The first activity is a kids’ craft pop it into a glass-less frame to display on the wall.  The third activity is a Mother’s Day card you could make for mom or send it in the mail for Grandma! 

Materials

• Printable mom faces: mom faces
• Decorating materials (Use what you have such as buttons, beads, chenille stems etc.) OR loose parts
• Glue

Card: 

• Printable: mothers day face
• Markers, pencil crayons etc.
• Pencil/ erasers
• Cardstock

We always find these items useful too:

Directions

Design your Mom’s Face- Craft Project

• Look at the mom faces and decide which one best matches your mom or better yet, draw your own.

• Think about your mom’s face- what colour are her eyes?  What is the shape of her nose?

• Create the features of your mom’s face using materials that you have on hand (this is a perfect time to use up odds and ends that you may have).  Our son used layered buttons, beads, pom poms and chenille stems.

• Plan out and glue on your facial features.

• Once dry, pop your work into a frame and then give it to mom!

Design Mom with Loose Parts 

• Put the moms into page protectors if you like.

• Put out a tray of loose parts (buttons, beads, rings etc.- whatever you may have on hand)

• Have each child select the mom that looks like theirs and design the face.

Mother’s Day Card

• Print the card on thick paper such as cardstock.

• Create the facial features with pencil and then colour them in with pencil crayon, marker etc.

• Write a personal message inside!

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Purpose

• Recognizing the physical features that make your parent unique and recreating them out of crafting materials.

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you use a tray and a smock to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use scissors with care and direct, adult supervision.
• Small items such as beads, buttons, pom poms etc. can be a choking hazard, therefore be sure to keep them out of the reach of children ages 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things into their mouths.

Materials

Coloured Rainbow

• Rainbow printable: 1 page: rainbow 1 page colour  4 page: rainbow 4 page colour 6 page: rainbow lines
  
• Decorating materials

Blank Rainbow

• Blank rainbow printable: 1 page: rainbow 1 page bw  4 pages: rainbow 4 page bw 6 page: rainbow lines no colour
• Paints, crayons, markers, paint sticks etc.

Rainbow Booklet

• Rainbow booklet printable rainbow writing
• Scissors
• Stapler
• Pencil, eraser
• Colouring materials

We always find these items useful too:

Directions

• Chose the size of rainbow that you would like based on your window or the space on your wall that you want to hang your rainbow.  Print that size of rainbow.

Coloured Rainbow

• Print the coloured rainbow.

• Glue items to decorate the different areas of each colour- pom poms, tissue paper, beads etc.- whatever you have on hand.  We show you an idea to make a tissue paper rainbow craft.

• Allow to dry overnight.

• Trim the edges of your papers and then glue the pieces of your rainbow together.

• Have an adult help you to hang it up in your desired spot!

Blank Rainbow

• Print the blank rainbow.  Colour or paint it and allow it to dry overnight.

• Trim the edges of your papers and then glue the pieces of your rainbow together.

• Have an adult help you to hang it up in your desired spot!

Rainbow Booklet

• Choose the cover that you would like for your booklet.  We printed a front and back cover on cardstock so that they would be a bit more sturdy and then the lined pages on regular paper to record our thoughts.

• If you go with the narrative writing option, here is a story planning template that you might find helpful: story planner.

• We printed some extra copies of the writing pages so we could make a rough copy to have an adult edit with us, before writing a good copy.

• Cut out the good copy if you like and then staple the the left hand side of your rainbow together.

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Purpose

• Creating community.
• Writing for a variety of reasons.

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you use a tray and a smock to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use scissors with care and direct, adult supervision.
• Small decorating items such can be a choking hazard, therefore be sure to keep them out of the reach of children ages 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things into their mouths.

Materials

Butterfly Booklet 

• Butterfly Booklet template: butterfly booklet
• Story Planning sheet: story planner
• Decorating materials (crayon, felts etc.)
• Scissors
• Glue or a stapler
• Pencil/ eraser

Butterfly Puppets

• Butterfly Puppet Template: butterfly 2-4
• Decorating Materials
• Scissors
• Thin, small dowel or BBQ skewers with the sharp end cut off by an adult or a wooden chopstick.

We always find these items useful too:

Directions

Butterfly Booklet 

• Print your butterfly booklet template.  If you wanted to make your book a bit more sturdy, you could print the bottom butterfly on a thicker paper such as cardstock.

• Create your cover by colouring and decorating your blank butterfly.  You could hole punched a few designs into the wings as well.  Our daughter decided to decorate her butterfly with paint stick, buttons and beads- use what you have on hand.

• Write on your lined sheets write about your butterfly’s life cycle or a story about your butterfly.  Use the planner if you like: story planner  There is also the option to print the wings with the box for illustrations and lines.  Use whatever works for your purpose, age or ability range.  You can also use the pages to draw and record your observations if you are growing and releasing butterflies.

• Once you are done, line up your butterfly pages and staple the left hand side of your wings to create a booklet.

Butterfly Puppets

• Print the butterfly puppet template on thick paper such as cardstock.  Colour your pieces and cut them out.  We decided to use recyclables to decorate ours.  We used painted coffee sleeves, old envelopes, magazines, cut up boxes, a paper gift bag etc. (Just to give you some ideas).

• Glue or tape them to your dowel or BBQ skewers with the sharp portion cut off by an adult.

• Put on a play!

Other Butterfly Projects might like:

Butterfly Magnet Maze: http://make-it-your-own.com/butterfly-magnet-maze/

Spin Art Butterflies: Find the templates here: http://make-it-your-own.com/spin-art-butterflies/

Watercolour Butterflies:  http://make-it-your-own.com/watercolour-butterflies/

Design Butterfly Wings:  http://make-it-your-own.com/design-your-own-butterfly-wings-with-loose-parts/

Butterfly Cards: http://make-it-your-own.com/butterfly-valentine-card/

Butterfly Wall Hanging: http://make-it-your-own.com/butterfly-wall-hanging/

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Purpose

• Identifying butterfly lifecycle steps.
• Creative opportunities for writing.
• Dramatic play, interactions with others and retelling information.

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you use a tray and a smock to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use scissors with care and direct, adult supervision.
• Cord, yarn etc. can be a strangulation hazard, therefore be sure to use with direct supervision and for its intended purpose.
• Beads can be a choking hazard, therefore be sure to keep them out of the reach of children ages 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things into their mouths.

Materials

• Box Lid
• Fairy Garden (coloured in):  mushroom bush and tree colour
• Fairy Garden (colour yourself): mushroom bush and tree
• Paint
• Paint brush
• Scissors
• Glue stick
• Cardboard Tubes (toilet paper/ paper towel rolls)
• Cardstock
• Fairy Wings fairy wings

Writing Booklet

• Story planning sheet: story planner
• Mushroom booklet (coloured in): Mushroom Colour writing book
• Mushroom booklet  (colour yourself): Mushroom writing book

We always find these items useful too:

Directions

All of the components for the fairy garden come with options that are already coloured or ones that you can colour and decorate yourself.  We printed the pieces on cardstock to add a bit of sturdiness to the projects.  As with all of our projects, this is simply a starting point to add your imagination and “make it your own”!

Fairy Garden 

• Paint a box lid (You could use a shallow box itself or skip this step).  This is mainly to keep your fairy small world contained and allow for easy transport.  Allow it to dry overnight.

Fairy Houses

• Print the fairy houses (there are various sizes for you to chose from, based on the size of your toys) and colour them with markers, paint, paint sticks, paint pens etc.  Add details with a fine black marker.

• Cut out the houses.  If you want your door to open, cut going up one side of the door, around the bed on the top of the door and stopping at the part that is then straight.  This will allow your door to open much like a hinged door.

• Put glue on the tab of the house and wrap it around to put the other side over the tab.

• Put glue on the tab portion of the mushroom roof and glue the other side of the circular shape onto it- forming a peaked mushroom top.  (See the video for further understanding)

• You can either glue on your roof or simply place it on top of the house to remove when adding characters if you like!

Trees 

• Paint some cardboard tubes to form the trunks of your trees.   Allow them to dry overnight.

• There are 2 options for the trees- you can make them 2 D or 3D- you can see both of the options in the video.

• Print the tree options that you would like and colour them in if you chose that option.

• For the 2D tree, cut out the tree top and then make cuts along the dotted line.  Slide this onto one end of your cardboard tube.

• For the 3D tree, print the pieces and colour them in if you chose that option.  Once dry, glue the two matching pieces together back to back.  Once dry, cut along the slit lines- both the ones that go into the cardboard tube and the larger one that allows the pieces to slide together.

• Attach the two pieces of the tree together first.  (The branches should line up, as seen in the video)

• Then slide this onto your cardboard tube trunk to create a 3D tree.

Bushes

• The bushes function the same way as the trees, but are shorter to add a bit of different heights to the project.

• Cut your painted cardboard tubes in half or quarters.

• Print and colour in your bushes.  Cut along the dotted lines and slide this onto the cardboard tubes (like mini trunks).

Mushrooms 

• Print the mushrooms and cut them out, colouring them in if you chose that option.

• Our daughter then painted some cardboard tubes, cut them into quarters and snipped them to look like grass, attaching the mushrooms with glue.

Pond

• Print your pond and cut it out to place in your small world.

Fairy Wings

• Transform your toys into fairies with the paper wings.  Print and colour your wings (there is also a coloured option), picking the wing size that matches your toys.  We printed two copies and then glued them together so you could see the colour of the wings from both the front and the back.

Arrange your pieces in your box lid to create a magical fairy world.  We didn’t glue the pieces down so as to allow for movement within the story.  Add your characters and enjoy playing! 

Writing Booklet 

• After playing, the writing booklet is a great way to work on developing and recording a story about your fairy garden and its inhabitants.  Print out the cover (there is an option to colour yourself or one already done) and as many of the writing pages that you would like. (we printed enough for both a rough and good copy).   We have a planning sheet to use prior to which is handy as well: story planner.  Have an adult help you with the editing process.

If you like this idea, you might like our PAPER FARM:

Find the printables here: http://make-it-your-own.com/paper-farm/

OR our BUTTERFLY GARDEN THEATRE with SCRIPT PAGES

Find the printables here: http://make-it-your-own.com/printables-on-hp-play-learn/

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We’d love to see your fairy gardens!

• Please tag us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/make_it_your_own_/) if you make the fairy garden- we’d love to see them!  Didn’t Shikha’s daughter from The Joy of Sharing do a beautiful job of hers?!  Shikha’s site (https://www.thejoysharing.com/) has all sorts of neat ways to use a paper plate for both learning and play!

Purpose

• Creating play items from recyclables.
• Extending one’s play into writing opportunities.
• This fairy paper craft allows children to practice their fine motor skills with cutting, assembling, painting etc.

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you use a tray and a smock to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use scissors with care and direct, adult supervision.
• Follow product directions on paint etc.

Printable:

• journal

Directions:

• Print the cover page and then as many copies of the secondary page as you would like.  Staple it in the corner to form a booklet.  Brainstorm with your child topics that they would be interested in writing about and have them record their ideas along with a graphic or illustration to go along with it at the top of the box!  We always love to see your ideas, so please tag or message us on Instagram with your stories!  (https://www.instagram.com/make_it_your_own_/)

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Materials

• Printable Card: FingerPrintFlowerMothersDay
• Cardstock

Option 1

• Non-toxic stamp pad
• Wipe or rag
• Pencil/eraser

Option 2

• Non-toxic paint
• Wipe or rag
• Pencil/ eraser

We always find these items useful too:

Directions

Option 1: Stamping 

• Don your smock.

• Print the card.

• Using a non-toxic stamp pad, apply the ink to the tip of your finger pad and then carefully apply it to the end of the branches.

• For best results, use a different finger for each colour or wipe and dry your finger in between changing colours- this will preserve the colours of your stamp pad.

• Allow to dry.

• Fold your card along the dotted half line, trim the edges if your printer didn’t extend the branches to the edges and write a special message inside.

Option 1: Painting 

• Don your smock.

• Print the card.

• Using a non-toxic paint, apply the paint to the tip of your finger pad and then carefully apply it to the end of the branches.

• For best results, use a different finger for each colour or wipe and dry your finger in between changing colours.

• Be careful that as you apply the flowers, you rotate the card so as not to smudge your previous blooms!

• Allow to dry.

• Fold your card along the dotted half line, trim the edges if your printer didn’t extend the branches to the edges and write a special message inside.

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Purpose

• Developing one’s fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
• Expressing gratitude

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you use a tray and a smock to protect your clothing and surfaces.  Be sure to have a rag on hand!
• Use scissors with care and direct, adult supervision.
• Use non-toxic products as they are contacting one’s skin.

Materials

• Kite Writing Template (cover and lined pages included): KiteWriting2
• Planning Template: story planner
• Decorating materials (paint, paint sticks etc.)
• Scissors
• Yarn
• Glue

We always find these items useful too:

Directions

• Print out the kite template. (We printed two copies for the the front and back on cardstock).  Decorate the cover (blank kite) as you like.  Allow it to dry.  Cut it out.

• Print out the planning sheet.  Brainstorm some ideas with friends if you like to generate some potential  Plan out your story in point form in the planning sheet.

• Write out a rough copy of your story on loose leaf and edit it with a peer or an adult (parent, teacher etc.).

• Write your good copy onto the lined kite.  Cut them out.

• Line up all your kites with the story in between the covers and staple the left edge.

• Glue your bows to your yarn and then glue the end to the back cover of your kite booklet. (Or tape them if you rather)

• Share your story with your friends!

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Purpose

• Writing for different purposes (narratives)

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you use a tray and a smock to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use scissors with care and direct, adult supervision.
• Cord, yarn etc. can be a strangulation hazard, therefore be sure to use with direct supervision and for its intended purpose.

Materials

• Printable Gum Ball Machine Parts gumball machines
• Craft or wooden egg (Find wooden eggs here: https://woodpeckerscrafts.com/search.php?search_query=egg&section=product)
• Non-toxic stamp pad or markers
• Small bead
• Glue

We always find these items useful too:

Directions

• Create gumballs with the tip of your finger pad applied to your stamp pad and then to your craft or wooden egg.  (You could also use non toxic markers and draw them too or use non-toxic paint).  Allow your gumballs to dry.

• Print and cut out the gumball machine pieces.  Glue them with the tabs.  Since we used craft eggs we glued the top piece onto our egg and added a tiny bead.

• Display your gumball machine for Easter!

• If you have Easter decorating ideas, we’d love to see them!

Animal Easter Eggs

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Purpose

• Recognizing cultural celebrations and symbols that often accompanying them.

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you use a tray and a smock to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use scissors and a glue gun with care and direct, adult supervision.
• Beads can be a choking hazard, therefore be sure to keep them out of the reach of children ages 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things into their mouths.