I is for Igloo

We are still feeling the arctic blast around here, so an igloo seemed like the perfect thing to make for our letter I page.

I traced out the shape of the igloo and Stella glued on some small rectangles that we cut from white paper. Super simple!

 

S is for Snowman

Stella and I have finally gotten busy making her Alphabet Book. This time around I've decided instead of working alphabetically, we will be jumping around and because the theme of our week appears to be snow (we're on our second snow day this week!), our first letter is S for SNOWMAN!

 To make the "snow" for our snowman, we used a hole punch and white paper. The big girls are always wanting to use it, so they were a big help.

I spread the glue around for the snowman and Stella's job was to add the snow and other details.

Stayed tuned for more alphabet pages to come!

 

Foot Print Penguin Craft

We were lucky enough to have the white Christmas that we had been dreaming of, unfortunately we have now been hit with a blast of cold. Brrr! It's the perfect weather if you're a penguin! So today we decided to stay inside and make foot print penguins and read a few books instead of playing outside in the snow and cold.

What you will need to make your own foot print penguin:
white paper
a scrap of orange paper for the beak
black paint
wiggly eyes
a foot (of course)

First, you'll need to paint only the outside edge of the foot, leaving the center free of paint. Press the foot down on the piece of white paper making sure the sides touch. Then, add the details (wings, eyes, and a beak).

  Chill out and read some penguin books while it dries!

After ours dried, I cut it out and glued it to a piece of blue construction paper before hanging it up.

 

Snowflakes {Day 7}

 Every year we haul out a pile of coffee filters, scissors and liquid starch and cover our windows with paper snowflakes. Felicia has especially taken a liking to this activity and has been making a "blizzard" of snowflakes! (I guess she'll stop when she runs out of coffee filters) You can learn how to make them here and if you would like to to turn them into a nice gift, check out this post.

Toilet Paper Roll Snowman {Day 5}

We've recently had a few unseasonably warm days, but we are still holding out hope for a white Christmas. However, if Mother Nature fails us, we can still have a cute snowman!

   Just grab a toilet paper roll and paint it white. While it's drying, braid a few strands of yarn to make a scarf. After the paint is dry, draw a face on your snowman.

Add a hat and the scarf and you have yourself a sweet little snowman!

Snowy Activities

I can't really say that winter in my favorite season, but I do love a good snow storm. This year, however, we really haven't had much snow to speak of. Although, I am still hopeful that the new snow clothes and sleds I bought will not go unused. Until then, we just have to have some patience. Here are a few activities that we have done in the past to pass the time until the "big one" hits!

Cotton Clay Snow Sculpture

Potato Print Snowman

Glistening Snow Play Dough

Paper Lantern Snowman

Igloos, Polar Bears, and "Ice Skating" Painting

Igloos, Polar Bears, and Ice Skating Painting

Today we are having our second snow day in a row. Actually, with Martin Luther King Day on Monday, we haven't had school since last Friday! It's been nice lounging around in our jammies and watching movies all day, but the little kids are really starting to get bored. So, today we decided to embrace the ice around us and do some more winter crafts.

 Our first project of the day was igloos! Theses were super simple, but my girls love anything involving glue so they had fun making them. Just draw the basic igloo shape and they can glue on squares of white paper.

Next we made some hand print polar bears.

And last, we had some good old messy fun. We "ice skated" with our fingers! Just a little white paint on some foil and lots of fun!

The girls were a little bummed because it has been too icy to go outside to play, but these activities kept them busy for awhile. Hopefully tomorrow we will be back to our normal schedule!

Paper Lantern Snowman

Do you remember our paper Jack O' Lanterns? Well, we used the same idea to make a snowman today!

We just made the face a bit higher on the paper and added some arms. Some pom-poms on each side of the handle would make cute ear muffs, but we were out.

Glistening Snow Play Dough

Around here, we love snow. However, we have had no snow to speak of since Thanksgiving Day. It's kind of a bummer. We really were hoping for a white Christmas and that just did not happen. But, we are not letting our lack of the real thing get us down. Today we made snowmen with our favorite play dough recipe that I added a bit of glitter to to give it some sparkle!

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup salt
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
silver glitter

Mix the flour, salt, cream of tartar, water, and oil in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until it holds together like mashed potatoes. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. When the dough is cool enough to touch, knead it on a lightly floured surface. Add glitter to make it sparkle!

Potato Print Snowman

Even though it has warmed up a bit, we still can't shake this chill. So, snowmen were the plan again for today! This time we used a potato to create our snowy friend.

1. Cut the potato in half. Then, cut a slice off of each end on one of the halves.

2. Dip the half (that does not have the end cut off) in the white paint and print it on a piece of construction paper.

3.Now, do the same with the larger end of the other half.

4.Finally, flip that half over and use the smaller end to make the head of the snowman.

5. The only thing left to do is decorate your snowman. We used crayons and markers, but any materials would be fine.

Cotton Clay Snowman Sculpture

Brr, it has been so cold outside! Even though there is snow on the ground, it is much too chilly to go out and make a real snowman, so we made one indoors! We have used many different clay recipes, but this is the first time we tried this one. It's made with cotton.

Here's what you need to make it:
3 cups of cotton balls
2 cups of water
2/3 cups of flour

To make the clay:
1. Tear the cotton into tiny pieces.

2. Mix the cotton and water in a mediun saucepan.

3.Add the flour and stir over low heat until the dough starts to stiffen. This takes about 5-7 minutes.

4. Remove the clay and allow it to cool on some newspaper.

5. When it's cool, you are ready to sculpt. It takes at least 24 hours to dry depending on the thickness of your creation.

 

 

After it's dry!

 

Handprint Penguins

I think that penguins are just about the cutest creatures on Earth. Except of course my kids;0) Here is a fun penguin to make using your child's hand tracing for wings.

1. Cut out an egg shape for the penguins body, a smaller egg shape for the belly, a beak, and feet.

2. Trace your child's hand.

3. Glue the belly to the center of the body.

4. Add the beak and feet.

5. Glue on some eyes. You can use wiggly eyes or paper reinforcement stickers like I did.

6. Last, you glue the hand tracings on the side of your penguin for the wings.

7. Here is Madelyn's finished penguin. (please excuse the bedhead:0)

Potato Print Penguins

This week's Toddler Theme Challenge was Penguins. I just love penguins! I knew this was definitely a theme I would enjoy doing with the girls, so we made potato print penguins.

1. You will need to cut a potato so that you have a flat surface to stamp with.

2. You will then cut two wedges from the uncut side of the potato to form a handle. Do not throw these wedges away. You will need them:)

3.Now dip your potato in some black paint. I made a stamp pad out of a few paper towels folded and covered with a small amount of paint.

4. Stamp the potato on a piece of construction paper.

5. Using the cut wedges, stamp some wings on your penguin.

6.After the paint dries, add an oval cut out of white construction paper to the belly of the penguin.

7.The last thing you need to do is add a beak, feet, and an eye. I used a paper reinforcement sticker for the eye. So there you have it a very cute penguin project!


A great book to go along with this project is Five Little Penguins Slipping on the Ice by Steve Metzger.

To participate in the toddler theme challenge visit: