Materials

• Printables: dino egg2
• Craft or wooden easter eggs
• Paint
• Brush (we used a sponge brush for a textured surface)
• Scissors
• Glue (you could use a glue stick,  white/craft glue or a glue gun)
• Markers (if you would like to colour your own)

We always find these items useful too: 

Directions

• Print your dinosaur parts.  There are coloured ones or ones to colour yourself.

• Paint your eggs and allow them to dry.

• Cut out your dinosaur pieces  (this is an activity meant for older kids or you may need a bit of adult help with this) and fold the tabs.  Folding them out makes them easier to attach, but folding them in allows you to hide the tab.

• Glue the end of the tail and then attach the the tabs a few centimetres apart.

• Do the same for the head.

• For the leg portion, wrap the long tab around and glue it to the line.

• Gently set your egg into your leg portion.

Items to add to your Easter Basket or for Spring Break:

*Please note:  These are not sponsored posts, nor do we use affiliate links, these are things we just like and thought you might too!*

• For the cousins and neighbourhood friends, we are giving out rainbow coloured Easter items, including this new book The Awesome Airplane Book for Kids by Stefania Luca of (https://nontoygifts.com/)  You can purchase it at

Indigo: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-awesome-paper-airplane-book/9781646116935-item.html

Amazon (Canada): https://www.amazon.ca/Awesome-Paper-Airplane-Book-Kids/dp/1646116933/

Amazon (US): https://www.amazon.com/Awesome-Paper-Airplane-Book-Kids/dp/1646116933/

• My niece who loves to create is going to so enjoy this Sew a Softie book to make items with my daughter over Zoom from Trixi Symonds of Sew a Softie .  You can see a project from us in the book too!

Indigo: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/sewing-simple-softies-with-17/9780764361272-item.html

Amazon (Canada): https://www.amazon.ca/Sewing-Simple-Softies-Amazing-Designers/dp/0764361279/

Amazon (US): https://www.amazon.com/Sewing-Simple-Softies-Amazing-Designers/dp/0764361279

• Whether it be for Easter baskets or teacher gifts at the end of the year, aren’t these Justine Ma Design & Hand Lettering (https://justinema.ca/) pieces both beautiful and encouraging!?

If you like this idea, we also have:

Find the printables here: http://make-it-your-own.com/easter-counting-addition-game-feed-the-bunny/

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Purpose

• Recognizing various symbols of celebrations such as Easter!

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.

The kids made many of these as they thought it would make a nice plate to put treats like chocolate or tea to drop off at the school for the teachers! 

Materials

• Printables: Rainbow Paper Plate2
• Cardstock
• Paper plate (we used inexpensive white ones to paint, but you could use green ones too)
• Scissors
• Glue
• Paint or crayons, pencil crayons, markers etc.

We always find these items useful too: 

Directions

• Print the rainbow that you like.  We used sturdy cardstock so the rainbow could stand.

• Paint or colour it or chose a pre-coloured rainbow if you would like.

• Paint your paper plate.  We used an inexpensive white one, but you could also use a green paper plate from the party or dollar store.

• Allow it to dry and cut it out.

• Fold the tabs at the bottom of your rainbow ends.

• Glue the tabs and stand up your rainbow on your plate.

• This will now make a little world for your small toys to enjoy some time under your colourful rainbow!  Add any other things that you might like to enhance your play!

If you like this idea, we also have lots of other rainbow ideas:

Find them all here: http://make-it-your-own.com/?s=rainbow

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Purpose

• Recognizing symbols associated with particular holidays.
• Creating play opportunities.

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.

Materials

• Printables: Egypt Valentinie Box copy
• Tissue Box  (the printables fit the Kleenex brand from Costco)
• Glue
• Scissors

We always find these items useful too: 

Directions

• Print out your pieces and cut them out.  If you want your cat to be double sided, then print two of that sheet.

• Gently remove the plastic liner from your Kleenex box.

• Glue your mummy inside the box to the bottom.  This will create a fun surprise for when people open the sarcophagus door!

• Glue the four sides on.

• Fold your cat along the line. Glue the fold to the top edges of your box (as seen in the video).  We printed an additional copy to have them double sided.

• Have an adult either cut one side of of the mummy so it will open like a door (we used a craft knife and a cutting board) or cut the slit out to make a card slot. (Gently bend your sheet to make a snip and cut it out or get an adult to cut it out using a craft knife.

• Glue your mummy on top of your cat tabs.

• Print the matching cards if you like, inscribing a special message to your pals!

If you like this idea, we also have:

http://make-it-your-own.com/valentine-box-ideas-for-kids/

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Purpose

• Recognizing symbols associated with various places in time and location.
• Celebrating friendship!

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.
• A craft knife should only be used by an adult and stored in a safe spot when not in use.

*This is not a sponsored post, nor do we use affiliate links*

Sun Catcher Kit

• Doesn’t the finished product of these sun catchers look lovely with the light shining through them!?  As you can see, the kits come with with all the supplies and clear directions in a variety of languages.  There are six of choices of outlines to choose from and it brightens one’s windows as the neighbours pass.

Handprint Cards & Paper Roll Bugs

• These bugs are fun to make and play with- perfect for dramatic play and they come with all the required pieces- the paper to make the tubes, the wings, the decorations, eyes and detailing pen. Our kids quite enjoyed playing with them!

• The hand print card set is great for events throughout the year and gives the children an exciting opportunity to practice their literacy skills sending cards to grandparents (I know my mom would love these keepsake cards with the kids’ handprints), friends and attaching them to birthday gifts!

Additional Kits

(Video and full photos here: https://www.thebestideasforkids.com/craft-kits-for-kids/)

There is also: 

• Rock painting (making cacti in little planters)
• Robots with with clothes pin appendages (so cute!)
• A different set of paper handprint cards
• A 3D aquarium with fish
• Coluring pages with a 3D component
• A 3D paper town with a road system and foldable vehicles and buildings (I think this one might be my personal favourite!)

Find them all here: https://canada.michaels.com/en/search?q=the%20best%20ideas%20for%20kids

*Please follow the safety protocols in your area as advised by your health district, school board and school itself regarding Valentine’s Day cards. Our kids are doing online learning this year so we are planning on putting our box on our step for neighbourhood friends and leaving the contents for the specified amount of time before touching them. As mentioned, check with your local guidelines.*

Materials

• Printables: robot valentines box
• Cardstock
• Empty tissue box (the printable fits the Kleenex brand box from Costco)
• Scissors
• Glue
• Optional: paint, paint brush

We always find these items useful too: 

Directions

• Gently remove the plastic from your tissue box.

• Print the robot that you would like onto cardstock paper.

• Cut out the different pieces and decide which ones you want to be part of your robot.

Body

• Glue on the backside, top and bottom.  The front panel will go in front of  the dispensing slot on your kleenex box.  There are 2 options: 1) Slot- To cut out the centre, gently fold it slightly before making a snip to then allow your scissors to maneuver to cut out the inside before gluing it on.  2) Door-  Again slightly bend your paper to make a snip and then cut along 3 sides of the door (the top, bottom and right hand side.  This will allow your door to open!

Head

• Paint your half cardboard tube if you like or cover it with the neck printable.  Glue your face and the back of your head onto the tube (you could attach the front and back pieces together on the top and sides of the head if you like) and then glue it to the top of your box (make sure that the face goes to the front of the box where your slot is).

Legs 

• Print the leg pieces, cut them out, glue the back and wrap it around a cardboard tube each.  Glue them to the bottom of your robot an equal distance apart to help your robot stand.

Arms 

• Cut out the two sides of each arm.  Fold them on the dotted line.  Glue them together (back to back, so you can see them from the front and back of the box) up until the fold line.  Then glue the two tabs of the fold line to the box as seen in the video.

Decorate

• You could add a few beads to the coloured dots of your robot just to add a bit of interest or any other ideas you might think of!

Cards

• Print your cards, cut them out, fold them and inscribe a message to your friends inside!

If you like this idea, we also have other creative boxes:

http://make-it-your-own.com/valentine-box-ideas-for-kids/

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Purpose

• Creating for various celebrations.

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.

Re-use different types of paper to create a unique paper snow person- whether it be from envelopes, gift bags, magazines or flyers- whatever you have on hand! 

Materials

• Printable: Snow Person
• Painted paper, magazines, scrap paper etc. (Maps, coffee filters, old artwork, flyers, gift wrap, tissue paper, old cards etc.  You could add fabric scraps, tiny buttons to create 3D elements too)
• Scissors
• Glue
• Pencil/ eraser
• Beads
• Hole punch

We always find these items useful too: 

Directions

• Create your own background or use ours: Snow Person

• When I would do these types of projects in the classroom, I would put out a “buffet” of materials options, prompting all sorts of creativity- this is a perfect time to use those odds and ends from other projects too!

• Trace your ideas (e.g., a carrot nose for example) on the back of the different kinds of paper, so that way when you cut it out and glue it on to your project, you won’t see any pencil lines!

• Play with your pieces, planning them out before you glue them on.  Once you are happy, glue the pieces onto your snow person.

• Add any details in your background or surrounding area to make your snow person unique!  Here’s an example of some of the things we used:

• Snow Person #1: Hat- cut out of magazines, eyes- hole punched out of a magazine, nose- packaging, scarf- tissue paper from a gift, buttons- old envelope, arms- coffee sleeves and mouth- beads * Snow Person #2: Bow and scarf- cut up gift bag, eyes, buttons and nose- magazine, arms- coffee sleeves, mittens- cut up art work and mouth- beads. *Snowflakes- white paint pen!

• If you create this project, we’d love to see how yours turns out!

If you like this idea, we also have:

Snow Person Writing (we just included a whole planning package for this activity- great for How To Writing in the classroom!

http://make-it-your-own.com/snow-person-writing-activity/

Snow Person STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) by making a seasonal magnet maze

http://make-it-your-own.com/snow-person-winter-maze/

Snow Person Math: Create these hands on activities, great for preschool and kindergarteners!

http://make-it-your-own.com/snow-people-learning-activities/

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Purpose

• Reusing materials for creative purposes

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.
• Small items such as 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

• Printables: snow town
• Cookie sheet
• Clear page cover *optional
• Scissors
• Tape or other type of adhesive *optional
• Ploughs or other toy vehicles that might be used to remove snow
• Snow

You could use beads, glass gems, white stones, snow scatter pieces, white shredded paper from gifts, white tiles, dustless gravel, cotton balls, vase filler gems, different types or sizes of pom poms.  You could also try white sand.

We always find these items useful too: 

Directions

• Print your pages.  We slipped ours into a page protector and cut off the edges (the part with the binder holes), taping them together and to the bottom of the cookie sheet.

• Place your “snow” onto your sheets.   You could use beads, glass gems, white stones, snow scatter pieces, white shredded paper from gifts, white tiles, dustless gravel, cotton balls, vase filler gems, different types or sizes of pom poms.  You could also try white sand.  You could combine or use different materials on different days for a varied experience!

• Add vehicles that could be used for snow removal such as ploughs (often referred to as snow plows too!)

• Next we are going to try putting this into a ziploc and trying it with real snow next!

If you like this idea, we also have:

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Purpose

• Creating different types of play opportunities with various 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, gems 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

• Printables:  (We have a version for juice type cartons: Juice Carton ginger bread and the slightly taller milk cartons too: Milk Carton ginger bread
  
• Beverage carton
• Scissors
• Glue
• Additional items to decorate (beads, rick rack, gems, buttons- use whatever you have on hand or our printable comes with paper candies too)

We always find these items useful too: 

Directions

• Wash your beverage carton throughly with soap and water and rinse it well, allowing it to dry overnight.

• Print your beverage carton gingerbread house on thick paper such as cardstock and cut it out.

• Fold along the dotted lines.

• Glue the two pieces on the carton where the roof of the the gingerbread house lines up with the peaks of the milk carton near the top.

• Cut out the characters, props and stands. For the characters with the tab on the bottom, fold it and then that will make the base where it will stand. For the items with a stand, make a cut along the dotted lines on the characters and the stands and insert them into one another.  You could make paper items of your own to add.  For the 2D gingerbread house we added some heavy vintage beads so to get it to be more study we simply glued a small box on the back which worked like a charm!

• Set up your scene and add any things that you might like to enhance it (small toy figurines for kids etc.)

EXTENSION 

• If you want to add a door for your characters to go into your gingerbread house, take a baby wipe lid and place it on the door of your house, see our example on our Milk Carton Haunted House: http://make-it-your-own.com/milk-carton-haunted-house-scene/

• Open the lid and trace around the inside.

• Paint your lid with acrylic paint if you like.

• Have an adult cut out the traced portion.

• Glue the lid down with a sturdy/ child-safe glue.

• Allow to dry.

• Voila!  A door to open your gingerbread house up!

If you like this idea, we also have:

A Beverage Carton Paper Farm: http://make-it-your-own.com/paper-farm/

A Beverage Carton Haunted House: http://make-it-your-own.com/milk-carton-haunted-house-scene/

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Purpose

• Recognizing some of the symbols associated with various holidays and celebrations.
• Reusing recyclables.
• Encouraging play which incorporates communication, imagination

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.
• Be sure to throughly WASH your beverage carton prior to use!
• 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

• Printable Puppets and Background: finger puppet christmas
• Tissue Box (we used the Kleenex brand)
• White paint (we used acrylic for better coverage)
• Paint brush
• Scissors
• Cardstock
• Printer paper

We always find these items useful too:

Directions

• Carefully remove the plastic from the tissue box top window (that helps distribute the kleenex one at a time).

• Have an adult cut off the bottom of your tissue box for you.

• Cover your box in thin layers of paint, allowing them to dry in between (this trick tends to work better and lend to more even coverage than one thick layer).

• Cut out the background and fold the sides.  Put glue on those tabs and the bottom portion and glue it to the back of your tissue box.  There is one with a scene or one to deign yourself!

• Punch two holes in the background one on each side and the lace a piece of yarn through it, the length to go around your neck and the box to sit comfortably at your chest level.

• Cut out your puppets.  There are two options: finger puppets that you wrap around your finger (and glue the tabs together once you can see the correct size for you or ones that you can attach to a pencil top (see the photos below).

• Once your puppets are dry pop the up through the bottom of your tissue box and put on a play!

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Purpose

• Dramatic play opportunities lend to language  and literacy development (interacting with each other, developing ideas, understanding the elements of a story, such as characters, setting, a problem and a solution)

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. Remove prior to play!

Materials

• Template angel puppet
• Craft sticks (we used ones that were more tongue depressor size for stability)
• Decorating items
• Glue

We always find these items useful too:

Directions

• Print out your angel on thick paper such as cardstock.  If you plan on adding heavy decorating items to it, back it onto cardboard or create an additional layer of foam or something of equal thickness.

• Decorate your angel as you like, adding some folded paper doilies for the wings (you could also use coffee filters or cupcake liners). Use what you have- pom, poms, markers, rick rack, ribbon etc.

• Glue your angel onto a craft stick and allow it to dry overnight.

• Use your angel for dramatic play.  We’d love to see what you did with your angel- please tag us on Instagram.

Additional Idea

• Print and decorate your angel on both sides, punch a hole in the top and then thread through some ribbon to create an angel ornament for your Christmas tree!

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Purpose

• Recognizing various symbols associated with the season.
• Encouraging dramatic play with communication, interaction and developing the elements of a story (characters, setting, a problem, solution)

Recognizing various symbols associated with the season.

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.
• 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.