Pumpkin Crayons

I try to provide lots of opportunities for my son to practice his Fine Motor Skills. Sometimes, it is all about novelty. New supplies are always a hit. Our "new" pumpkin crayons are actually recycled.I melted our old crayons and made new ones! Here is what I did...

1. I gathered our broken /old crayons.


2. I peeled all of the paper off the crayons.


3. I put the crayons in cupcake liners and put them on a cookie sheet.


4. Next,I put the oven on 225 degrees Fahrenheit and melted the wax. It took about 15 minutes.


5.  I poured the wax into a Pumpkin Ice Cube Tray (Dollar Store),like this one..



6. Finally,I popped the crayons out of the mold.
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I put out paper and encouraged my son to draw. Although he does not "mouth" things,he did ask me if he could eat them. Proceed with caution my friends. :)

Fall Ideas

I was just looking through my blog and I have lots of ideas that you could use for Fall. I have linked a few of them.Take a look...
 S is for Spider

 Homemade Fire Station

Orange Playdough

B is for Bat

Search for Creepy Crawlers

Fall Sensory Table

Letter of the Week:B

The Letter of the Week is B. In order to help my son remember the letter, we connected it to something he already knew.Our Letter B was transformed into a bat. :)

Materials:
Construction Paper
Google Eyes
Scissors
Markers
Glue Stick
1.First, I set out markers and paper for my son to color.

2.Meanwhile, I cut out the various parts of the bat. (The "Letter B", Ears,Mouth,Teeth,Wings)
3. When my son was done coloring, I set out all of the other supplies.We talked about the letter B and I helped him glue things to his paper.

All done!

Letter of The Week:Letter Sponge Painting

The "Letter of the Week" is "B". Today we found a way to connect art and letter recognition. We did a sponge painting with letters.

Materials:
Construction Paper
Paint
Bowls/Paper Plates
Sponge Letter (B)

1. First, I showed my son the letter "B" sponge. I named the letter, and had him do the same.
2.I set out the sponge,the paint and paper.

3.Next,I invited my son to dip the sponge into the paint.

4.Then,I encouraged him to make prints on the paper.


I will display the art work, and call his attention to it often.He is already going around the house saying,"B,B,B".I love it!

Letter of the Week: Letter Hunt and Collage

As you may recall, the letter of the week is "A". I wanted to give my son as many chances as possible to practice letter recognition.That is why we did a "Letter of the Week" Hunt and Collage.

Supplies:
Old Magazines
Scissors (Optional)
Construction Paper
Glue Stick

1. I showed my son the letter of the week,and named it. Then I handed him a magazine and said that we were going to look for the letter A.
2.I am amazed at how well he did. (Here he is looking at a small "A").

3.After we found the letters,we tore them out.

4. Next,my son glued the letters to paper.

Hurray for the letter A ! :)

Cloud Painting

My son is always looking up into the sky and trying to find the sun, the moon, stars and even clouds. That is why today, we made our own clouds! Here is how to do it…

Materials:

Sponge (With Ridges)
White Paint
Construction Paper
Bowl

1. Pour the paint into the bowl, and put the sponge inside.

2. Put out the paper and paint.
3. Invite the child to the table. Encourage them to use the sponge to make prints (clouds), with the sponge.


4.Let the painting dry and enjoy. Boy, those clouds look great!

M is for Moon

Lately, my son has been infatuated with the sky. He always looks for the Moon in the sky. I am running with his interest, as I often do. Today, we made our own moon. He was really excited about it.


Materials:
Foil
Tissue Paper
Glue/Glue Stick
Glitter
Blue Poster Board
Scissors
Pencil/Sharpie

1. While my son was napping, I drew a moon on a poster board.

2.Next,I cut the moon out.

3. I cut up pieces of foil and tissue paper. I also set out the glue.

4.When my son woke up, I invited him to decorate the moon with the tissue paper and foil.

5. Then, he added a little glitter.

6. Finally, our moon was done. I was impressed that my son covered most of the moon. It seems the older he gets, the more time he takes with his work. What a big boy!

Cool Cornstarch Sidewalk Paints

I have seen this done several times and have always wanted to try it. This afternoon, my son and I finally did. The paints were beautiful and lots of fun.

Supplies:

Paintbrushes
Cornstarch
Water
Food Coloring
Measuring Cup
Cups/Bowls

1. First, I set out the cups. I had my son pour ½ cup of cornstarch and ½ cup of water into each cup.


2. Next, he poured generous amounts of food coloring into each cup and stirred.


3.Finally, it was time to paint! It looked awesome once it started to dry. I couldn’t believe we made it!




I hope you try this, it is always good to find something new to add to “outside” time.

Citrus Prints

Don't you just love Summer? That is when fruit is the best.We have been buying lots of it.It has been great because our son has been trying so many new things...he is so picky.Today we tried oranges again,and then we did print making with them.

Supply List:

Bowls
Oranges
Paint
Knife
Paint
Construction Paper
Craft Sticks (Optional)

1. Let the child touch the orange,talk about the color...size.How does it feel?
2.Cut the orange in half.What is inside?How does it smell?How does it taste?
3.After the child is done eating,grab another orange and cut it in half.Put the oranges in paint.If you want,add craft sticks so that they are easier to grip.
3.Have the children use the oranges to make prints on the paper.


4.Let the prints dry and enjoy. :)