This is a cute little penguin that will come in handy if you’re working on a Winter theme, Winter animal theme, or Penguins themselves.  It would also be fun for any kind of winter themed scouting event, and we’ve even done them for homeschool!  I’ve shown some other options for creating a couple of different kinds of penguins like Emperor Penguins and Macaroni Penguins.

NOTE:  Some people have expressed a concern that they can’t use toilet paper rolls in preschools, even if they sanitize them first.  For this craft, you could roll up a piece of file folder and staple it to make a tube, cut a paper towel tube, or even make it with heavier construction paper if necessary!

These are the basic instructions for the penguin…

What You’ll Need:

• Toilet paper tube
• Black and white construction paper
• Scrap orange construction paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• 2 Wiggle eyes
• The templates below

What to Do:

1.  Cover your tube with black construction paper.  Print out the template below for the penguin parts.

2.  Trace the tummy template onto white construction paper and cut out.  Trace the wings template onto black construction paper and cut out.  Trace the feet and beak onto orange construction paper and cut out.

3.  Glue the tummy onto the tube so that the flat edge is at the bottom of the tube.

4.  Lightly crease the wings and then glue them onto either side of the tummy.  Creasing them before you glue them will help them stick out from the body a little.

5.  Glue on the wiggle eyes and the beak.  Fold the feet on the line to create tabs.  Glue the tabs to the front inside of the tube so that the feet stick out in front of the penguin.  (See picture above.)

 

To Create An Emperor PenguinIt’s really easy to create an Emperor Penguin by simply coloring his belly.  I used chalk in the picture to the left so that the colors would blend easily.  Simply color around the outside of the belly with yellow chalk and then put a line of orange next to that.  Blend the colors together.

You could do the same thing with crayons or watercolor paint, but the blending won’t be as smooth.  Younger children won’t care about that a bit.

 

To Create A Macaroni Penguin

It’s also a lot of fun to make a Macaroni Penguin.  First cut a piece of paper to fit around the inside of the tube.  Cut slits in the tube to make a fringe, and then glue it to the inside of the tube.  Rough it up to make it look more fuzzy.

Fringe too difficult? Use strings, yarn, or even a pom pom to make the crazy hair on the head of a macaroni penguin.

By the way, the picture above is a little deceiving.  Macaroni Penguins are supposed to have a little bit of yellow or orange hair on the outside edges of their top knot — but this is just too complicated for younger children!

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Tissue Tube Penguin

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This easy bead Christmas wreath ornament craft is really easy to make for children of all ages to create. It makes a great project for small groups like scouting or classrooms too.

One of these little wreaths would also look great tied onto a gift!

What You’ll Need:

• A 12 inch white pipe cleaner
• 35 green tri-beads
• 7 red tri-beads

What to Do:

1. Feed 5 green beads onto the pipe cleaner, then feed on one red bead. The beads should interlock over each other.  Keep alternating the beads until you have them all on the pipe cleaner.

2. Move all the beads so that they are in the middle of the pipe cleaner and there are equal lengths of pipe cleaner at both ends.

3. Bend the beaded pipe cleaner into a circle and twist the two ends together to make a circle. Use the remaining ends of the pipe cleaner to make a bow.

When you get ready to hang the ornament on the tree, you can use a wire ornament hanger and hook it through the top of the ornament where the pipe cleaners are tied. You can also tie a piece of thread around the ornament to make a hanger.

Don’t forget about our Little Kid Christmas Crafts book!  It’s only available for a limited time!

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Easy Bead Christmas Wreath Ornament Craft

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This little stocking ornament takes a little time to make, but it’s not difficult and it makes a great ornament that will last a very long time. I originally made this ornament when I was about twelve at a friend’s house.

What You’ll Need:

• 13 x 13 squares of plastic canvas
• White yarn
• Green yarn
• Red yarn
• Scissors
• Small square green felt
• Glue

What to Do:

1. Cut a piece of plastic canvas so that you have a square that is 13 full squares.

2. Normally when you cross stitch, you create an “X” as in the picture below. The normal cross stitch pattern goes up through square 1, down through square 2, up through square three, and down through square 4.

For this design, you’ll only create half the “X.” In other words, you’ll go up through square number three and down through square number four as in the diagram below. This is a half cross stitch.

3. Use the pattern diagram below to create the stocking design. When complete, whip stitch around the outside of the square to cover up the plastic canvas edge.

4. Cut a piece of yarn to make the hanger. Loop the yarn and glue it to the back of the canvas. Cut a piece of felt large enough to cover the back of your ornament and glue in place.

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Christmas Cross Stitch Stocking Ornament

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This is a fun way to keep track of the days until Christmas, especially for younger kids.  It’s also a good way to get in a little counting practice if you make them count the days off each day.

But don’t think it’s limited to younger kids — This is a big deal at our house where we make a big production of tearing off the next ring after dinner each night.  The kids absolutely love it!

What You’ll Need:

• The template below printed on yellow construction paper
• Red construction paper
• Green construction paper
• Glue
• Scissors
• Stapler
• Crayons (optional)

What to Do:

1.  Cut 13 strips of red construction paper that are about 1 inch wide and 8 inches long. Cut 12 strips of green paper with the same dimensions.

2.  Print out the bell pattern below on yellow construction paper. Color with crayons if desired and cut out. (You could also decorate the bell with glitter, sequins, markers, etc. if you want.)

3.  Roll one of the red strips of paper into a loop and staple it onto the bottom of the bell. Loop a green strip of paper through the red loop to get the chain started. Continue to alternate the red and green strips of paper to make a chain that has 25 links in it.

4.  Hang the bell and chain up in a prominent place and tear off one link at the end of each day until Christmas.

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Countdown to Christmas Bell

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It seems early to start doing Thanksgiving crafts, especially since we just finished Halloween, but some crafts take a little longer to do right than others.  This is one of the crafts that I like to do every year with the kids, but it can take a little time with younger kids.  I like to do just about anything that will get my kids thinking about how blessed they are in their lives, and a Thankful Book craft does a really great job!

This is a craft project that would be ideal for just about any group of kids, regardless of age.

The idea is to make a Thanksgiving keepsake for your child.  You can make this as elaborate or simple as you want.  You don’t even have to “make” the book.  You could purchase a small scrapbook, Thanksgiving stickers, etc. and make this a really simple project.  But for those of us on a budget, a homemade Thankful Book is quick, simple, and fun.

What You’ll Need:

• A holiday picture
• Crayons
• Several sheets of paper
• Stapler
• Pen or marker

What To Do:

1.  Print out a holiday picture and let your child color it.

2.  On the sheets of paper, ask your child what they are thankful for (you may have to help them get started or give them examples to get the ball rolling). Write down each thing they are thankful for on a separate piece of paper.  You can even take this further by having them draw pictures of what they are thankful for, etc.

3.  Assemble all the sheets with the holiday picture on top and staple it along the side like a book.

There are so many variation of how you can do this book and make it a meaningful activity for your child… but I hope this gives you the general idea.

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Thanksgiving Craft: A Thankful Book Craft

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When it’s back to school time, you know that apple season is here, so I thought it would be fun to post some crafts for apple season.   Enjoy!

Apple Crafts For Little Kid Crafts

Some of these crafts would work for older kids too, but I separated them here because these crafts can be done with little or no help with little kids.

Apple Stamping

Cut an apple in half.  Dip the cut side of the apple into paint and dab it on a paper towel to wipe off the excess paint if necessary, and then stamp it onto paper.  You can experiment cutting the apple different ways for different ways, especially through the middle to make a star print.   When the paper dries, you can use markers to outline the apples as a variation to the project. You can also use larger sheets of paper and use it for wrapping paper when the paint dries.

Here’s a little stamping tip: Fold a paper towel into quarters and lay it down in the middle of a styrofoam plate. Pour paint into the center of the paper towel. When the paper towel soaks up the paint it will act like a stamp pad. It wastes a little paint, but it’s also a little less messy.

Fingerprint Apple Trees

Use brown paint or a brown marker to make a tree trunk long-ways on a piece of paper. Dip your index finger in green paint and stamp it several times at the top of the trunk to make the tree. You’ll have to re-dip your finger several times. Dip your pinkie in red paint and stamp it on your tree to make the apples.

Hand Print Apples

Paint the palm of the child’s hand with red tempura paint and stamp it on construction paper.  Wipe hands and paint the index finger with brown paint.  Stamp the finger to make the apple stem.  Wipe hands again and paint the tips of two fingers with green paint.  Stamp the green paint on the base of the stem to make the leaf.  Let everything dry.

Once the paint is dry, you can draw a face on the apple, glue on wiggle eyes, or leave it just the way it is.

Apple Collage

Tear up a bunch of pieces of red paper and glue them onto the back side of a paper plate.  Glue on a stem and a couple of leaves to complete the project.   This is a great way to use up all those scraps.

More Challenging Apple Crafts

Apple Beaded Safety Pin – If your kids are into making beaded safety pin jewelry, then this is a really simple design for making an apple.

Easy Dried Apple Crafts – This page gives you complete instructions for how to properly dry apples, then it outlines some really fun and pretty apple crafts that you can make with the dried apples. This is something my oldest and I plan to try this fall.

Apple Head Dolls – These are much easier to make than you might think…  This would be a great project for scouts or a classroom where you could stretch it out a couple of sessions over a few of days.

Terra Cotta Apple – This project would definitely be for kids who are a bit older, but it’s very cute. Basically, you paint a terra cotta pot and saucer red, put the saucer on top of the pot to make an ‘apple,’ and then add some leaves.

Apple Magnet – This is a creative recycling craft for making an apple shaped magnet complete with a worm!  I’d stay away from the finger polish idea, however, and just use the felt or fun foam. With a little supervision, you could also do this one with younger kids.

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Crafts For Apple Season

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Kids of all ages love making puppet crafts of all kinds as well as playing with them, so I figured it was high time to add a puppet craft page to the site. You’ll find lots of ideas that you can use as is or take the ideas here and use them as inspiration to make your own puppet craft idea.

If I’ve missed an important resource or project idea, please let me know.

Easier Puppet Crafts

Paper Bag Puppets – You’ll find several easy ideas for making paper bag puppets on this page. Unfortunately, there’s no templates, so you’ll probably have to draw all the body parts on construction paper for the kids.

Owl and Turtle Puppets – These cute puppets are complete with fairly detailed templates to make pretty realistic puppets.

Shadow Puppets – My kids absolutely love playing with shadow puppets! You can easily make your own patterns for them, but I’ve also found three patterns that you can try: Squawking Parrot, Lanky Giraffe, and Toothy Alligator. These puppets use brads to hook the pieces together, but younger kids may have a hard time with that — you could glue everything, or maybe just choose one hinge point to make it easier. The Toothy Aligator is my kids’ favorite!

Paper Bag Puppets From DLTK – This is an extensive resource of 24 different paper bag puppets complete with templates that you can print out.

Juice Can Puppets – Kids love making these puppets for two reasons: one, the juice cans fit so well on their hands; and two, there are no rules for how the puppets are supposed to look. Plus, their cheap to make and the cans are made of cardboard or plastic, so you don’t have to worry about sharp edges. Love those recycling projects!

Paper Bag Puppets with Templates – You’ll find several paper bag animal puppets to choose from on this page and each includes a template so that you can just print out, color, cut out the pieces, and glue them on. Quick and easy for younger kids!

CD Daisy Puppet – This is a unique idea that younger kids will enjoy making and playing with. Make a daisy puppet out of an old cd, a paper plate, a sock, and a few other supplies.

People Puppets – These are puppets made from toilet paper tubes and craft sticks. They’re really easy and the kids will have a lot of fun being creative. These are people, but I think it would also be fun to make aliens or monsters instead.

Finger Puppets – You’ll find a variety of finger puppet ideas on this page… most of them are printables.

Shana Tova Bee Puppet – This is a really clever puppet idea! Although I believe that it was created to go along with a religious theme, don’t let that stop you from using it for your own purposes!

More Challenging Puppet Crafts

Puppet Crafts Crafts From Danielle’s Place – This page has several really clever Puppet craft ideas that will work well for older children. (Unfortunately, most of the puppet crafts here are far too complicated for the younger kids.) My favorite craft is the moose puppet!

Cereal Box Puppet – This is a clever idea for a puppet… but only older kids would be able to really “get it.” You’ll find full instructions on this page, but unfortunately there’s no picture.

Paper Finger Puppets – These are very cute and highly detailed finger puppets that are just perfect for older children… Not to mention that they’re inexpensive to make. They would be ideal for a classroom or scouting project.

Doubleheaders – I think these are very clever, but they will take some time to make. This would be ideal for a scout project. The fun of making these papier-mâché puppets is twofold — kids can decorate them to look like their very own twin and then cast their doubles as stars in a show. I think it would be a lot of fun to make these and then use them in a special show put on for parents.

Bird Marionettes – Another really interesting idea! This bird marionette is made with pipecleaners and pom poms, and it really works when it’s done!

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Puppet Crafts: Resource Guide

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When you see what this colorful cross is made of and how simple it is to make, you won’t believe it. You can also get a little extra learning in and talk about how the colors mix to create new colors.

What You’ll Need

• Egg Carton (We used a foam one, but paper should do too)
• Paper Towel
• White Glue (Like Elmer’s)
• Scissors
• Food Coloring
• Water

What To Do

1. Cut the egg cup side of the egg carton into a cross shape. If you have one of those cartons that holds 18 eggs or more, you cut it out in one piece. Our is four egg cups down and three across.

If you’re using a one dozen egg carton, just cut two strips. One will be four cups long and the other would be three cups long. Then staple (or glue) them together into a cross.

Very young children will need help with this step.

2. Wet your paper towel and then ring it out thoroughly. You don’t want it to be dripping, or it will take your project a lot longer to dry.

3. Spread a layer of white glue all over the bumpy side of the cross. Be sure to pretty much cover it with glue.

4. Lay the wet paper towel over the top of the cross and the glue. Push the paper towel around so that it completely covers the cross and tuck it in the crannies of the egg carton. Then fold the loose edges of the paper towel under the edges of the cross. You just want to get them out of the way for now… we’ll trim them later.

5. Once you have the egg carton cross completely covered, it’s time to apply the color. To do this, drip drops of food coloring onto the wet paper towel. Do this sparingly and let the colors blend together.

6. When you have the color applied, let the paper dry completely. Once dry, turn it over to the back side and trim away the excess paper towel. Tuck in the edges of the paper and glue them down to the back side of the egg carton cross.

That’s It!

Variations

• Water down the food coloring and use an eyedropper to apply. That will give you a more pastel color appearance when dry, rather than the bright colors.
• Cut a piece of paper, foam, or cardboard the size of the cross and glue it to the backside of the project to give it a more finished appearance.
• Create two of these crosses and then glue them wrong sides together. This would make a good project to hang in a window or from the ceiling.
• Add other things to the project like words, ribbons, lace, etc.

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Tie Dye Easter Cross Craft

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Here’s part two of our Easy Egg Experiments For Easter Science.  I know they may seem a bit silly to adults, but the kids really have a great time with them and it’s a great way to get a little learning in with all the Easter fun!

Enjoy!

Can You Make An Egg Float?

This experiment will be too difficult for younger kids to grasp, but school age children should be able to do this one. The idea is to demonstrate bouyancy and how the density of water affects it.

What You’ll Need

• 3 Clear Drinking Glasses (identical ones are best)
• 3 Eggs
• A Tablespoon
• A Straw, popsicle stick, or stir stick
• Water
• Salt

 The Experiment

1. Fill each of the glasses halfway up with water. Put one egg in each glass. Choose one of the glasses to be the control glass (Glass 1). That means that you won’t do anything to it and it will give the child something to compare the other glass to.

2. Now, begin adding salt to the non-control glasses (Glass 2). Start by adding 3 tablespoons of salt to one of the glasses and gently mixing it up in the water with a stir stick. Observe what happens with the child.

3. Add 10 tablespoons of salt to the other non-control glass (Glass 3) and gently stir it up. Slowly pour water into the glass until it is full, but don’t stir it.

What You Should Observe

Glass 1: This glass simulates a fresh water environment. The egg will sink to the bottom in fresh water.

Glass 2: This glass simulates a salt water environment. The egg should rise to the top of the water and float in this glass.

Glass 3: This glass shows what happens when you add fresh water to salty water. The egg should be suspended in the middle.

The Explanation

The more dense a liquid is, the greater it’s bouyancy and the easier it is to float. Salt makes water more dense.

When you add fresh water to the denser salt water, it will float also. In fact you can tell exactly where the salt water and the fresh water meet in the glass by where the egg is floating.

Which One Is Cooked?

What You’ll Need:

• 1 Hard Boiled Egg (cooled to the same temperature at the raw eggs)
• 2 Raw Eggs

The Experiment

Present the child with the eggs and ask them to tell you which one is the hard boiled egg and which ones are the raw eggs without breaking them. Let them examine the eggs until they either make a guess or give up, and then tell them that there is a secret method to detecting the cooked egg.

Lay each egg down on a flat surface and spin them long ways like a top. Try to get them all spinning at the same time if you can, then ask the child which one is different.

The two raw eggs wobble. The hard boiled egg spins.

Touch each of the eggs lightly as it’s spinning.

The two raw eggs will start moving again after you’ve tried to stop them, but the hard boiled egg will stop spinning completely when you touch it.

The Explanation

When you spin the two raw eggs, the yolks and whites are also moving inside the eggshell. The inertia of spinning causes the inside of the egg to move at a different rate than the outside of the egg because it’s mass is different. That’s why they wobble and still move even after you’ve tried to stop them.

The hard boiled egg doesn’t wobble because cooking the egg has made the inside of the egg solid and less affected by the enertia. The solid inside of the egg is also closer in mass to the shell, which allows it to spin more smoothly and respond to stopping more quickly.

How Strong Is An Eggshell?

Usually we think of eggshells as being pretty fragile, but this experiment shows that they are much stronger than we think.

What You’ll Need:

• 4 Eggshells
• Masking Tape
• Scissors
• Weights (Books, cans, or anything else that you can stack)

The Experiment

1. Wrap a piece of masking tape around the middle of each of your eggshells. Cut them in half with the scissors on the masking tape. The tape will keep the shells from cracking and let you get a flat edge on each of the shells. You’ll need four halves.

2. Lay each of the four halves down on a table with the cut side down and the domed side up. Put them close together to make a square.

3. Start laying on the weights. We’ve done this experiment with both canned food cans and books. The easiest way we’ve found is to put a small book on first and then add other things on top of the book. My kids like using wooded blocks the best.

4. Keep stacking on the weights until one of the eggshells begins to crack… This can be quite exciting to the kids. Be sure to note how much weight the eggs hold – the kids will be impressed.

The Explanation

The real secret to the strength of the eggshells is their shape. Because each shell is domed, there is no single point on the shell that has to support all the weight and the weight is carried down the curved walls to the base of the shell (the flat edge). This makes them extremely strong.

Talk with your child about how to apply this idea to building construction and other elements in real life. You can also talk about other shapes that use the same basic principle to increase strength.

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Easy Egg Experiments For Easter Science – Part 2

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There are lots of easy and fun science experiments that you can do involving eggs. Even younger kids will get a kick out of some of them, although they won’t understand the “science” behind the trick. Here’s a few I’ve come up with.

[textbar_50percent_2_left]Easter Egg Etching[/textbar_50percent_2_left]

Most children decorate eggs for Easter, but here’s a way to get in a little science experiment with your decorating.  Is it possible to actually etch an egg without breaking it?

What You’ll Need:

• Hard Boiled Egg
• Crayons
• Widemouth Jar
• White Vinegar

What to Do:

1. Draw on your egg with the crayons. You create designs, write words, or even just scribble. The color of the crayons doesn’t matter. Be very careful not to crack the egg when you are writing on it.

2. Put the egg into the widemouth jar and cover it with white vinegar.

3. Let the egg stand in the vinegar for two hours and then pour out the vinegar and replace it with fresh vinegar.

4. Let the egg stand in the fresh vinegar for another two hours, then take it out of the jar. Wash the egg and remove all the crayon marks. This will create an etched egg shell.

Why This Works

The crayon acts as a protective barrier to the vinegar. The acid in the vinegar dissolves much of the calcium carbonate of the eggshell. The wax in the crayons protects the parts of the shell that you wrote on and keeps it from dissolving.

[textbar_50percent_2_left]Egg In A Bottle[/textbar_50percent_2_left]

Kids never cease to be amazed by this little trick, no matter how many times you show it to them.

What You’ll Need:

• 1 Hard Boiled Egg Peeled
• Boiling Water
• A Bottle with a neck slightly smaller than the egg

The Experiment:

1. Set the egg on the neck of the bottle to demonstrate that the egg simply won’t fit in the bottle. Tell the child that you know a trick to make that egg go down into the bottle without breaking it.

2. Remove the egg from the bottle and pour the boiling water into the bottle. Carefully roll the water around in the bottle and then pour it out.

3. Quickly put the egg back on the neck of the bottle, while the bottle is still hot, and wait for it to get sucked down into the bottle.

The Explanation:

When you put the hot water into the bottle and then poured it out, the hot water left steam behind in the bottle. The steam forces out some of the air that was already in the bottle. As the steam in the bottle cools down, it converts into tiny droplets of water. The drops of water require less space and this reduces the amount of air pressure in the bottle. The pressure on the outside of the bottle is greater than the pressure on the inside of the bottle and that is what forces the egg into the bottle.

Removing The Egg From The Bottle

You can remove the egg from the bottle using the same process in reverse. Hold the bottle upside down and blow into the bottle for about 30 seconds. Be sure to seal your lips around the mouth of the bottle when you do this. By blowing into the bottle, you will increase the pressure on the inside of the bottle and force the egg out.

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Easy Egg Experiments For Easter Science – Part 1

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