Most sincerely,

The Scorer Family-

Materials

• Cardstock (we went with black)
• Scissors
• Pencil/eraser and/or permanent marker
• Non-toxic paint (we went with bright colours so that they would be vibrant on the paper)
• Contact paper
• Paint tray
• Washi tape
• Craft tray
• Smock

Directions

• Fold your cardstock in half, making a card.  Place it into your craft tray.

• Cut out a piece of contact paper that is bigger than the size of your card.  (We used some wood-grain leftover contact paper that we had for another project just so it was easy to see in the photos, but you can pick up contact paper at dollar stores, hardware stores and home goods stores or use a piece of cardstock instead and tape it on.)

• On the peel-off side of your contact paper, draw an egg (some brands will require that this be done in permanent marker.)

• Gently fold your contact paper in half and make a little snip in the centre of your egg.  Cut out the egg, making a stencil.   Peel off the backing.  You may need an adult to help you with this part.

• Adhere this to your card, overlapping onto your craft tray. (You may require some adult assistance with this step as well- it can be sticky stuff!)

• Assure that there is contact on all parts and smooth out any bubbles.

• Finger paint your egg, overlapping onto your contact paper to form sharp edges.

• Depending on your age and abilities, carefully remove your contact paper or have an adult remove it for you.

• The toddler version:

• With big sister doing the removal process!

• Allow your card to dry overnight.

• Embellish your card with washi (paper) tape if you like.

• Give your card to a friend, loved one etc. to celebrate Easter!

Purpose

• Experimenting and exploring with various materials (finger painting is a sensory experience)
• Thinking of others
• Recognizing symbols of various holidays, celebrations

Safety Notes

• Use scissors with care & supervision.
• We suggest using a craft tray and wearing a smock to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use non-toxic products.

Materials

Sewn Letter Supplies

• Washed, clear plastic lids
• Drill/ drill bit OR hammer/ nail & safety glasses
• Scrap wood block
• Yarn
• Plastic needle
• Scissors

Optional Planning Supplies

• Permanent marker
• Paper & pencil

Decorative Finishes

• Coffee filters
• Water
• Food colouring
• Cooling racks
• Containers

• Wood Beads
• Cord

Directions

• Plan out your letters for your garland and figure out where you would punch holes to make lines to make them connect on paper.  Then make your dots onto your plastic lids with a permanent marker.  We also made two holes near the top of the lid to account for the cord to go through to hang your garland.  You could make dots around the circumference of lid if you want to add further decoration.

• Depending on your age and abilities have an adult (or do this with an adult), place your lids onto scrap of wood and then nail or drill through your plastic lids where you placed your dots.  It is important that your wood scrap is thick enough that the nailing won’t go through to whatever surface that you are working on.  Be sure to wear safety gear and exercise caution with this portion of the activity.  After trying the wood method, we actually found it worked better to drill over a carpet sample, but that was based on our type of drill and the style of the carpet we had.

• Thread your yarn (we generally go with a length the size of our arm) onto a needle and make a thick knot at the opposite end.  Sew your letters.  We went over the letter twice.  If you have to come up through the same hole to connect a portion of the letter, then tie a knot at the back of your lid.

• We also sewed around the edges of the lid to create a decorative finish.

• When you are done, knot the end of the yarn and then snip off any excess.

Decorative Finishes

• We wanted to experiment with dying coffee filters so we created a dye bath with water and food colouring- the more colouring you add, the more vibrant your filters will be.

• Dip the edges of your filters and spread them out to dry on your cooling rack.  If they are quite saturated, then place a plastic tray underneath to catch any potential drips.

• Allow to dry overnight.

• We then folded our filters in half and in half again.  We punched two holes as shown so we could string them on our garland.

• String your beads, filters and letter lids onto your cord.

• Hang up your work in your window, over your table etc.

Purpose

• Creating handmade materials for a celebration.
• Re-imagining items with a new use.

Safety Notes

• Use scissors, hammers/nails or a drill with care & adult supervision.
• Yarn can be a strangulation hazard therefore it should be used with adult supervision and for the intended purpose.
• Beads can be a choking hazard, therefore be sure to keep them out of reach from children 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things in their mouths.
• When using food colouring, we suggest wearing a smock and using a craft tray or a plastic table cloth to protect your clothes and surfaces.

Materials

• Felt
• Fabric scissors
• Embroidery floss
• Needle/ Thread and/or Fabric glue
• Elastic headbands/ pin with base or barrette
• Beads
• Thick cardboard (*if you go with the headband option)
• Smock
• Craft tray

Directions

• Cut two of each of your parts for your bunny.  You may want to base it on a sketch that you have made- you can cut this out and use it as a pattern if you like.  We went with 2 circular faces, 2 ears, 2 interior portions of the ears and a simple bow (with a small rectangular piece to wrap around the centre).

• We decided to sew some details using our embroidery floss.  (Whiskers, sewing on beads for eyes, adding a bit of trim etc.)

• For the headband we stretched it out over a piece of cardboard and we then glued one of the circular faces under the headband.  We then glued the ears on (so that they would sit in between the layers) and then glued on the face with the details.  We topped this off with our bow.

• For the pin we glued on the face, using fabric glue.  We attached the ears to the back and a bow under the chin.

• Allow your projects to dry overnight.

• Once dry, add your bunnies to your springtime or Easter outfit!

Purpose

• Recognizing common symbols of various celebrations.
• Learning how to sew.

Safety Notes

• Use scissors, a needle and pins with care & supervision.
• Yarn, string etc. can be a strangulation hazard therefore it should be used with adult supervision and for the intended purpose.
• We suggest that you use a smock and a craft tray to protect your clothing and work surfaces.

What magazines do you get?  We’d love to hear your recommendations!

Materials

• Large paper (bristol board or foam board)
• Markers (We wanted to try out these chalkboard writers, but truthfully they were a bit smudgy!)
• Letter Stickers
• Ruler or metre stick
• Pencil/eraser (For planning)
• Lined paper (For planning)
• Smock & tablecloth *Optional

Directions

• We made an optional border on our large piece of paper using the width of the ruler.

• Make your paper into a grid.  We used the width of the ruler, making horizontal rows and vertical columns that intersected.  Just make sure your spaces are big enough to fit your chosen stickers!

• We wrote out our greeting in different colours, but you could hide this within your word search if you like.

• Plan out the words that you would like to include and list them on a piece of paper.  You may need to get an adult to help you confirm the spelling.  Put your words into your grid with some horizontal, vertical and diagonal.

• The kid’s ideas might included: Spring, bunny, celebrate, rabbit, lamb, basket, daffodils, chick, jellybeans, egg, hunt, hop, lily and chocolate.

• Once you have inserted all your words, fill the additional spaces with your left over stickers in a random manner.

• Give your card to someone special.  You could provide them with the sheet of words to find or not- increasing the complexity of the activity!  You might want to tape a special pen or marker to the card for them to do their circling.  (We circled one word so the recipient of the card would get the idea!)

Purpose

• Thinking of others
• Learning vocabulary commonly associated with various holidays or celebrations

Safety Notes

• A smock can be handy in protecting one’s clothes from markers and a plastic table cloth for crafting helps to protect your workspace/table!

Materials

• Permanent markers
• Scissors
• Clear contact paper (you can get this at dollar stores, hardware stores or drug stores)
• Smock
• Hard-boiled eggs (You can dye them if you like)

Directions

• Don your smock to protect your clothing.

• Cut your contact paper into manageable pieces.  You might want to roll it the opposite way of how it was on the roll to flatten it out a bit.

• As our daughter suggested, draw a few practice pieces.  Her chosen theme was wild cats- cheetahs, cougars, tigers etc.  Our son and I first experimented with different parts of faces.

• Using your permanent markers, do a good copy of your work on your contact paper.

• Cut out your drawings, leaving a small margin around them.

• Peel off the backing.

• Carefully attach it to your eggs, smoothing out any bubbles that may occur, pushing them to the edges.

• For large stickers, to help them lie flat, have an adult make little snips around the edges.  Or if you are able, do it yourself!

• Enjoy your beautiful work!

Our older son then started on some further his own ideas for his next egg stickers:

Purpose

• Personalizing items
• Developing a love of drawing

Safety Notes

• Use scissors and permanent markers with care & supervision.

Materials

• Paper gift bags (The ones we used were Kraft paper, but any type will work)
• Yarn
• Fork
• Scissors
• Glue
• Tape (*Optional)
• Smock
• Craft tray

Directions

• We were curious to try out another method to make mini pom-poms.

• Tape the end of a piece of yarn to your fork. (Bigger children may skip this step.)  Wrap your yarn around the eating portion of your fork.  Then cut a small piece of yarn and put it through the slot in between the tines as shown, tying a knot.

• Cut the sides of your pom-pom and gently slide it off the fork or slide it off the fork and then trim the edges- both techniques work well!

• Trim your pom-poms to your desired size.

• Glue them onto your bag, making a tail.  (You may want to wear a smock and put your bag into a craft tray to protect your clothes and surfaces.)   Allow to dry overnight.

• Fill your bag and give it to a friend!

Purpose

• Thinking of others

Safety Notes

• Use scissors and a fork with care & supervision.
• Yarn can be a strangulation hazard therefore it should be used with adult supervision and for the intended purpose.

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