kids crafts Archives

25 Fun Penguin Crafts and Activities for Kids

November 18, 2016 by Selena Robinson 5 Comments

It’s mid-November down here in the Southern U.S. and we’ve (finally) started to get some cold weather. So there’s no doubt that winter’s around the corner.

I have to be honest: Winter is probably my least favorite season. Me and cold weather just do not get along. (I’m from Florida. What can I say?)

But I do love making winter-themed crafts with the family, so I thought I’d find some super cute penguin crafts for kids to share today! And I’m not just saying that. These are really, really adorable.

These penguin crafts for kids would be a great way to add art to a winter or Arctic unit!

If your kids like these, don’t forget to check out some snowman crafts for kids you can make too!

25 Fun Penguin Crafts and Activities for Kids

1. Coffee Filter Penguin Craft – Look! We’re Learning!

2. Tacky the Penguin Craft – I Heart Crafty Things

3. Penguin Sensory Bottle – Teaching Mama

4. Penguin Feathers Science Experiment – Raising Little Superheroes

5. Sledding Penguins Frozen Banana Snack – Reading Confetti

6. Easy Penguin Bookmark Corner – Red Ted Art

7. Paper Heart Penguin Craft – Crafty Morning

8. Penguin Coloring Page Craft – Kids Activities Blog

9. Round Penguin Craft – Easy Peasy and Fun

10. Girl Penguin Craft for Kids – Housing a Forest

11. Penguin Footprint Art – Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

12. Paper Cup Penguin Craft – The Imagination Tree

13. Easy Origami Penguin Cards – Red Ted Art

14. Penguin Ice Cube Counting Game – Preschool Powol Packets

15. Skating Penguin Small World – Adventures of Adam

16. Macaroni Penguin – Parenting Chaos

17. Penguin Snowball I Spy Game – Simple Fun for Kids

18. Penguin Lacing Cards – Living Life and Learning

19. Penguin Water Bead Sensory Bin – 3 Dinosaurs

20. Circle Penguin Craft – Reading Confetti

21. Clay Penguin Photo Holder – Artsy Craftsy Mom

22. Penguin Puppets – I Can Teach My Child

23. Royal Penguin Kids’ Craft – I Heart Crafty Things

24. DIY Penguin Math Counters – The Educators’ Spin On It

25. Popsicle Stick Bow Tie Penguin Craft – Crafty Morning

If you loved these penguin crafts for kids, check out more of our winter learning ideas!

And you can get more fun winter teaching tips on my Winter Activities for Kids Pinterest board!

This post is part of the Penguin free unit study roundup! Stop by to read more penguin learning ideas from my fellow bloggers!

Toilet Paper Roll Penguin – Playdough and Popsicles

Children’s Books about Penguins – The Jenny Evolution

Fun Penguin Life Cycle App – iGameMom

Penguin Sight Words – Adventures of Adam

Do You Want to Dress a Penguin? – Sight Sound and Reading

Penguin Dress Up Activity – Schooling a Monkey

Penguin Videos for Kids – Tales of Education at Home

Slippery Ice Science Experiment – Craft Create Calm

Penguin Notebooking Pages – The Natural Homeschool

Fun Snowman Crafts for Kids

October 21, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

I have to be honest. Winter is not my favorite season. There’s just something about cold weather that makes me want to curl up in bed and never get up. What I’m saying is that I’m basically a bear. 🙂

But I do love sharing winter crafts with my kids! Since we live in the South, we almost never see actual snow during winter, so we have to make our own. And these fun snowman crafts for kids are a simple way to do it! Check out these easy crafts you can share with your children this winter!

If you love these, don’t miss our All About Snowflakes Unit – a learning pack for kids in grades K-3! And if you have younger children, our Winter Sight Word Flashcards are an easy way to reinforce reading skills!

Fun Snowman Crafts for Kids

1. Borax Crystal Snowman – Science Kiddo

2. Cupcake Liner Snowman – I Heart Crafty Things

3. Snowman Factory – Buggy and Buddy

4. Melting Snowman Baking Soda Science Activity – Little Bins for Little Hands

5. Magic Foaming Snowman – Fun at Home with Kids

6. Build a Snowman Activity Tray – Happy Hooligans

7. Shredded Paper Snowman – Housing a Forest

8. Snowman Suncatcher – Craftulate

9. Squishy Snowman Sensory Bag – Mama Papa Bubba

10. Easy Snowman Footprint Craft – Teach Mama

11. Paper Snowman Craft – Easy Peasy and Fun

12. Tin Can Snowman – Hands On as We Grow

13. Snowman Stick Puppets – I Heart Crafty Things

14. LEGO Snowman – Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls

15. Name Snowmen – Fun-A-Day

16. Build a Snowman Bottle – Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

17. Melting Snowman Slime – Little Bins for Little Hands

18. Egg Carton Snowman – Sugar Aunts

19. Paper Plate Snowman – I Heart Crafty Things

20. Cotton Ball Snowman – Easy Peasy and Fun

Make winter even more fun for your kids with these activities!

Plus, get more winter activity ideas on my Winter Activities for Kids Pinterest board!

Stop by and get more winter craft and activity inspiration from these posts!

Snowflake Printable Math Activity from Playdough and Popsicles

Exciting Children’s Reading List about Snow from Crafty Mama in ME

Board Books Celebrating Winter from The Jenny Evolution

Snow Science from iGameMom

Snowman Ornament from CraftCreateCalm

Melting Ice Science Experiment from Tales of Education at Home

Want to Build a Snowman? from Mrs. Karle’s Sight and Sound Reading

Literacy Games for Kids: Outdoor Ice Scrabble from Schooling a Monkey

Snow Games for Kids Outside from FrogMom

25 Airplane Crafts for Kids

October 7, 2016 by Selena Robinson 2 Comments

My three-year-old is constantly on the lookout for airplanes in the sky. If one of the other kids spots one, she has a fit until we show her where to look. Sometimes she doesn’t see it in time and then, well, let’s say she doesn’t handle that well. 🙂

Children of all ages love airplanes. There’s just something about the idea of flying through the sky that sends their imaginations soaring! So I rounded up 25 airplane crafts for kids that are fun, easy to make, and let kids “fly” just as high as they want!

If you love these, don’t miss our list of 25 leaf crafts or our list of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory crafts for kids!

25 Airplane Crafts for Kids:

1. How to Make a Paper Airplane – Tinkerlab

2. Paper Airplane Launcher – Frugal Fun 4 Boys

3. STEM Paper Airplane Challenge – Kids Activities Blog

4. Airplane Clothespin Kids’ Craft – DIY Inspired

5. Airplane Play Dough – My Nearest and Dearest

6. Airplane Coloring Pages – Itsy Bitsy Fun

7. Airplane Sensory Bin – My Mundane and Miraculous Life

8. Footprint Airplane Canvas – Glued to My Crafts

9. DIY Airplane Crayons – Nothing If Not Intentional

10. Star Wars Paper Airplane Comparison – Royal Baloo

11. Craft Stick Airplane – Pleasantest Thing

12. Make an Airplane Runway for Kids – Dirt and Boogers

13. Paper Airplane Races – Creative Family Fun

14. A is for Airplane Craft – Kidz Activities

15. Giant Paper Airplanes – Fireflies and Mud Pies

16. Wooden Toy Airplane Craft – Moms and Crafters

17. Stunt Paper Airplane – Craftulate

18. Design a Propeller Plane – Planet Smarty

19. Paper Airplane Hangers

20. Egg Crate Airplane – Schooling a Monkey

21. Easy Toilet Paper Airplane – Spaceships and Laser Beams

22. Make a Straw and Paper Airplane – Tinkerlab

23. Paper Airplane Canvas Art – Mom Endeavors

24. Toilet Roll Airplane – Your Modern Family

25. LEGO Paper Airplane Launcher – Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls

Don’t miss these other crafts for children!

See more fun crafts for kids to make on my Simple Crafts for Kids Pinterest board!

This post is part of the Free Unit Studies blog hop! Stop by to read more fun airplane posts from these bloggers!

Styrofoam Cup Airplane Craft from Playdough and Popsicles

Exciting Reading List of Airplane Children’s Books from Crafty Mama in ME

Airplane Crafts for Kids from Look! We’re Learning!

Airplane Board Books for Toddlers from The Jenny Evolution

Airplane Travel from iGameMom

Learning Numbers with Airplanes from My Storytime Corner

Airplane Preschool Printables from Living Life and Learning

Airplane Color by letter Sight Words from Mrs. Karle’s Sight and Sound Reading

Airplane High Frequency Words from Adventures of Adam

Clothespin Airplane Engineering Challenge from Schooling a Monkey

25 Beach Crafts for Kids

July 10, 2016 by Selena Robinson 2 Comments

Have you made it to the beach yet this year? We’re planning a quick trip to a local one in August, so I thought I’d look for some fun and adorable beach crafts for kids that we can make together before we leave!

What I love about studying the beach with kids is that the topic is so broad! You can learn about the sun, the ocean, ocean animals, beach sand, animals that live on the beach, seashells, ice cream, and so much more! So there are crafts for all these things below!

Read on to find some fun beach crafts you can try too!

25 Beach Crafts for Kids

1. Beach Diorama for Kids from Look! We’re Learning!

2. Puffy Paint Ocean Collage from ArtsyMomma

3. Seashell Keepsake Craft from Moms and Crafters

4. Beach-Themed Sand and Shell Art from Happiness is Homemade

5. Sand Footprint Craft from Paging Fun Mums

6. Newspaper Shark Craft from I Heart Crafty Things

7. Paper Plate Sun Craft from Buggy and Buddy

8. Starfish Ocean Button Craft from A Little Pinch of Perfect

9. Shell Sunflower Craft from Rhythms of Play

10. Sand Handprint Keepsakes from The Imagination Tree

11. DIY Beach Sand from Look! We’re Learning!

12. Cupcake Liner Sun Craft from I Heart Crafty Things

13. 3-Ingredient Ocean in a Bottle from Happy Hooligans

14. Paper Plate Seashell Craft from Artsy Crafty Mom

15. Sand in a Bottle Craft from Gift of Curiosity

16. Coffee Filter Beach Ball Craft from Look! We’re Learning!

17. Popsicle Stick Mosaic Sun Craft from Kids Activities Blog

18. Cupcake Liner Lighthouse Craft from Sugar Aunts

19. DIY Seashell Mobile from Nurture Store

20. Egg Carton Ocean Craft from The Imagination Tree

21. Bubbling Shell Painting from Mess for Less

22. DIY Moon Sand from Look! We’re Learning!

23. Paper Plate Beach Ball Craft from Glued to My Crafts

24. Sun Craft Scissor Skills Activity from A Little Pinch of Perfect

25. Beach Keepsake Craft from Fireflies and Mudpies

Need more summer learning ideas? Try these with your kids!

Plus, get even more ideas on my Summer Activities for Kids Pinterest Board!

And don’t miss my All About Beaches Printable Pack – perfect for keeping kids learning over the summer!

This post is part of the Summer Activities for Kids Blog Hop! Check out more summer fun for kids below!

Flower Suncatcher Nature Craft – Messy Little Monster

Make a Bee Bath – Kitchen Counter Chronicles

Water Play Car Wash – Play and Learn Everyday

Tic Tac Toe Races – Royal Baloo

Finding Dory Wind Sock Craft – The Gingerbread House

5 Fun Winter Crafts for Kids

January 26, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Is anyone else kind of “over” winter? It seemed like the weather was never going to get cold and then BOOM! we all got hit with a massive winter storm and I was like “Okay, that’s enough cold for now.”

To get back to enjoying the fun of winter, I put together a quick roundup of fun winter crafts for kids that you can do in just a few minutes!

Today is also another Laugh and Learn linky party! Check out our favorite posts from last week and read more great posts from awesome bloggers below!

5 Fun Winter Crafts for Kids

Honestly, crafting is not one of my natural gifts. I’m the type of person that needs step-by-step directions to do most tasks. But these crafts are so easy even a non-crafty person (like myself) can do them in no time!

To get the scoop on how to make these crafts with your kids, stop over at Thinking Outside the Sandbox to get the details!

5 Fun Winter Crafts for Kids – Thinking Outside the Sandbox

Resources to Make Winter Crafts for Kids:

To make winter crafting even easier, try these great resources!

For more winter fun, follow my Winter Activities for Kids board on Pinterest!

Onward to the linky!

This week we have some great links to share with you. We are very excited to bring you another great opportunity to linkup with us!

Welcome to our 67th week of Laugh and Learn – Home & Family Linkup! Laugh and Learn Linkup will be open by 6 am every Tuesday morning.
New: We have decided to expand our linkup to home and family categories! You are still welcome to share homeschooling or parenting posts with us. That will always be part of the #LaughLearnLinkup!

Each and every week, all of the hosts will pick one favorite post to be featured on the next week’s linkup. All of your links will be shared on three blogs.

We are also sharing the top four posts on Pinterest: #LaughLearnLinkup {Featured Favorites}. It’s added exposure for your awesome content!
Reminder: Please share this linkup! You can help us build a great family, home, parenting, and homeschool group.
Laugh and Learn Linkup was created by Tina from Los Gringos Locos. We want to thank her for this opportunity and send her big hug on her new adventure.

Your Fabulous Hosts 😉

Selena

Selena is a writer and a homeschooling mom to four kids, including three with ADHD/SPD. Selena and her husband, Jay, are committed to teaching their children at home and loving every minute of it! You can read about the family’s homeschooling experiences at Look! We’re Learning, written by Selena!
Find Selena at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
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Sarah

Sarah lives in Kentucky, USA, where she and her husband homeschool three children. Sarah writes for and about, families with special needs. She hopes to provide support and encouragement to all special needs parents in the homeschool community. Visit Sarah at Dedicated Homeschooler.
Find Sarah at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
Facebook
Instagram
Pinterest
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Haley

Haley hopes to encourage stay at home moms. She wants to help them learn how to make an extra income, to stretch a budget, to make crafts, and other useful information. Haley always has updates on the kids, and their funny antics. Visit Haley at Haley’s Vintage Finds & Deals.
Find Haley at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
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Laugh and Learn Linkup: Join us every Tuesday to share your favorite home or family posts!

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Selena’s pick for this week…

Note from Selena:
I love these ideas for making geography fun and hands-on in your homeschool!

Sarah’s pick for this week…

Note from Sarah:
We’ve actual conducted an experiment this year. With bipolar, ADHD, aspergers, and anxiety all in the mix, January is our most difficult month. So this year we just took it off. It’s been nice not feeling guilty about being to tired to get school done. I love Lindsey’s ideas for easing back into the routine.

Haley’s pick for this week…

Note from Haley:
These look amazing and I may even be able to get my kids to eat them!

Thanks to everyone who submitted a post. Please check out the post above by clicking on the image. If you enjoyed these picks as much as we did, please share them also!

Have you joined our Pinterest Board yet?

Follow Tina Ernspiker’s board #LaughLearnLinkup {Featured Favorites} on Pinterest.

Now give us your best posts!

An InLinkz Link-up

Activities for the Book Hello Ocean: Beach Shoebox Diorama

June 16, 2014 by Selena Robinson 4 Comments

I’m originally from the coast and I miss the beach so much. In fact, I think it actually intensifies as I get older.

So when summer time approaches, my mind lightly turns to thoughts of warm sand, salt air, and waves.

Unfortunately, we live several hours inland now, so a trip to the beach is not always feasible.

But we can always head to the shore with a beach shoebox diorama activity!

This was such a fun summer activity and it only took a few minutes. Plus, it was a great tie-in for a beautiful beachy read-aloud!

If you enjoy this project with the kids, be sure to try our simple Coffee Filter Beach Ball Craft!

Beach Shoebox Diorama Activity

To make this beach shoebox diorama, you’ll need the following: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

Empty shoebox
Crayons
Printer (with ink)
Printer paper
Scissors
Glue stick
Cotton balls
Play sand (If you want to make your own, try our DIY play sand recipe!)
A copy of our Day at the Beach Diorama Pack (See below)

We decided to read the book Hello Ocean by Pam Munoz Ryan to introduce our beach theme.

I love this book. It’s very simple for young readers and the pictures are absolutely beautiful.

The poetry does an excellent job of capturing the feel of a day at the beach, right down to the taste of the salt water.

After we read the book, we decided to put together a shoebox diorama featuring a beach scene.

This was another of our super simple activities.

We only needed a shoebox, some crayons, scissors, glue, and our printable Day at the Beach Diorama Pack!

The kids colored the bottom and sides of the shoebox using the colors mentioned in the story: grey, blue, and green.

We cut out the background scenes…

and pasted them to the bottom of the shoebox.

Our background is all done, so it’s time to add a few props!

We cut out each upright scene image, including the bottom square, as one piece.

Then we folded the bottom square under to make the image stand up.

After we used a stretched cotton ball as a cloud, we poured a little play sand in the bottom and added our upright images to get a feel for the beach in our dining room! 🙂

Scroll down to get your printable beach shoebox diorama pack!

Don’t miss these other posts!

To see even more fun summer crafts, follow my Summer Activities for Kids board on Pinterest!

If you’d like to complete this activity with your littles, grab our free Day at the Beach Diorama Pack by clicking the image or the link below to download it!

>>>> Day at the Beach Diorama Pack <<<<

This post is part of the “A Book and a Big Idea: Summer” linkup at iHomeschool Network! Click on over to read the great book activities of our fellow bloggers!

Simple DIY Pinwheel Craft for Kids

August 16, 2013 by Selena Robinson 2 Comments

Windy days are made for pinwheels, am I right? Remember getting a pinwheel at the county fair or the book fair at school (my favorite place ever) and running outside to watch it turn in the wind? As a child, I could stare at a pinwheel turn for hours. They were just mesmerizing.

I had never made a pinwheel myself, so I thought the kids would enjoy learning how to make one as an easy spring craft. Like a lot of our projects, this DIY pinwheel craft is very simple and only requires a couple of supplies. If you like this activity, don’t miss our easy spring toilet roll butterfly craft!

DIY Pinwheel Craft

To make this pinwheel craft, you’ll need the following:

To get started, all you have to do is cut the paper into squares and then make a diagonal cut toward the center on each corner.

Actually, I didn’t even cut the paper into squares. I did the old school thing where you fold the paper in fourths and then tear it. (I know I’m not the only person who does that, am I?)

After you’ve made the diagonal cuts, take each cut and fold the right corner toward the left so that the end lands in the center of the paper.

You don’t want to actually “fold” by making a crease in the paper, because you need the paper to remain curved in order for the air to move through it. So you’re really just pulling the corners toward the middle here.

Once you have all the corners folded toward the center, just hold them down with one hand and then stick the push pin through with the other.

Make sure you catch all the corner ends and don’t stick yourself! I pushed the pin through first and then stuck the end into the pencil eraser.

And we’re done! The kids were so excited to try them out that they sat at the table trying to perfect how to blow across the sails to move them properly for about 20 minutes afterward.

I will say that these are not the most permanent pinwheels you can make, so if your kids get a little rough with them (like ours did), you’ll have to put them back together. But you just have to push the paper corners back down and re-pin. Easy peasy!

If you enjoyed this spring activity, check out our other spring learning ideas!

And get more ideas on my Spring Activities for Kids Pinterest board!

25 Fun Penguin Crafts and Activities for Kids

Fun Snowman Crafts for Kids

25 Airplane Crafts for Kids:

25 Beach Crafts for Kids

5 Fun Winter Crafts for Kids

Resources to Make Winter Crafts for Kids:

Each and every week, all of the hosts will pick one favorite post to be featured on the next week’s linkup. All of your links will be shared on three blogs.

Your Fabulous Hosts 😉

Grab a Button / Badge:

Most Clicked on Link

Selena’s pick for this week…

Sarah’s pick for this week…

Thanks to everyone who submitted a post. Please check out the post above by clicking on the image. If you enjoyed these picks as much as we did, please share them also!

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Beach Shoebox Diorama Activity

>>>> Day at the Beach Diorama Pack <<<<

DIY Pinwheel Craft