Christmas Gifts for Parents

Here is the final product, ready for under the tree.

Traditionally we make a handprint Christmas pillow for our preschool parents each year. In the past we have done wreaths and reindeer. This year we came up with a new idea simply because we had cut our material in a rectangle shape. When the children's handprints got on them, we were thrilled. We think that these new "Christmas Tree Pillows" are going to be a great new design to add to our collection.

We will be sewing a red back onto each of these pillows and stuffing them with fluff. They are darling when they are finished.

Fall Leaf Pictures

After reading the book, "Leaf Man" by Lois Ehlert, we went outside and gather a variety of leaves.

When the children came in, we worked with them in small groups to create their own leaf pictures. We had pieces of contact paper cut and taped them, sticky side up, to the table. The children put their leaves on and then we put a piece of cardstock over it. When they turned it over, they could see their leaves and add the details using permanent markers.

We had word cards that they could use to write what their picture was if they wanted.

Other children simply dictated what their leaf pictures were and we wrote that down.

These leaf pictures will stay bright and colorful for years to come.

Fire Safety

Finding a project for fire safety is always a challenge for me. We have finally created one that we really like. After we talked about fire safety, the children were given a shoebox with a piece of cardstock paper and a cardstock house. (The children didn't know that the house was going to come off).

We squeezed in some red, orange and yellow paint and then the children each put in three marbles.

They put the lids on and shook them.

When they opened them, it looked like a giant fire had burned their house.

Their surprise was watching us pull off the taped on house, to discover that a firefighter was underneath. They liked seeing that the firefighter had SAVED THEIR HOUSE!

Number Trees

Here is an art project that we did which tied in learning about numbers to creating Christmas trees. We had a random supply of collage materials for the children to use. On each container, we had a number. That was how many items the child could take.

The children cut out their trees and then glued the items on.

They were very proud when they completed them.

*If you notice in these pictures, we do not use regular glue bottles. We have finally figured out something that works much better. In Discount School Supply there are small refillable plastic bottles with screw top lids. These have worked fabulously this year. We have never had any get clogged and they are small enough for the children to use very easily.

Scented Names

We used this art activity as we talked about senses. The children had their name written on a piece of construction paper. Their job was to glue around the letters and then they got to sprinkle different colors of jello on. When the names dried they were left with smelly good names!

You will notice that we don't use regular glue bottles anymore. Those were a constant problem in our classroom because the glue would never come out. This year I ordered these small bottles from Discount School Supply. They have soft sides that are easy to squeeze. The top twists open and never gets clogged and they seem to work so much better for the children. I highly recommend this change.

You will also see that we used old disposable salt and pepper shakers for the jello shakers. This makes it very easy for the children to use and it doesn't come out too fast.

You will notice that the tray in the middle was where the children would shake off the extra jello.

Blotter Pictures

We made blotter pictures when we learned about the primary colors. Each child had a paper with 4 white squares on it. The squares were folded in half and one side was glued to the paper. We asked each child what colors they wanted on their paper and then we would squeeze small amounts of those colors on. The children then folded over their paper and rubbed and rubbed. They were thrilled when they opened them up.

We let them tell us what each picture looked like. At first everyone said a "butterfly." So, we told them that they could only say butterfly once and then they would have to think of new ideas. As you can see, their new ideas were fantastic!

Very Busy Spiders

These very busy spiders worked out very well for an art project. After reading the book, "The Very Busy Spider" by Eric Carle, the children used their fingerprints to make their spiders and some even made the fly that their spider caught.

After they made their spiders, they got to choose a piece of yarn and weave it around the plates. It was tricky for some, but once they got the general idea, it went very smoothly.

You will notice that some of the children paid close attention to the number of legs and body parts that the spider had and that the fly had. We even ended up with spiders with lots of eyes! We could tell that that children had liked that part of our discussion.

Families

Painted Toast