Contact Paper Art

Here is a super simple art activity that both my daughter and my preschool students with special needs enjoy greatly! 

Contact Paper Art

1. Cut a piece of contact paper off the roll.
2. Attach it to an easel or the fridge with clips.  (sticky side facing out)
3. Gather collage materials to stick to the contact paper.
4. Stick away!!!

(Great hair day, I know!)

Most of my students have sensory aversions and my daughter just doesn't care to get her fingers sticky with glue (covered in mud is fine...just no glue...go figure???).  Anyway, this activity just cuts out the step of using glue, but still allows the child to make an individualized masterpiece!  

Some contact paper art themes we have done in the past:

nature walk collection

pink things

cut paper

odds & ends found around the house

        Enjoy!

Spring Counting Folder Games

Macy has been counting up a storm lately!  Forwards & Backwards ~ English & Spanish.  So, for those rainy days when you need something extra, here are some very simple Spring folder games that you can make at home to help your kiddos work on their counting skills.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

• Find 10 birds in magazines to cut out (or draw them, or use a bird-shaped notepad, whatever works!) and glue them in the folder.  Write one number on each bird.  Give your child jellybeans and ask them to place the correct number of eggs on each bird.
• Draw some ladybugs on the folder.  Make sure that each bug has a different amount of spots.  Cut out some green leaves from construction paper and write a number on each leaf.  Have your children match each leaf to a corresponding ladybug.
• Draw several inchworm heads on the folder.  Write a different number on each inchworm's nose.  Give your child buttons and ask them to make each inchworm longer using the buttons.
• Draw several flowers on the folder but leave off the petals.  In the middle of each flower write a number.  Provide your child with paper petals or even real petals to put around each flower.  

          Happy Counting!    

St. Patrick's Day Activities for Preschoolers

• Sort & Count the marshmallows in Lucky Charms cereal 
• Cut a green bell pepper in half, dip in paint and stamp on paper to make a shamrock print
• Read That's What Leprechauns Do by:  Eve Bunting

• Search for 4 leaf clovers outside
• Make a rainbow out of Fruit Loops and glue 
• Search for Gold ~ hide gold covered chocolates and let your little one find them

That's what we have planned for St. Patrick's Day.  How about you?  What fun stuff do you and your little ones do to celebrate/learn about St. Patrick's Day?

Weekend Extension ~ What's in a Name?

Macy has been really into her name lately.  As most kids are, she is proud of each letter in her name.  She loves to point out each word that has letters like hers.  "Mommy, that word has a C just like my name!" she will say.  So, with all the excitement about the ABC's (I mean the M-A-C-Y's) I can't help but try to encourage and extend her love of letters!

Here are some ideas to encourage your little letter lovers to enjoy their precious names even more...

• Write her name out really BIG, laminate it, and then give her Wikki Stixs or playdough to practice making the letters over the top of your writing.  This is also a great fine motor skill for kiddos with disabilities.
• Look in magazines together to find and cut out each letter in his name.  Then glue them on paper.
• Play I-Spy in the grocery store or riding in the car to find letters.  See how many times you can find each letter.
• Let her write her name in shaving cream or pudding on the table.
• Make a book.  Put each letter in his name at the top of a page.  Then, let him find words that start with each letter to put on the corresponding page.
• Make "bean letters" by writing her name in glue and then have her place beans on the glue. (another great fine motor activity)
• If you don't have an aversion to glitter, write his name in glue, and then let him shake glitter all over it. 

Letter exploration is one of my favorite Teachable Moments...enjoy the pride that each letter brings!