
When the fire is out, home sooo slow
Back to bed all in a row.
This firefighter rings the bell. (thumb)
This firefighter hold the hose so well. (index)
This firefighter slides down the pole. (middle)
This firefighter chops a hole. (ring)
This firefighter climbs higher and higher. (pinky)
And all the firefighters put out the fire!
Find something broken - an old appliance, a chair, or a
vehicle (wagon, tricycle, bike, etc.). (Perhaps a trip to
Wastewise.) Let the children fix it with pliers,
screwdrivers an masking tape. Let each child work on a
different broken item. When they're finished, they'll charge
you for 'parts and labor,' so be ready to pay plenty.
The librarian helps the visitors find
Several good books to strengthen their mind.
Magazines and records stored on a rack,
You can take some things home
But you must bring them back.
Oh, who are the people in your neighbourhood,
In your neighbourhood, in your neighbourhood?
Oh, who are the people in your neighbourhood
The people that you meet each day?
Oh, the postman always brings the mail
Through rain or snow or sleet or hail.
He'll work, and work the whole day through
To get your letters safe to you.
Oh, the fireman is brave it's said
His engine shiny red.
If there's a fire about,
Well, he'll be sure to put it out.
There on the corner,
in his suit of blue,
The neighborhood policeman
is there to help you.
If you get lost,
he knows what to do.
Just tell him your name
and your address too!
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
(move hands in circular motion)
Round, and round, round and round.
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
All around the town.
(extend arms up and out)
The people on the bus go up and down.(stand up, sit down)
The horn on the bus goes 'beep,beep,beep'.(hand press
horn)
The money on the bus goes 'clink,clink,clink'.(hand
motion)
The driver on the bus says, 'Move on back.' (thumb back)
The baby on the bus goes, 'Wah wah wah' (rub eyes)
The windshield wipers go 'swish, swish, swish.'(hands move)
Have each child lie on a large piece of butcher paper and
outline the body. When complete, have the children dress
themselves in appropriate attare for what they want to be
when they grow up. A firefighter? They will need a red
suit, heavy black boots, and a firefighter's hat. A mommy?
They might have a baby in their arms or at their side and
wear pretty earrings and carry a purse. A doctor? They
might have a white coat and wear a stethocscope. Cut out the
life-size pictures and mount them for display.
Materials: large white butcher paper, tracing crayon,
crayons or paints, scissors
They never stop asking me,
'What will you be? - A doctor, a dancer, a diver at sea?'
They never stop bugging me:
'What will you be? As if they expect me to stop being
me.'
When I grow up I'm going to be Sneeze,
And sprinkle Germs on my Enemies.
When I grow up I'm going to be a Toad,
And dump Silly Questions on the road.
When I grow up, I'm going to be a Child.
I'll play the whole darn day and drive them Wild.
This worker feeds the lion at the zoo.
This worker drives an engine to the fire.
This worker makes a new sole for your shoe.
This worker mends a high electric wire.
This worker drives a sweeper through the streets
This worker bakes a pie or a bun.
This worker sells my parents food to eat,
I'm very glad we've got them, every one!
Bacon and eggs - lay 2 pretzel sticks (bacon) next to each
other, dab on about 1/2 tsp. melted almond bark (egg white)
and put a yellow M & M (yolk) in it.
Cake - fix your favorite meatloaf. Make up some mashed
potatoes and 'frost' the meatloaf with the potatoes. Decorate
with vegies, or tint some of the potatoes with food coloring
and decorate with a pastry tube like frosting.
Hamburgers and Fries:
For each 'burger' you will need 2 vanilla wafer cookies - the
buns-, a chocolate covered round cookie (GS thin mints are
perfect) - the meat - a little dab or red and yellow frosting
- catsup & mustard. Optional - brush a dab of milk on the
top 'bun' and sprinkle a few sesame seeds on it. For fries,
I have one of the McDonalds French Fry Makers that makes
bread into fries, but all you need to do is remove the crust
from a
slice of bread, cut it into thin strips, and shake some
cinnamon-sugar over it.
Advent is a time to wait
Not quite time to celebrate
Light the candles one by one
Till this advent time is done
Christmas day will soon be here
Time for joy and time for cheer.
Material: Candy Cane, Brown pipe cleaner, sm. google eyes,
sm. pom-pom red, optional festive ribbon and small bell for a
bow tie
Twist pipe cleaner around the candy cane just at the curve,
separate the two ends into a V-shape and twist each into the
shape of a letter Z. Add the eyes in front of the 'antlers'
and the red pom-pom nose at the tip. Add the optional bow
tie if desired.
Although clear glue works fine to add the eyes,nose,bow-tie -
if an adult is making these - a hot glue gun would work
best.
Trace around their hands, fingers closed on yellow
construction paper and cut out. (These will be the angel
wings) Now with a paper plate cut a triangle out similar to a
large piece of pie (about 1/3 of the plate) Roll what's left
of the plate to the back to form a cone - staple or tape. Cut
the child's face out of a photograph & glue on to the tip
of the cone. Staple the hands, thumbs down, to the back of
the cone. Form a glitter pipe- cleaner into a small circle
with a stem & attach to the inside of the cone for halo.
Decorate the cone (skirt) as you wish. We used a paper punch
for a
lacy effect.
Contributed by Roni (LtlRedHen3@aol.com)
Christmas candles burning bright
Shining in the winter night
Shining there for all to see
Christmas candles one, two, three
Christmas candles burning bright
Shine until the morning light.
With a 'hey' and a 'hi' and a 'ho-ho-ho'
Somebody tickled old Santa Claus' toe.
Get up ol' Santa, there's work to be done,
The children must have their holiday fun.
Title: Christmas Day Is Coming Tune: London Bridge
Christmas day is coming soon Jingle jingle ring the
bells
Coming soon, coming soon Ring the bells, ring the
bells
Christmas day is coming soon Jingle jingle ring the
bells
I heard Santa say. On old santas sleigh
Ho ho ho says Santa Claus Merry Christmas everyone
Santa Claus Santa Claus Everyone, everyone
Ho ho ho says Santa Claus Merry Christmas everyone
I'll soon be on my way. It's almost Christmas day.
I'm a little snowman round and fat
Here is my scarf and here is my hat
When Christmas comes around just hear me shout
Here comes Santa you better watch out!
I'm a little lightbulb round and bright
Here is my twinkle oh what a sight
When Christmas comes around just plug me in
And watch me blink again and again
I'm a little Christmas tree, short and green, Here are my
branches, the cutest you've seen, When I get all decorated
hear me cheer, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
A German Folktale adapted by Jean Warren
Long ago in Germany, families allowed their animals to come
inside and view the Christmas trees on Christmas Eve. Because
the Christ Child was born in a stable, they felt that the
animals should be part of the Christmas celebration.
But the housewives never let the spiders come inside because
they didn't want cobwebs all over their homes.
The spiders were very unhappy about this, so one year they
complained to the Christ Child. The Christ Child felt sorry
for the spiders.
Late that night He let them into the house to see the
Christmas tree.
The spiders loved the trees. All night long they danced in
the branches, leaving them covered with cobwebs.
In the morning the housewives saw what the spiders had done.
But instead of being angry, they were thrilled. For in the
night the Christ Child had turned all the cobwebs into
sparkling silver tinsel.
Twinkle, twinkle Christmas star
Way up high is where you are
Shining there for all to see
On the tiptop of the tree
Twinkle twinkle star so bright
Shine up there til morning light.
We may not play in snow
Or wear big heavy clothes
But everybody knows
What time of year is near
We decorate the tree
And light the candles bright
We sing this song and clap our hands
Because it's Christmas night oh...
Christmastime, christmastime, Christmastime is here!
We have sun and lots of fun, When we have Christmas here!
Christmastime, Christmastime, Christmastime is here!
We have sun and lots of fun When Christmastime is here!
Materials: Various colours of tissue paper, Dark green
construction paper christmas tree, hole punchers, glue,
string for hanging
Preparation: Have children punch holes into the tree with a
hole puncher. With tissue paper cut into squares have the
children glue the paper onto the back of the tree. Put a
hole in the top of the tree and put a string through it for
hanging.
Materials: coloured construction paper, coloured cellophane,
crayons
Cut out trees made of construction paper. Punch out holes in
the tree. Have children glue coloured pieces of construction
paper or coloured celophane to the back to cover the holes.
This makes it look like lights on the tree. Turn over and
decorate the tree with whatever they wish (crayons,
construction paper bits, etc.) Older kids can cut out their
own tree and holes.
1 c. cinnamon, 1 t. cloves, 1 c. applesauce, 1 t. ground
allspice, 1 t. nutmeg
Mix dry ingredients and add applesauce to consistency of
play-dough. Roll to 1/4 inch thick on cinnamon base. Use
sharp cookie cutters, poke hole (for hanger) with small straw
or sucker stick. Dries in 4-5 days on waxed paper.
Dance like snowflakes,
Dance like snowflakes,
In the air,
In the air.
Whirling, twirling, snowflakes,
Whirling, twirling, snowflakes,
Here and there
Here and there.
tune: Did you ever see a Lassie?
Did you ever see a reindeer, a reindeer, a reindeer?
Did you ever see a reindeer with a bright shiny nose.
A bright shiny nose, a bright shiny nose
Did you ever see a reindeer with a bright shiny nose?
Oh his name is Rudolph, is Rudolph, is Rudolph
Oh his name is Rudolph the red nosed reindeer
the red nosed reindeer, the red nosed reindeer.
Oh his name is Rudoph, the red nosed reindeer.
Hand out papers for the parents to fill out with their
families favourite recipes two or three each, one must be a
main dish (breakfast, lunch, or dinner) the others can be a
snack, soup, or appetiser. Copy all recipes and put them in
a book along with pictures the children draw. This will make
a great gift for Christmas or a great gift for the first week
in June (Family week).
Five little bells hanging in a row, (hold up 5 fingers)
The first one said, 'Ring me slow.' (move thumb slowly)
The second one said, 'Ring me fast!' (move index finger
quickly)
The third one said, 'Ring me last.' (move middle finger)
The fourth one said, 'I'M like a chime.' (move ring
finger)
The fifth one said, 'Ring us all at christmas time.' (wiggle
all 5 fingers)
Five Little Spider on Christmas Eve
Wanted to see the pretty Christmas tree
One said, 'I'm afraid to go into the room'
Two said, 'We're afraid of the mop and broom'
Three said, 'I hope someone won't step on us.'
Four said, 'I hope that we won't cause a fuss'
Five said, 'We just love pretty Christmas Trees'
All said, 'We hope that nobody sees'
So they crept through a hole in the wall that night,
And next morning, there was a wonderful sight.
For on Christmas Day all over the tree,
Were the shiniest webs that you ever did see.
Contributed by Kathryn Drewitz
Materials: Eather handprints cut out of green paper or green
paint that the children can press their hands onto, A yellow
star, and ten red hearts small enough to fit on the hand
print.
Glue or place one handprint at the top of the page and with
the fingers pointing down. This is the top of the tree. Use
the rest of the handprints fanning out to make a Christmas
tree. In the star write I love...then in each heart let the
kids pick special people...mommy, daddy, friends, grands,
pets, dolls etc. They are way cute. This year I am doing
the hands with fabric, the writing with fabric paint and
placing the 'tree'on a pattern material and hanging on a
dowel. contributed by Tigger (mrsrickw@prairie.lakes.com)
Ring the bell ring the bell
Christmas time is here
Ring the bell ring the bell
Give a great beg cheer!
Light the lights, light the lights
Shout a big Hurray!
Hello Santa, Hello Santa Hello elves, hello elves
How are you? How are you? How are you? How are you?
Busy making games, Busy wrapping toys,
Checking children's names. For the girls and boys.
How are you? How are you? How are you? How are you?
Hello Rudolph hello Rudolph
How are you? How are you?
Landing on your toes
Shining up your nose
How are you? How are you?
Tune: I'm a Little Teapot
Here's a little candle dressed in white,
Wearing a hat of yellow light.
When the night is dark, then you will see
Just how bright this light can be
Here's a little candle straight and tall,
Shining it's light upon us all,
When the night is dark, then you will see,
Just how bright this light can be.
Here's a little candle burning bright.
Keeping us safe all through the night,
When the night is dark, then you will see,
Just how bright this light can be!
I've been waiting for Christmas
And it's almost here
I've been waiting for christmas
Santa's getting near
Can't you hear the sleigh bells ringing?
Reindeer up so high
Can't you hear the children singing
As they watch the sky?
Santa, hurry up, Santa, hurry up, Santa hurry up
today-ay-ay
Santa, hurry up, Santa, hurry up, Santa hurry up today.
Title: One Little, Two Little, Three Little Reindeer
Sung to 'One Little, Two Little, Three Little Indians'
One little, two little, three little reindeer.
Four little, five little, six little reindeer.
Seven little, eight little, nine little reindeer,
Pulling Santa's sleigh.
Materials: One large pinecone for each child, green and
white tempera paint, small sponges, glitter, small Christmas
balls (optional), newspaper.
Preparation: Pour tempera into shallow dishes. Cover tables
with newspaper.
Activity: Have the children dip sponges into green and white
tempera and apply paint all over their pinecones to simulate
snow-covered evergreen trees. While paint is still wet,
glitter may be sprinkled on, or small Christmas balls may be
added.
Hint: Children who do not like messy hands can paint with
sponges that are clipped to clothespins.
Red, green, white, red, green, white
Christmas colours, Christmas colours,
Red is the colour on holly wreaths
Green is the colour of Christmas trees
White is the colour from the stars so bright
Red, green, white, red, green, white.
My son came home from preschool with a gift he had received
from Santa. It was an envelope which had a card in it. The
card had been made on a computer, and printed on a colour
printer, looked very nice. Inside the card was a small zip
lock type bag that had oatmeal and gold glitter in it. The
note said:
Dear.......
On Christmas Eve, before you go to bed, sprinkle this magic
reindeer food on your lawn. The magic glitter sparkling in
the moonlight and the smell of the oats will help guide
Rudolph to your house.
Merry Christmas!
Love Santa Contributed by Heather (Reimer9909@aol.com)
You put your antlers in, You put your antlers out.
You put your antlers in and you shake them all about.
You do the Reindeer Pokey and you turn yourself around.
That's what it's all about!
You put your hooves in...
You put your red nose in...
You put your fluffy tail in...
You put your reindeer body in...
Who laughs this way ho ho ho
S A N T A
Who drives the sleigh through sleet or snow?
S A N T A
His hair is white, his suit is red
He wears a hat to cover his head
Who brings fun for girls and boys?
S A N T A
Materials: Large shredded wheat biscuits, green food
colouring, white glue, small margarine lids, small red beads
or red-hots, red ribbon or yarn, bowls
Preparation: For each child crumble one large shredded wheat
biscuit into a bowl. Mix 5 drops of green food colouring
with 1/4 cup white glue and add to the cereal. Help the
child form wreath on top of a plastic lid. Let the child
decorate wreath by pressing red beads or red hots into the
green mixture. Leave the wreath to dry. While it's still
partially wet, make a hole in the top with a pencil point and
use a needle to insert ribbon or yarn for hanging. The
wreath will dry in about 24 hours. Peel it off the lid, and
its ready for the tree.
Material: was paper, glue, sparkles, yarn (various
colours)
Cut yarn into various lengths. Dip yarn in glue and lay on
wax paper, over lapping each piece. Let dry. Pull yarn off
wax paper, attach a string to the top, apply glue and add
sparkles. Hang to dry. Presto, ornaments where no 2 are
alike.
Materials: Coloured construction paper, cotton balls, old
toy catalogues, glue.
Have the children trace or draw a picture of a stocking on
construction paper and cut out. Use cotton balls to trim the
stocking on the top. Next using the pictures found in the
toy cataloge have the children cut and glue what they like
best.
What is Christmas? We'll tell you.
It's putting love in all we do;
In our work, and in our play.
In our living every day.
It is showing love for others,
Father, Mother, Sisters, Brothers.
Three little Christmas trees standing all alone. (hold up 3
fingers)
Their hearts were very sad 'cause they haven't found a home
(put hand over heart, then make shape of roof with
fingers).
Then chop went the ax and down fell the tree (make chopping
motion and tree falling)
And one went with a happy family.
Contributed by
Two little Christmas trees..... (jack44@ix.netcom.com)
One little Christmas tree......
No little Christmas trees......
Their hearts were very happy cause they all found a home!
Twinkle twinkle little tree
Twinkle twinkle just for me
All you do the whole day through
Is twinkle twinkle twinkle
Christmas a time for wishes
A time for all the little girls and boys
To fill their hearts with Christmas joys
So twinkle twinkle little tree
Twinkle twinkle just for me
Ho I love to watch you shine
And twinkle twinkle twinkle!
Tune: The Farmer In The Dell
We'll decorate the tree The presents we will wrap
We'll decorate the tree The presents we will wrap
Heigh ho it's Christmas time Heigh ho it's Christmas time
We'll decorate the tree The presents we will wrap.
Carols we will sing.
Carols we will sing.
heigh ho it's Christmastime
Carols we will sing.
When santa comes to our house, (hands form pointed roof)
I would like to peek, (peek through fingers)
But I know he'll never come (shake head no)
Until I'm fast asleep.(rest head on hands)
Where is Santa? Where is Santa? (Hands behind back.)
Here I am!Here I am!(Arms out in front making a belly
shape.)
Merry, Merry Christmas!
(Keep arms up through the rest of the song. Rock from side
to side.)
Merry, Merry Christmas!
Ho! Ho! Ho! (Bob slightly up and down.)
Ho! Ho! Ho!
Wrap yarn around a book lengthwise about 30 times. Slip a 12
in. length of doubled yarn under the strands at top of book.
Tie in double knot, then tie ends to form a loop. Slip yarn
off book and cut through bottom ends. tie a piece of yarn
around doll's neck. Trim. Separate out 12 strands on each
side of doll for arms. Make 3 groups of 4 stands each and
braid to desired length. (adjust numbers accordingly for
extra fat or skinny yarn.) Tie a piece of yarn around doll's
wrist and waist. Trim ends. Trim for a skirt. For legs,
divide remaining strands into two groups. Braid these and
tie at ankles. To make feature, knot short pieces of yarn
around a few strands on head.
Ask a child to remove a shoe and sock, then paint (giggling
allowed) the bottom of his foot with yellow washable liquid
paint. Have him press his foot onto a sheet of construction
paper. When the child's foot is clean and the paint is dry,
have him use crayongs to add an eye, beak, and legs to his
chick. Finally have him spread glue along the bottom of the
paper, then sprinkle the glue with cornmeal.
Materials - One large die
Let one child begin by rolling the die and calling out the
number that comes up. (For very young children, have an
adult call the numbers.) Then have the child hop that number
of times while the other children try to imitate him or her.
Let the child try hopping invarious ways: forward, backward,
to the side or around and aro0und. Encourage big hops and
little hops. Continue the game until everyone has had a turn
being the leader.
Make the game more fun by letting the leader wear a pair of
bunny ears fashioned from construction paper. Cutout a 2
inch wide band long enough to fit around the child's head.
A great activity for circle time/singing.
Prepare a Easter Basket by putting plastic eggs in it. Fill
each egg with one favorite song title each. Just ask a child
to crack open an egg. Read the title aloud; then sing the
song or fingerplay.
Materials: 1 small clay pot, pink pom pom (for nose), Larger
white pom pom (for tail), White and pink acrylic paint, Large
wiggle eyes, Pink and white fun foam.
Have the children sponge paint the clay pot with white and
pink so that it is mottled. Cut the fun foam in the shape of
bunny ears with the pink being a bit smaller to fit on the
inside. Glue the ears in place on back of pot and glue the
wiggle eyes on front with the nose pompom positioned below.
Fill with easter grass and some goodies for parents and send
home with a cute card attached that says 'Some-bunny Loves
You!'
Materials: Construction paper or other heavy paper,
Newspaper, Various colours of tempera paint, Paint pans
Procedure:
Pour tempera paint into shallow pans. Crumple newspaper.
Have the children dip crumpled newspaper into paint and dab
it onto construction paper. Let the paper dry and cut it
into egg shapes. You may want to cut out the egg shapes
before the children paint them. This is a good activity for
making kite shapes or other spring items.
This makes little bitty easter baskets...use regular size
styrofoam cups, and bake them at 350 for 1to 2 minutes. They
can be painted or decorated with bird seed, feathers
etc...You can also use bigger cups, and they don't shrink
so small. These are really cute, and the kids think that
they are very cool.
Materials: cardboard, tape, paper, thinned paint, brushes,
crayons
Procedure: Cut Easter egg shapes from thin cardboard such as
potato chip boxes. Attach loops of tape, sticky side out, to
the backs of the shapes and stick them on sheets of paper.
Let the children brush thinned paint around the edges of
their shapes, extending out about an inch. It's not
necessary for them to paint their shapes, but they probably
will. Remove the cardboard shpaes, leaving unpainted egg
shapes in the middle of the papers. When the papers are dry,
let the children decorate their egg shapes with crayhons, if
desired.
Rabbits soft and cuddly
Baby chickens, too.
Easter eggs for baskets
White and pink and blue.
Easter cards of greeting,
Music in the air,
Lilies just to tell us
It's Easter everywhere.
Precut egg shape out of coffee filters. Mix water and yellow
food colouring and place mixture in a baby food jar. Do the
same for red. Let the children use eyedroppers to drip
colours on the filter shape. The colours will run together
and make beautiful eggs.
Five little Easter friends sitting by the door,
One hopped away, and then there were four.
Hop......., see how they run!
Hop......., they think it's great fun!
Materials: 1 hard boiled egg for eac child. Divide the
players into pairs. One person in each pair is the
challenger and tries to crack the end of his opponent's egg
by gently tapping it once with the end of his own egg. The
opponent then gets a chance to tap the challenger's egg.
Once a player's egg cracks, he must flip it over to the
uncracked end. Continue in this manner until one of the eggs
is cracked on both ends. The player whose egg first cracks
on both ends is eliminated, and the other player advances to
the next round. The winners of the second round enter a
third round and so forth. The person who emerges from all
the challenges with at least one end of his egg uncracked
wins the game. FamilyFun March 1997
Here is a bunny with ears so funny, (hold up index and middle
finger for ears.)
And here is his hole in the ground, (make a circle with other
hand using index finger and thumb)
At the first sound he hears, he pricks up his ears, (extend 2
fingers)
And hops in the hole in the ground. (fingers jump into
hole)
Sing to the tune of 'If Your Happy and You Know It'
Hop around, twitch your nose, thump your feet and shake your
tail. Have some bunny fun!
If you like the Easter Bunny, 'hop around'
If you like the Easter Bunny, 'hop around'
If you like the Easter Bunny, and you think he's very
funny,
If you like the Easter Bunny 'hop around'
Wash and dry a margarine container. Punch a hole on both
sides of container` - near the top with a paper punch. Wrap
2 pipe cleaners around each other and insert each end into a
hole and twist the ends together for the handle. Glue fabric
and ribbon to outside of container. Decorate the handle with
ribbon and a bow. Fill the basket with treats!! HAPPY
EASTER!!
Materials: Construction Paper, Coloured tissue paper or
crepe paper streamers, spray bottles, water
Preparation: Cut tissue or crepe paper into desired shapes
and sizes. Fill spray bottles with water. Have the children
place coloured tissue or crepe paper on construction paper
that is in the shape of a egg and spray with water. Then
have them remove the coloured paper to see how it bled onto
the construction paper, creating designs.
The tulips in the garden
Are wearing yellow hats;
The pussywillows by the brook
Have fur like any cats'.
The bee is honey hunting;
The robin's chirp is gay;
And all the world is singing,
'Oh, happy Easter Day!'
Materials: Legg's eggs or small blown up balloon, Masking
tape, Glue, Brushes, Coloured tissue
Procedure:
1. Put tape around seam of Legg's eggs.
2. Brush glue (watered down a bit) all over egg.
3. Place different coloured tissue paper pieces onto the
glue.
4. Dip finger into glue and be sure all paper edges are down
by rubbing glue over paper. (Child may need help with this.)
Materials: Bucket, Water, Oil-based paint, Straw or heavy
wire, Plain ornament, Blown out egg shell
Procedure:
Set out an appropriate, expendable bucket, deep throwaway
pan, etc. and fill with water about halfway. Have children
select one or two colours of oil-based paint or spray that is
not water soluble. Drop several drops of each colour (or
spray) onto the water. If it's an oil-based paint it will
not mix with the water. Have children stir the water with a
straw or heavy wire to swirl the colours around. Attach
paper ornament or egg to wire and dip in paint, swirling
around. Dry overnight.
Materials: Dyed egg shells, Rolling pin, Glue, Brushes, Card
matt paper plate
Procedure:
1. Collect egg shells after Easter.
2. Crush them with a rolling pin.
3. Glue crushed egg shells onto cardboard, matt board or
paper plate.
4. If shells are not dyed, you should first dye them.
Picture of child - A close-up head-and-shoulders cut out
and
glued to a manila file folder (or posterboard), leaving a 2.5
inch base below the photo; tracings of both of the child's
hands cut out of the same file folder material; a strip of
construction paper approximately 18 x 2.5 inches with the
words 'I love you this much!' written on it. Glue a hand on
each end and the photo in the center (extra material on the
backside). Fold the ends in so that it looks like a child
with his arms folded in front of him. When you open it out,
the outstretched arms will let it stand on a desk or
shelf.
* A Bookmark - a small bookmark-shaped strip of posterboard
with the child's photo glued on one end and the words 'I'll
save your place, Dad' written on it. If you don't have a
laminating machine, you can just cover it (both sides) with
clear contact paper.
Materials: Block of wood - Child's Photo - Modge Podge
Glue the child's photo on the block of wood using the podge
type effect and on the back of the wood have a card printed
with 'A Chip Off The Old Block'.
'Walk a little slower, Daddy',
Said a little child so small.
'I'm following in your footsteps,
And I don't want to fall.
Sometimes your steps are very fast,
Sometimes they're hard to see;
So walk a little slower, Daddy
For you are leading me.
Someday when I'm all grown up, You're what I want to be;
Then I will have a little child Who'll want to follow me.
And I would want to lead just right,
And know that I was true; So, walk a little slower, Daddy
Contributed by (DRUSGMA@aol.com)
Materials: Crayola Modeling Clay, Paint
1) Make a big ball to be used as the frogs body. 2) Dent
ball with paintbrush handle or pen - this is the frogs mouth
and will be used as the pencil/pen holder. 3) Take another
piece of clay and flatten it into a circular shape. Score
lines around outside of circle and then cut circle into
quarters these will be the frogs feet. 4) Attach each
quarter of circle to bottom of ball. 5) Add small balls to
top of ball for eyes. 6) Make two snakes out of more clay,
shape each into a loop and add to feet as the legs of the
frog. 7) Let clay dry and paint.
What you need: plaster of paris, assorted nuts, bolts, etc.,
felt, glue, silver spray paint.
What you do: 1. Mix up the plaster of paris according to
package directions.
2. Give each child about 1 cup of the mixture and have them
form it into a lump with a flat bottom.
3. Quickly before it hardens have them stick the nuts,
bolts, etc. all over the lump.
4. Leave it to harden overnight then spray with silver
paint.
5. Last step is to cut out a piece of felt and glue it on
the bottom.
Contributed by Mary-Jane
Use hand prints with the slogan 'Best Dad/Granddad/etc Hands
Down' - Footprints 'My Grandkids Walk All Over Me'
Three Tips: Prewash the shirts to remove sizing. Do not use
fabric softeners of any kind. These will coat the fabric and
the paints will not adhere as well. I used Liquitex
Concentrated Artist Color (Available at art supply stores).
The colors are vibrant and you can use them directly out of
the jar. Yellow is the only color that I didn't care for.
Put scrap cardboard inside the shirt so that the paint
doesn't bleed through to the back.
'Walk a little slower, Daddy',Said a little child so small.
'I'm following in your footsteps, And I don't want to
fall.
Sometimes your steps are very fast,
Sometimes they're hard to see;
So walk a little slower, Daddy, For you are leading me.
Someday when I'm all grown up, You're what I want to be;
Then I will have a little child who'll want to follow me.
And I would want to lead just right,
And know that I was true;
So, walk a little slower, Daddy,For I must follow you.'
Place on a card with a print of the child's footprints
underneith. Contributed by Terri (Kid'n'Kaboodle)
Sometimes you get discouraged
Because I am so small
And always leave my fingers prints
On furniture and walls
But every day I'm growing up
And soon I'll be so tall
That all those little hand prints
Will be hard to recall.
So here's a special hand print
Just so that you can say,
This is how my fingers looked
When I placed them here today.
- Let the children take turns popping up out of cardboard
carton 'burrow' as everyone recites the poem below.
Groundhog, Groundhog, popping up today.
Groundhog, Groundhog, can you play?
If you see your shadow, you can stay.
Groundhog, Groundhog, popping up today.
Groundhog, Groundhog, can you play?
(Jean Warren)
If desired, arrange room so that you can create or take away
a shadow. Overhead lights would eliminate a shadow and a low
light aimed directly at the 'groundhog' would create a
shadow. (Totline-Special Day Celebrations-Elizabeth McKinnon)
Groundhogs like to nibble on grasses and other greens that
grow near their burrows. For 'groundhog lunches', let the
children help make watercress and romaine lettuce salads to
eat with a favorite dressing.
(Totline-Special Day Celebrations-Elizabeth McKinnon)
Here's a little groundhog, furry and brown,
He's popping up to look around.
If he sees his shadow, down he'll go,
Then six more weeks of winter - oh, no!
Do this poem with a puppet groundhog made by gluing a picture
of a groundhog on a popcycle stick and inserting the popcycle
stick in a paper cup poking the stick through a hole in the
bottom of the cup. (Nancy Nason Biddinger-Orlando,FL)
(Special Day Celebrations-Elizabeth McKinnon)
This is a Halloween song sung to the tune of the itsy bitsy
spider.
A creepy, crawly monster is coming straight at me. Closer and
closer he climbs upon my knee. Up to my shoulder the
monster's much too near, 'Happy Halloween' he whispers in my
ear.
Make a cake shaped like a skeleton. Eather shape cake after
baking when cool or use a skeleton cake pan shape. When cake
is cool ice using white icing.
Fire Eyes - Use sugar cubes soaked in Lemon extract for the
eyeballs. When ready to serve lite the sugar cubes just like
you would birthday candles.
Five fat turkeys are we
we spent all night in a tree
when the farmer came around
we couldn't be found
and that's why we're here you see.
Handprint Turkeys
Paint the child's palm and thumb brown with a sponge, paint
the other fingers different colors, press the child's hand on
a piece of paper. Paint under child's thumb tip red to make
the wattle and a black dot for the eye. The child draws a
beak and legs with marker.
Contributed by j. steiner(weecarelearningcenter@msn.com)
Five Little Goblins on a Halloween night
Made a very, very spooky sight
The first one danced on his tippy-tip-toes
The next one tumbled and bumped his nose
The next one jumped high up in the air
The next one sang a Halloween song.
Five goblins played the whole night long.
(Hold up fingers for pumpkins)
Five little pumpkins,
Sitting on a gate.
The first one said 'Oh my! It's getting late'.
The second one said 'There are witches in the air'.
The third one said 'But we don't care'.
The fourth one said 'Let's run and run and run'.
The fifth one said 'It's Halloween fun'.
Oooooooo went the wind,
And out went the lights.
(clap hands to the word 'out')
And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.
(roll arms)
Using white paper, have children step on paper and trace
around their shoes. To make a face, use crayons, pens, or
black construction paper with white chalk.
I'm a friendly ghost; I'm a friendly ghost
Watch me fly; watch me fly,
I can fly right through the air
See how all the people stare.
Way up high in the sky.
The Boo Mask - is a mask that a child can hold up to his face
and remove when desired. Eyes look through the O's in BOO.
Cut out of black paper. Add popsicle stick handle and
colourful streamers on the side.
Catch The Ghost - Inflate a white balloon to use as a ghost.
Do not tie the end. Have the children release the balloon
and try to catch the ghost before it touches the ground.
(CLOSE SUPERVISION WHILE USING BALLOONS)
Feed The Jack-O-Lantern - Draw a jack-o-lantern shape on the
outside of a box. Cut out the mouth section. Have the
children decorate the jack-o-lantern using crayons or
markers. Players take turns tossing bean bags into the
jack-o-lantern's mouth.Contributed from Deb
Hinx, minx, the old witch winks.
The fat begins to fry.
Nobody's home but Jumping Joan.
Father, mother, and I.
Stick, stock, stone dead.
Blind men can't see.
Every knave will have a slave,
You and I must be he.
I said my pajamas,
I slipped on my prayers.
I went up my slippers,
I took off my stairs.
I turned off the bed,
I jumped in the light.
The reason for this is
You gave me a fright!
I am a pumpkin, big and round, (use arms to show size of
pumpkin)
Once upon a time I grew on the ground (Point to the
ground)
Now I have a mouth, 2 eyes, a nose (Point to features on your
face)
What are they for, do you suppose? (Right forefinger to
forehead, thinking gesture)
When I have a candle inside (Hold up right forefinger)
Shining bright,
I'll be a Jack-O-Lantern on Halloween night! (Thumbs in
armpits - bragging gesture)
Late on a dark and stormy night.
Three witches stirred with all their might.
Two little ghosts said, 'How d'ye do?'
The wizard went tiptoe, tiptoe.
Booooooo!
Materials: A moveable chalk board, colored chalk, sponges
and bin of water.
Draw a wiches head (not too scary) or whole body on the chalk
board. Fill the bin with water and sponges. Have children
stand close enough to the board to be able to hit it
accurately with a wet sponge. Place water bin and sponges
near this spot Tell children to take turns throwing wet
sponges at the witch to try and 'melt' her away. As the
witch becomes wet and water drips down the board, it will
appear as if she is melting. Be sure the children are
squeezing out the sponges before throwing.
Contributed by Terri (pryerd@hub.ofthe.net)
Old Roger is dead and he lies in his grave.
Lies in his grave, lies in his grave.
Old Roger is dead and he lies in his grave,
Heigh ho, lies in his grave.
They planted an apple tree over his head.
The apples grew ripe and they all tumbled down.
There came an old woman a-picking them up.
Old Roger got up and he gave her a knock.
This made the old woman go hipperty-hop.
On a dark, dark, night,
In a dark, dark wood,
In a dark, dark house,
In a dark, dark room,
In a dark, dark cupboard,
On a dark, dark shelf,
In a dark, dark box,
There was a GHOST.
Using a large grocery bag (or a little lunch bag) crumple
newspaper and stuff. Twist top of paper bag and tie with an
elastic. Have children paint the bag orange. Paint the face
black. Paint stem green.
Paint the child's palm and four fingers with black paint.
Press the hand on
the sheet of construction paper so the palms overlap,
extending the fingers
in opposite directions. The palm print in the middle is the
spiders body and
the fingers are the legs. Glue on wiggle eyes and you're
done!
(sung to the tune of The Farmer in the Dell)
Pumpkin on the vine. Pumpkin on the vine.
I picked the one that weighed a ton, and that's the one
that's mine.
I made two scary eyes, a mouth that's oversized.
My mother took the other gook for making pumpkin pies.
Pumpkin on the vine. Pumpkin on the vine.
It's now a jack-o'-lantern and you ought to see it shine.
Pumpkin, Pumpkin
Sitting on a wall;
(have a child sit down)
Pumpkin, Pumpkin
Tip and Fall;
(have child tip over)
Pumpkin, Pumpkin
Rolling down the street;
(child rolls on floor)
Pumpkin, Pumpkin
Trick or Treat!!!
Materials: Black tagboard, black yarn, white lima beans,
glue
Preparation: Cut tagboard into circles, triangles and
squares, about 4 or 5 inches across. Punch a hole in the top
of each shape. Cut an 18inch length of yarn for each child.
Explain that the black shapes are ghosts and the beans are
ghost eyes. Then let the children glue the bean eyes on
their ghosts. While you're waiting for the glue to dry, have
the children chant the poem. Boo, Boo, Boo,
Boo,.........'s a ghost to scare you. To Halloween Town
(he/she) comes tonight, (He/she)'s a (circle,square,
triangle) with eyes so white. Boo, Boo, Boo, Boo, Boo, Boo,
Boo, Boo, Boo!!!
Materials: String or yarn, 6 6 in. pieces of string and 4 12
in. pieces of string, diluted white glue or liquid starch,
dishes, waxed paper
Activity: Let the children dip pieces of string into dishes
of glue or starch. Then have them lay their strings on waxed
paper to create the spiders web. Lay the string in the shape
of a spiral overlaping the ends. Lay the large pieces of
string over the spiral in the shape of a cross. When the
strings dry, they will become stiff and hold their shapes.
Make a small hole in the bottom of a small cottage cheese
container. (Any similar container will do.) Make it near
the edge. Put some cotton in the bottom and the container
will be ready. To fool your friends, paint the first finger
of one hand with poster paint. Stick your painted finger
through the hole and bend it inward. Let the rest of your
fingers grip the container naturally. Arrange the cotton
around your finger to fide the hole. Cover the container and
ask one of your unsuspecting friends to remove the lid. When
he does, move the finger up and down. He'll flip.
Materials: small bag that looks like a tiny house, a clean
chicken bone,woman finger puppet or draw old woman on
finger
- Tell the story of 'The Teeny Tiny Woman' (in computer
under Daycare) at the end of the story throw the hidden bone
at the children. (gently)
- ask the children if they were scared....
- Talk about things that can scared the children during
Halloween. (it is dark outside, the children don't
recognize their frends, strange shadows and noises)
- Talk about things that don't scare the children during
Halloween(candy,funny costumes, flashlights, mommy and
daddy)
(Include the poem 'I Said My Pajamas' have children make
stick puppets of characters and re-enact the story.)
Three little ghostesses,
Sitting on postesses,
Eating buttered toastesses,
Greasing their fistesses,
Up to their wristesses,
Oh what beastesses,
To make such feastesses.
(Use fingers for numbers)
One little, Two little, Three little witches,
Flying on their broom sticks, flying over ditches,
Sliding down the moonbeams without any hitches,
Hay Ho Halloween Time.
Double, double toil and trouble
Fire burn and caldron bubble
Fillet of a fenny snake
In the caldron boil and bake
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog.
.....now about the caldron sing
Like elves and fairies in a ring.
Enchanting all that you put in.
Materials: toilet paper rolls, popsicle sticks, foil, glue,
scissors, marking pens, yellow construction paper
Have each child cover a roll with foil. Cut a flame shape
out of the paper and draw a face on it. Glue flame on end of
stick and insert stick in roll. Hold roll with one hand and
make flame dance with the other.
Materials: Pencils, glue, paint, paintbrushes, small milk
cartons or boxes
Fold the tops of the milk cartons down to make boxes. Mix a
little glue with paint and let the children use this to paint
the boxes. Poke a pencil through box from top downwards so
point is on bottom.
Poem: I have a little dreidel
I made it out of clay.
And when it's dry and ready,
A dreidel game I'll play.
by Lisa (toysclhr@bga.com)
Eight candles, eight candles, (Tune: Frere Jacques)
I can't wait, I can't wait,
Hanukkah is here,
We celebrate every year
Hanukkah, Hanukkah
Eight candles, eight candles
I can't wait, I can't wait
We cound the lights
shining so bright
Hanukkah, Hanukkah
Eight little candles in a row
Waiting to join in the holiday glow
We will light them one by one
Until all eight have joined the fun
Eight little candles burning tonight
Filling the world with holiday light!
The menorah shines so pretty and bright (cup hands, join at
wrists to form menorah).
With eight little candles for me to light (fold down thumbes
and hold up fingers)
Eight little candles for me to light (wiggle fingers)
Special presents soon will be mine (point to self)
Hanukkah candles, glow, glow, glow (wiggle fingers)
Remind us of days long ago!
Hanukkah, Hanukkah (Song to Three Blind Mice)
Hanukkah is here, Hanukkah is here
Light eight candles, candles in a row.
Light eight candles and see them glow
Light eight candles so we will know
That Hanukkah is here.
I am opening a present, a present, a present
I am opening a present, it's Hanukkah tonight
I'll untie a ribbon, and take off the paper
I am opening a present, it's Hanukkah tonight.
Title: Light the Candles Bright Tune:The Farmer In..
Oh, light the candles bright
And dance around the light
Heigh ho the derry O
It is Hanukkah today!
spin the dreidel round Latke treats to eat
And watch it falling down And family to greet
Heigh ho the derry O Heigh ho the derry oh
It's Hanukkah tonight. It's Hannukkah tonight!
I am lighting all the candles on this Hanukkah night.
I am lighting all the candles to see them shining bright.
Flicker, flicker, little candles.
fill me with your glow
Now the time has come to count them...
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Materials: playdough, birthday candles, large candles
Let each child roll out a piece of playdough and press to
form a base. Then place large candle in center and four
small candles on each side of the large.
Oh, sing a song of Hanukkah (Tune: Did You Ever See A
Lassie)
Hanukkah, Hanukkah
Sing a song of Hanukkah, Happy Holiday!
With presents and presents on every night, presents.
Oh, sing a song of Hanukkah, a happy holiday.
Have each child spread cream cheese or butter on a slice of
bread. Arrange the 8 pretzels as candles and the carrot
stick as the large centre candle. Use the raisins as flames
at the ends of the carrot and pretzel sticks.
The latkes are frying in the pan, hurrah, hurrah
The latkes are frying in the pan, hurrah, hurrah
And when they've cooked nice and brown
We'll take them out and sit right down
And we'll eat those yummy latkes this Hanukkah night.
Materials: blue paint, large pieces of white paper, plastic
magarine lids, small Hanukkah cookie cutters or basic
shapes
Pour a small amount of paint into the margarine lids and then
let each child dip a cookie cutter into the paint. Use these
to stamp on the paper to make a pretty pattern.
Another idea with verbal children:
We did a sort of questionnaire, asked the children the
questions, wrote down their words, and pasted them into a
book the children designed and decorated. The questions:
What makes your Mother happy?
What makes your Mother mad?
If you could give your Mom anything in the world, what would
it be?
What's the nicest thing about your Mom?
What does your Mom look like?
What does she like best?
What does she like to do?
Contributed by(Kellie Cunningham)
Give me patience when little hands
tug at me with ceaseless small demands;
Give me gentle words and smiling eyes,
And keep my lips from hasty, sharp replies,
Let me not in weariness, confusion or noise
Obsure my vision from life's fleeting joys
That when in years to come my house is still,
Beautiful memories its rooms may fill.
Bookmark: A bookmark-sized piece of posterboard with the
child's photo glued to the upper part and the words 'I'll
save your place' below. Laminate or simply seal between two
strips of clear contac paper.
Paint the bottom of one foot at a time, use the right foot as
the left wing of the butterfly and then use the left foot as
the right wing, putting the outside of the feet together to
form a butterfly. After it dries you can let the kids glue
on sparkly things, buttons, etc. to decorate the butterfly.
Then you draw in the body in the middle and the antenna. It
would be a cute idea to do this on paper and find a sweet
butterfly poem to go with it then laminate for the moms. The
little kids love to get their feet painted on- but make sure
to keep a big bucket of water nearby for rinsing and lots of
towels!
Let the children colour 5 coffee filters. Try using food
colour and water. You can colour all 5 filters at once if
you stack them. When dry, stack the filters. Twist together
at the bottom using tape, and a pipe cleaner, to hold.
attach a safety pin. Fluff out the coffee filters so that it
looks like a paper carnation. Simple enough for even the
very little ones, and surprisingly pretty when complete.
Flower Child: Plaster of paris in a tiny clay pot, with a
popsicle stick painted or colored green) sticking up. A
brown felt circle (with a slit to fit over the stick) serves
as the soil. A brightly colored poster board flower with a
photo of the child's face in the center gets glued to the
stick and voila!
Here are flowers
Bright and gay
Just for you
On Mother's Day.
-----
I must have been born
Beneath a lucky star
To have a mother
As nice as you are!
------
Butterfly, go to my mother.
Whisper that I love her.
Contributed by Jean Roberts
Do this craft with bright colored const. paper with cord.
colors. You will also need paint. Colors are up to you !
On Reg. sized Const. Paper have the child paint his/her hand
print on the paper up towards the top...this is going to be a
flower. Then, Out of green Const. Paper, cut out a tulip stem
and have Child Glue the stem where it goes under the
handprint. When Paint of handprint is dry, cut out a heart
and glue it to the palm of the child's handprint. Now,
you
should have a Handprint flower with a heart in the middle.
Print this Poem, cut it out and place it on the side of the
flower...
A Piece of me
I give to you.
I painted this flower
To say I love You.
The heart is you I hope you will save it
The hand is me. And look back someday
To show that we are friends- At the flower we shared
The best there can be. On your special day.
- Kathleen Lademan
Also...put the Child's name and date on the other side of the
flower... Contributed by (Kpj3779394@aol.com)
Hugs: Glue tag-board cutouts of the child's hands to either
end of 2.5 x18 in. strip of construction paper on which is
written 'I love you this much!' Glue a good-sized head and
shoulders photo of the dck to tagboard, then to the center of
the strip. 'Arms' can fold over one another in front, and
when opened, will stand alone.
Marigolds: Have the children decorate white plastic frosting
containers, then plant marigold seeds in them well before
Mother's Day, so they'll be in bloom for the big day. (Ours
weren't, which is why I switched to the 'Flower Child'
idea.)
Mother's Day is a special day for sharing,
For thanking Mom for her special love and caring.
As you share this day with a mother dear to you;
Let's think about some other moms and children, too!
A lamb says Happy Mother's Day to a ewe,
And a joey is a baby kangaroo!
Little puppies cuddle close to mother dog,
But little tadpoles swim away from mother frog!
Ducklings learn to swim with mother duck,
And mother hen teachers baby chicks to say 'cluck'.
Mother cats and baby kittens say 'meow,'
While baby calf says 'moo' to mother cow.
(continued)
A mother seal shows baby pups how to float,
And baby kids romp with their mother goat.
Playful cubs follow close to mother bear.
Little foal trots behand his mother mare.
A cygnet's mother is a graceful swan.
A deer's little one is called a fawn.
All these youngsters join in chorus to say,
We wish our moms a Happy Mother's Day!
Here are my hands to tiny and small
For you to treasure until I am tall
Do watch them as the years to by
See how we grow
My hands and I
(a slightly different variation)
Here is my hand so tiny and small,
To hang somewhere upon the wall,
To watch as the years go flying by,
How we grow my hand and I.
At a local craft shop pick up a bag of wooden cut out shapes.
Size should be between 1 and 1 1/2 inches - suitable for a
pin to be glue gunned onto the back. (star, heart or flower
shapes are nice) Have a child paint his/her chosen shape
with suitable paint. When dry glue gun a pin onto back of
the child's shape. Give to mom with the following poem.
Coming with this special pin,
Are hugs and kisses, too,
For the nicest mommy in the world --
And, Mommy, that means you!!
I laugh, I dance,
I nap and play, at Miss (name).
But home is where I love to be,
with Mommy right there next to me.
To hold and hug and kiss and say,
'I love you mom, Happy Mother's Day'.
My present is ready for Mother's Day.
I don't have to wrap it or hide it away.
I can carry it with me all day long
It's a kiss, and a smile, and a happy song.
-------------------------------------------------
Contributed by Barbara Backer
All the noisy barefeet
discovery of a young child--
Paint, mud, sand, water!
May you always remember
my small footprints
As they dance across your heart.
You will need a 4 in. square ceramic tile - ivory color -
Varnished a picture of the child in the center of it (The
varnish did make some of the photos run so maybe next time I
would try Modge Podge - any other suggestions???) The
children glued small nuts and bolts all around the edges (you
could use beads, golf tees, jigsaw puzzle pieces - anything
you can think of). Then the kids painted a wooden clothespin
and I hot glued it on the bottom of the tile. This makes a
paper holder for their desk.
Photo Collage Placemat: Arrange photos of the dck (or
sibling groups) between two placemat-sized sheets of clear
contac paper. If needed, bare spots can be filled in with
messages like I Love You, Happy Mother's Day, You're the
Greatest, etc.
Photo Keychain: Buy a cheap (2 for $1.00) plastic keychain
with a place to slip a photo inside. For 1 child families,
we write, 'Happy Mother's Day' or 'I love you' or something
on a rectangle of colored paper to put on the reverse side of
the photo. For siblings, we put the photos back-to-back.
Instead of paint handprints try something different.
Materials: Round base container such as diaper wipes
container, play dough, plaster of paris.
Press play dough firmly in the bottom (about 2-3 inches).
Press the children's hands into the play dough, fill the
container with plaster of paris and let dry. Remove from
container. Do this with both of the children's hands and
include the following poem.
Here is my hand to love and to hold,
to wash and to kiss for when I get old
I will look back on this with fond memories of your loving
kiss. Contributed by(Kellie Cunningham)
Fold a 12 X 8 paper in half. On cover draw a circle near the
top of the paper. This is the centre of your flower. Prepare
2 shallow pans of paint-- one green, and one chosen colour of
your flowers. Have child dip their thumb in the flower colour
paint. Then have them make their thumb print repeatedly
around the circle until the flower has plenty of petals.
Attach green yarn for the stem. Let the child dip their other
thumb in the green paint to make leaves. Attach a yellow or
orange pompom to the centre of the petals. Place this poem
inside: This little flower is special you see, Because it was
made with part of me. My painted thumb print makes the flower
part. To show I love you with all my heart. Happy Mother's
Day 2000 Contributed by Kara (kara777@columbus.rr.com)
Pick up fancy paper at Walmart. Jellybean, Flowers,
Lacypaper etc. Ask the children questions about their mother
and write these down the centre of the paper. Afterwards the
children can decorate the border themselves. Questions
like:
My mother has ______eyes and __________hair./ My mother likes
to ________/ My mother is prettiest wen ____________/ My
mother is funniest when she ___________/ I like for my mother
to cook _________/ I don't like when she cooks ________/ She
likes me to help her ________\ When I am good she __________/
When I am naughty she _________/ I love my mother ver
much
Then they sign name on line.
Materials: Construction paper of several colours, Pencil,
Scissors, White glue, Sandpaper or sander, Shellac or clear
nail polish, Brush, Drill, Chain or twin
Procedure: Sketch a shape for a pendant. Cut several shapes
(exactly the same) from the different colours. (30 shapes)
Glue the shapes on top of each other. Do it well. Wait a
day until the glue is completely dry. Sand around the edges
at an angle. Sanding can take a few days. You don't have to
sand evenly sand farther around onto the front in some
places. Sand through a few layers so that different colours
show. Coat the pendant with 2 layers of shellac or clear
nail polish. Drill hole
They never let me stay up late,
To help the big bears celebrate.
But make me go to bed at eight.
So on my bed I toot my horn,
To welcome in The New Year's morn.
And baby New Year, freshly born.
That means that I can always be an hour early (maybe
three)
to celebrate most noisily. Lucky me!!!
from (ROSUDY.aol.com) Three Bears Holiday Rhyme Book Poems
Precut shamrock shapes out of coffee filters. Mix water and
yellow food coloring and place mixture in a baby food jar.
Do the same for blue. Let the children use eyedroppers to
drip colours on the filter shape. The colours will run
together and make beautiful shamrocks.
Prepare cards with pictures of green clovers or use cut-outs
of green clovers. Prepare enough for each child in your
classroom. All the clovers should have three leaves except
one which will be the four-leaf clover.
The children can take turns passing around the clovers to
music. When the music stops, the child who has the four-leaf
clover gets a special treat: a sticker, a hug from the
teacher, etc. The person who has the four-leaf clover is
lucky - that is why they get a special treat. If passing the
clovers to music is too difficult for your children, you can
simply take turns passing the clovers out to the children, or
they can pick one out of a hat or bowl....or how about hiding
a bunch of three leaf/four leaf clovers around the room.
Five little leprechauns hide behind the door.
One ran away and then there were four.
Four little leprechauns dance under the tree.
One ran away and then there were three.
Three little leprechauns making Irish stew.
One ran away and then there were two.
Two little leprechauns sleeping in the sun.
One ran away and then there was one.
One little leprechaun said, 'St Pat's Day is done.'
He ran away and then there were none!
- Green Jello
- Clover cookies with green icing.
- Kiwi
- Green peppars, cucumber, broccoli with dip
- Slushy Lime Juice
- Green milk or Green ice cream (chocolate mint?)
- Green gummy worms but say that they are snakes
- Pisctachio pudding
Start the hot potato game but instead of a potato use a 10
inch ball. When the children become good at passing this
ball around the circle switch to a 8 1/2 inch ball, then a 6
inch ball and then finally a real potato.
Remember to reverse the direction of the passes after each
cycle is completed.
(sung to I'm a little teapot)
I'm a little Leprechaun ,short and green,
Here is my shamrock but I can't be seen,
When you pull my feather,hear me scream (everyone scream)
I'm a little Leprechaun,short and green.
(from The best of the leader cut
out pages,Scouts Canada)
Leprechans are said to be 2 feet tall and are shoe makers,
maybe a makeshift shoe repair store with shoes that need
reairing? A sign that says St. Patty's Shoe Repair and a
sign that says HELP WANTED? LOL
Don't forget the cage so you can slam the door shut,
leprechans aren't friendly.
Leprechaun, leprechaun, fly across the sea
And fetch an emerald shamrock for you and for me.
Do not bring a nettle or a thistle for a joke,
But bring an Irish shamrock, for we are Irish folk.
And you and I, my leprechaun, will wear the shamrock gay,
And match it with an Irish smile upon St. Patrick's Day!
Hats can be made out of large sheets of paper. Simply roll
the paper making sure one end has a slightly larger diameter
than the other. The children can decorate the hat with
shamrocks. Pointed ears made from green construction paper
can also be added.
Ingredients: One 1-ounce box of sugar free instant pistachio
pudding for every five children,1/2 cup of milk per
child,
1 small resealable plastic bag per child, 1/2 cup measuring
cup,1 spoon per child
Put tablespoon of pudding mix in sandwhich bag and milk, then
close the baggie and have kids shake and squeeze, then
eat.
Take a small box lid, referrably white....decorate with green
stickers & green glitter, etc. Then prop the lid up
with an unsharpened pencil (like mini lean-to). Attach a
string to the pencil. Inside the trap, place a small pile of
Lucky Charms cereal. Then after the trap is set, the next
day you leave a small note which says 'sorry I missed you
lassy, thanks for the treat' and sprinkle gold glitter
around the area.
On St. Patrick's day the leprechaun is very mischievious. He
upsets chairs while children are outside playing, walks
through the jello and dyes the mashed potatoes light green
and hides all the shoes while the children are napping. To
help him keep out of mischief we make leprechaun ladders for
him to play on. Stringing shamrocks alternately with snips of
straws and hang them from the ceiling or windows.
After nap let the children follow clues to discover a pot of
gold covered candy.
Two weeks ago, a leprechaun 'lost' all his gold in our play
spaces, he left us his pot and a reward notice saying that if
we could find all his gold and refill his pot by St Pats Day,
he would leave us a reward. The children have been having a
wonderful time finding the gold (gold spray-painted items -
anything I could think of - marbles, rocks, buttons, keys,
feathers, spoons, etc.) Each time they find a iece of gold,
they place it in the leprechauns ot and I give them a 'Lucky
Shamrock' sticker to put on their cubby name label (we count
how many items we have and how many stickers each child has -
Math) On St Pats Day, the leprechaun will return at naptime
and exchange his pot of gold for a reward. (Shamrock cookies
and green lemonaide.Contributed by Cindy
Also here's a game: Cut out 10 potato shapes out of brown
paper and number them 1-10. Place them on the floor in a row
and have the kids jump from one to ten singing One potato,
two potato, three potato, four...etc.
Ask the children if they have ever seen a rainbow. What did
it look like? Do they remember any of the colours?
Materials: Muffin tin, food colour, paper towel
Fold paper towel into a fan shape. Dilute the food colour
with water and place different colours into each of the
muffin compartments. Dip different parts of the paper towel
into each of the muffin compartments. Unfold the towel and
let dry.
Make rainbow stew by mixing 1/2 cup sugar with 1 cup corn
starch. Add 4 cups cold water. Bring to a boil and cook
until thick. Divide into three bowls. Add red food
colouring to one, blue to one, and yellow to the last. Put
one spoonful of two colours into a zip lock bag. Let the
children mix two colours to arrive at a third colour.
Materials: Oaktag or heavy white paper, rice, green food
colouring, brushes, glue, glue containers, paper towels or
pie tins, shamrock patterns.
Preparation: Prepare rice a day ahead of project. Place
rice in a small amount of water to which green food colouring
has been added. Let it soak until desired shade of green had
been reached. Drain off the water and let rice dry on paper
towels or in pie tins overnight. Trace and cut out shamrock
shapes. Have the children brush diluted glue on their
shamrocks and sprinkle green rice over the glue.
Cut bell pepper in half and clean out the seeds. The
children can dip the cross sections of the pepper into some
green paint and press the shamrock print onto paper.
Cut shamrock shapes out of green felt and hide them around
the room. Then let the children search for the shapes while
singing the song below. Each time they find a shamrock, have
them place it on a flannelboard and take a bow. When all the
shamrocks have been found, count them together with the
children. Sing this to Farmer In The Dell
Let's look for shamrocks now,
Let's look for shamrocks now,
And when we find a bright green one,
Then we can take a bow!
St. Patrick's Day is with us,
The day when all that's seen
To right and left and everywhere
Is green, green, green.
-----
St. Patrick came to Ireland,
A country trimmed with green.
It has the shamrocks and the pipes -
Those leprechauns you've seen.
Those leprechauns will trip you - You'll fall flat on your
face.
They'll tickle your nose and sour the milk,Then find a hiding
place! Contributed by
Irish people throughoutthe world celebrate St. Patrick's Day
on March 17. The rest of the people also like to remember St.
Patrick and the Irish people on this day. There are many
stories about St. Patrick. One of the best-known tells that
he rid Ireland of all the snakes. It is said that he charmed
the snakes; they followed him down to the seashore, were
driven into the water and drowned. To this daythere are no
snakes in Ireland. The shamrock is the national flower of
Ireland. Many people wear shamrocks as pins or ornaments on
St Patrick's Day. The shamrock leaf is much like or clover.
Perhaps best of all, we like the story of the leprechauns.
These are little people of Ireland. Stories say that they are
shoemakers during the day and elves playing tricks at night.
Some of the other things we will be doing - the leprechaun
will leave a green footprint trail to the pot, but we will
only be able to see the trail with our magic glasses - green
tagboard cut into shamrock shaped sunglasses with green
cellophane covering the eye openings (science!!!). After our
special snack we have a few games planned. Irish potato hop,
hot potto, find the shamrock etc...(gross motor, movement),
I will also be playing traditional Irish Music (cultural
awareness, music).
Here is a giant who is tall, tall, tall.
Here is an elf who is small, small, small.
The elf who is small will try, try, try.
To reach the giant who is high, high, high.
Leprechauns peeping
Around a willow tree,
Pussies awakening
Longing to be free.
Colleens and shamrocks
And castles old and gray,
Put them together
To make St. Patrick's Day.
Find some crookneck squash with part of the stems still
attached. Cut the stem of the squash at an angle to make it
look like a beak. Use an ice pick or awl to make two small
holes in each goose's face. Insert a whole clove into each
hole to make the eyes. Slice off the large rounded end of
the squash so it will stand upright without tipping over.
The squash will damage wood surfaces with it's moisture
content so make sure to place them on wax paper or some other
protective surface. You could even take a board and put
nails through it and stand them on the nails. Then gather
brightly coloured fall leaves and make a nice floor to set
them on. These look really neat when grouped together.
(Contributed by Shari)
Materials: 1 paint stick for each child, acorns, permanent
markers, glue
From your local paint store get a stir stick for each child
and have them with the permanent marker put faces on the nut
part and glue the acorns on the stick . Have the totem poles
resembling their family (one acorn for each member in the
household). Perfect for the Thanksgiving holiday talk about
the Indians and the fact that totem poles told a story so the
family totem pole they make will do the same.
1. Thanksgiving is a celebration of the end of the
harvest.
2. In the fall, some of the fruits and vegetables harvested
include pumpkins, apples, and nuts.
3. Families celebrate the end of the harvest with a special
Thanksgiving dinner. The dinner usually includes a roasted
turkey and pumpkin pie.
4. In pioneer days, Native families and pioneer families
sometimes celebrated together sharing food they
harvested.
5. The Canadian Encyclopedia says, the first Thanksgiving in
the new World was celebrated in Newfoundlandby explorer
Martin Frobisher in 1578. He and his ship's crew gave thanks
for having survived their dangerous venture into the Hudson
Strait while in search of a northwest passage to China.
Materials: Construction paper - brown and yellow, five of
any other colour(example: purple, green, red, orange,
black)scissors, pencil and marker that would show up on
construction paper
Trace your foot onto the brown paper and cut out or have
children cut out. Using the five other colours and make two
from each colour - bullet shaped feathers (total of 10
feathers) In pencil write the numbers 1 to 10 on each
feather for the children to trace with marker and glue onto
peanut body in order. Use the yellow paper to make triangle
beaks and feet. by barb (barbkay@juno.com)
Materials: Russet potatoes, feathers, redpaper, colored
toothpicks, scissors
Draw turkey heads with necks on the paper and two tabs at the
bottom of the necks - cut them out.
1. Give each child a potato, turkey head, different colored
feathers, and five toothpicks.
2. Position the turkey head on the potato. Using 2 halfs of a
toothpick secure each of the tabs to the potato.
3. Use one of the remaining toothpicks to pock holes into the
side of a potato and place one of the feathers in each
hole.
4. Use the four remaining toothpicks as legs.
(When finish make a pen with rocks and twigs and place all of
the finished turkeys in it to creat a turkey farm.
Materials: Single feathers or feathers clipped in
clothespins or feather dusters, tan or brown construction
paper, paint, newspaper.
Procedure: Cut a turkey shape out of construction paper for
each child. Have the children place their turkey shapes on
pieces of newspaper. Then let them dip their feathers in
paint and brush it on their turkeys bodies. If you're using
single feathers, let each child stick several of them on his
or her painted turkey shape. The result will be a painting
and a collage of feathers, as well.
Five fat turkeys were sitting on a fence. (One hand up)
The first one said, 'I'm so immense.' (Point to thumb)
The second one said, 'I can gobble at you.' (Pointer
finger)
The third one said, 'I can gobble, too.' (Middle finger)
The fourth one said, 'I can spread my tail.' (Ring
finger)
The fifth one said, 'Don't catch it on a nail.' (Little
finger)
A farmer came along and stopped to say (Pointer finger of
other hand.)
'Turkeys look best on Thanksgiving Day.'
Five little Pilgrims on Thanksgiving Day
The first one said 'I'll have cake if I may.'
The second one said 'I'll have turkey roasted.'
The third one said 'I'll have chestnuts toasted.'
The fourth one said 'I'll have pumpkin pie.'
The fifth one said 'Oh, cranberries I spy.'
But before the all had their turkey and dressing,
The Pilgrims all said a Thanksgiving blessing.
Materials: Manila paper, Black felt marker, Paste, Scrapes
of colored paper
Procedure: On manila paper, draw a large ear of corn with
the shucks peeled halfway back (like a banana) for each
child. Add kernels by drawing a brick-wall design in the
exposed half. Cut tiny pieces of colored paper the same size
as the kernels. Have the children paste the small paper
kernels onto their corncob shapes. Shade shucks lightly with
green and brown chalk, if desired.
Hints: Either pre-paste the colored paper kernels or dot
paste on the children's corncobs. Most two-year-olds will
not care to paste on more than six to ten kernels. Have some
real Indian corn on hand to show children.
This isn't just a turkey
As anyone can see,
I made it with my hand
Which is part of me.
It comes with lots of love
Especially to say,
I hope that you have a very
HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY!
Materials: 11 X 17 inch paper, pencil, colours.
Procedure - Have the children place their hands on the left
side of the paper with their fingers spread. Have someone
trace their hands, making sure that the palm is rounded.
Have the children add an eye and wattle to the thumb and add
feathers to the fingers. Have them make 'running' legs.
On the other side of the paper print.
Hey there Mr. Turkey
Run as fast as you can
Before the farmer catches you
And puts you in his pan.
You can have the kids add dust clouds and 'cartoon speed'
marks. Contributed by (gsw.sk.synpatico.ca)
Materials: Several different coloured construction paper,
brown construction paper, white background paper.
Cut several handprints of the children on the different
coloured paper. Cut one foot print per child on the brown
paper.
The handprint is the feathers of the Turkey and the footprint
is the body/face. Then use your imagination for the
rest.
Materials: Orange and green construction paper, popcorn,
glue and scissors
Cut corn shape from orange paper and stem form from the green
paper. Let the children glue the corn all over the orange
section.
Cut cardboard tubes (from paper towels) into 1 inch wide
sections. Cut brown felt into 1 inch wide strips. Glue felt
pieces on inside and outside of the 1 inch cardboard pieces.
Let the glue dry. Dab the back of each kernel of Indian corn
with glue. Place the corn kernels on the ring, lining them
in rows. Mix up the colors for a more interesting
design.
Land of the silver birch, home of the beaver,
Where still the mighty moose wanders at will
CHORUS: Blue lake and rocky shore, I will return once
more
Boom didyaada, boom didyada, Boom.
High on a rocky ledge I'll build my wigwam
Close to the waters edge silent and still,
CHORUS: Blue lake and rocky shore, I will return once
more
Boom didyaada, boom didyada, Boom.
Cut out a name card on white card stock. The sides should be
angled like \ and / with the top arching. Glue corn around
the top and sides of the card. You can glue some ric-a-rack
on the back side to stick up above the top of the card. Add
the name of the person on the front of the card. Tuck the
card into two pinecones as the holders.
Make several turkeys, pilgrims and teepees. Add felt or
sandpaper to back so that they stick to feltboard.
Use feltboard to have children match teepees to Indians,
turkeys to Pilgrims, and so on and tell you if the sets are
equal or if one has more members. Count and compare.
I have a turkey, big & fat
He spreads his wings,
(Fan hands at hips)
And walks like that (strut)
His daily corn he would not miss
(Pretend to eat corn)
And when he walks, he sounds like this,
('Gobble, Gobble, Gobble')
Start with an Oreo, or other sandwich type cookie. Open up
the cookie, and place a dab of icing off-center on the inside
frosting. Replace the cookie pieces so that they are at an
angle...somewhat like this <. On the top of the cookie, on
the edge which is now angled up, stick 5 candy corn pieces on
with icing, points toward the center of the cookie...this
forms the turkey's feathered tail. On the center of the
cookie, just below the candy corn feathers, place another dab
of icing to make the turkey's head. Two little white dot
decors on the head make the eyes....and three little cinnamon
candies below the head make the turkey's waddle. Try using
chocolate icing with Oreo and vanilla icing with vanilla
cookies. Contributed by Pam
Cut out a variety of feathers from different construction
paper. Have children put small slits down both sides of the
feathers. Glue feathers on turkey (paper plate) and make the
face.
Materials: Fat pine cones, maribou feathers in asst. colours,
red felt,yellow construction paper, glue, 4mm wiggle eyes
Cut out some feet from yellow construction paper and a wattle
from red felt squares. Have the kids put the pine cone on
it's side and dip the feathers in glue and stick it into the
pine one near the stem end. They can add as many feathers as
they (you) want. Have them glue the red wattle to the side
of the pine cone tip so that the tip looks like a turkey
beak. Glue 4mm wiggle eyes to either side of the beak. Put
lots of glue on the feet and glue to the bottom of the turkey
so they will stand up. If they still tip over, you can glue
their feet to some cardboard.
Contributed from Terri
Thank you, thank you, very much
For everything that I can touch.
Thanks a lot for nature's food.
And for when I'm feeling good.
Thank you, thank you very much.
For moms and dads and friends and such.
Materials: Construction paper, Felt pens, Glue, Brushes,
Bowls, Spices
Procedure:
1. Give each child fall-coloured construction paper (brown,
orange, yellow).
2. Place the hand down onto the paper and trace around it.
This creates a turkey. The fingers are the feathers and the
thumb is the head!
3. Have available all the spices you might use for creating
a Thanksgiving day feast (cloves, sage, cinnamon, bay leaves,
etc.)
4. Let children greely glue these spices onto turkey.
Ten fat turkeys standing in a row.
(Hold up ten fingers)
They spread their wings and tails just so.
(Spread fingers wide)
They strut to the left (Strut fingers to the left)
They strut to the right (Strut fingers to the right)
They stand outside in the bright sunlight.
(Hold fingers up straight)
Along comes a farmer with a great big gun
(Pretend to look down barrel)
Bang! Look at all those turkeys run!
(Clap hands loudly and flutter fingers away)
Contributed by Jennifer
Materials: brown construction paper, red, yellow, and orange
yarn, construction paper for background, glue
1. Using brown paper, children trace around their hands with
thumbs spread well out.
2. Cut out hand designs and glue onto a background paper,
noting that the fingers look like tail feather and the thumb
looks like a head.
3. Spread the glue onto tailfeathers and apply yarn
pieces.
4. Draw facial features onto head, and legs onto body.
Cut five turkey body shapes out of brown felt and fifteen
feather shapes out of red, yellow and orange felt. Number
the turkey body shapes from 1 to 5 and put them on a
flannelboard. Place the feather shapes in a pike. To play
the game, have the children take turns selecting a turkey,
identifying the number on it and adding that many feathers to
it.
Materials: Picture of a turkey with backside feathers
visable, tagboard to glue picture on ahead of time, unpopped
popcorn, rubbing alcohol, food coloring, crayons or
markers.
Color the popcorn by mixing it with rubbing alcohol and food
colour....let dry in an open container.
Have the kids colour the turkey then glue the coloured
popcorn on to make his feathers.
Materials: Three white carnations (fresh), warm water,
knife, food colour.
Talk to the children about last valentines day and the
present of white carnations you recieved. Beautiful flowers
but you had wished for some red flowers not white. 'At the
time I did not know what to do so I kept the white flowers,
and I gave it plenty of fresh air, and new water everyday.
Nothing happened except the flower got old and died. This
year I found a way for the flowers to change colours. Should
we try?' First give the flowers a new cut on the side. Then
fill the vase with warm water and food colouring. Put the
flowers in the water and wait. (Try with different colours
and wait for the colours to creap up into the flower.)
Bring in compartmentalized boxes from the LCBO. Tape boxes
together with duct tape and cover with Con-Tact covering.
Label each compartment with child's name.
Five gay valentines from the ten cent store,
I sent one to mother, now there are four,
Four gay valentines, pretty ones to see,
I gave one to brother, now there are three,
Three gay valentines, yellow, red and blue,
I gave one to sister, now there are two,
Two gay valentines, my we have fun,
I gave one to daddy, now there is one,
One gay valentine, the story is almost done,
I gave it to baby, now there are none.
Use small clay pots, about 4 inches. Have the children
traced their hands on pink, white or red construction paper
and cut them out and after sponge painting the clay pot with
little hearts, glue the hand to the back of the pot with the
middle two fingers glued down (the universal hand symbol for
'I love you') Fill with little candies.
I'm a little Valentine,
Red and White.
With ribbons and lace,
I'm a beautiful sight.
I can say 'I love you',
On Valentines Day.
Just put me in an envelope,
And give me away.
As ornate or ordinary as you want, these lovely cards reveal
the essence of early valentines. Draw design on the back of
a card. Place card on folded tea towel and prick the pattern
with a finishing nail or common pin - or both. For a
message, you'll have to price the words directly on the front
of the card, or write them backwards on the back.
Materials: Cardboard-wax paper-red tissue
paper-string-glue-cooking oil-one hole punch-paint brush
Cut the cardboard into a heart shaped frame. Cut out a wax
paper to fit the frame. Tear tissue paper into small pieces
(approx 1/2 inch square). Brush a generous amount of cooking
oil over wax paper heart. Place tissue paper pieces on the
oil muntil wax paper heart is completely covered. Glue
tissue heart into the cardboard frame. Punch a hole at the
top of the heart. Tie with a string for easy hanging.
This extra-easy-to-make basket is perfect for carrying school
valentines.
Start with two sheets of construction paper in contrasting
colours. Fold in half.
Measure 5 inches across the top.
Draw half of a heart.
Cut out and stape the two hearts together to form a
cone-shaped basket.
Staple on a strip for a handle.
Your sweeter than chocolate,
And a joy from the start.
It shouldn't be too puzzling
Why you're so dear in my heart.
And just to top it off.. here is a poem my ds wrote (proud
mommy
bragging) when he was 6):
Do you love me, or do you not?
You told me once but I forgot.
I hope, I hope, I hope you do,
Because of how much I love you!
Contributed by: Sherri (Ozzy)
When you send a valentine,
That's the time for fun,
Slip it underneath the door,
Ring the bell and run, run, run,
Ring the bell and run,
(have a bell and a letter with a valentine in it for a prop.
The child can act out the sneaking up to the door and
pretending to push button. All the children must run to
safety.)
Cut two strips of lightweight paper 6' X 2' in contrasting
colours.
Fold each strip in half to form a 3 X 2 rectangle.
Make three straight cuts from folded end 1/2 apart and 2 1/4
deep.
Weave the strips into each other so that the folded end of
one encloses the open side of the other. The inter-weaving
of the strips forms a pocket.
Trim open ends into heart shape.
TAKE PLASTIC BOWLS AND TURN THEM UPSIDE DOWN. THEN LET THE
CHILDREN DECORATE WITH ( BUTTONS, POM-POMS, STRING ANYTHING
YOU CAN THINK OF). WHEN THEY ARE DONE ATTACH TWO PIECES OF
STRING TO EACH SIDE OF THE BOWL WITH A STAPLER. WALA YOU
HAVE
A CRAZY HAT TO WEAR.
