Halloween
Pumpkin Picture Frame - A cute and simple picture frame made from foam to put a fall or Halloween picture in. What a great way to preserve your Halloween memories and to make kids feel special in their costumes!
Paper Plate Jack-o-Lantern (or Pumpkin) - This is a super simple paper plate project for little ones. There are several ways that you can adapt it to fit other themes than Halloween, so be sure to check at the end of the project for my adaptation ideas.
Candy Corn Pins - A cute little Halloween pin made from fun foam with a pin back. This craft is very easy to do, even for the youngest kids. This one is pretty versatile too... turn it into a necklace or use paper instead of foam.
Ghost Necklace - A cute, but easy way to make a Halloween necklace out of fun foam and pony beads. I saw the original craft in a catalog and then we created our own version.
Fall and Autumn Crafts and Activities
Fall Nature Jewelry - Quick easy ways to make little kid jewelry while enjoying a great Autumn walk in the woods or park.
Fall 5 Senses Nature Walk - Autumn is my favorite time of year to go for a nature walk with the kids. There are so many projects that tie into it and so many things to see and talk about that it's a real treat to be outdoors. It is also one of the best times of year to talk about the five senses and explore them outdoors.
Easy Fall Wreath - This Autumn wreath project is so quick and simple, yet it looks really great! This project is ideal for a scout troop project, classroom, or other group. It's so easy that even little kids can do it!
Scrunchie Fall Leaf - This project is a great way to use an unusual item to create a textured leaf. It's also fun for little ones to use something that is normally for the bathtub to create art.
Leaf Rubbings - This is an oldie but a goodie... younger children always enjoy creating art with rubbings. Arrange several leaves under a piece of paper on a flat surface. Tear the paper off of a crayon and rub the crayon sideways across the paper to reveal the leaves underneath.
Nature Collage - A super simple way to get young kids involved with nature and creating art at the same time. Collect a bunch of Fall objects like leaves, small sticks, acorns, etc. and then have the child glue them onto a piece of paper to make a collage.
Coffee Filter Fall Leaves - Cut leaf shapes out of basket-type coffee filters. Fill an ice cube tray with water and then put a few drops of food coloring in each of the sections (orange, red, yellow, and brown). Make each section a different color. Flatten out each of your pre-cut filter leaves and use an eyedropper to make designs on them. Each color will spread and run into the other colors. This is a lot of fun for the kids (and the grownups) and makes a good lesson for what happens when you mix colors. Let the filters dry completely and don't forget to put down some newspaper or your table will likely be stained.
Christmas Crafts and Activities
Textured Gingerbread Man - Run, run, as fast as you can... You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man. This is a great way for younger kids to make a pretty realistic gingerbread man without all the mess and hastle of making them in the kitchen. This also makes a great bulletin board display or Christmas Ornament!
Popsicle Stick Rudolph Ornament - You'll need 3 popciscle sticks, glue, wiggle eyes, red pom pom, and six inches of ribbon. Glue the 3 popsicle sticks together to form a triangle - or a really fat, upside down capital A. This will form the reindeer's head, so you want the sticks to meet exactly at the nose, but not quite meet at the top two corners so that they form two small antler points. Glue the eyes and the red pom pom nose on. On the backside, glue each end of the ribbon about 2 inches apart to make a hanger.
Easy Bead Wreath - This tri-bead wreath is another really easy ornament 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!
Countdown to Christmas Bell - 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.
Pine Cone Christmas Tree - You'll need a pine cone, green paint, glue, glitter, sequins, beads, etc., ribbon, and cotton balls. Cut a six inch length of ribbon. Tie it into a circle and glue the tied section to the pointy tip of the pine cone. Hold the pine cone by the ribbon and put little spots of glue on the tips of the tree's "branches" and sprinkle with glitter (or just use glitter glue). Also put some glue around the bottom of the "tree" and glue on some cotton to make it look like the tree is sitting in snow. If your pinecone is big enough, you can even put some snow on the tree's "branches".
When the glue is dry, you can use anything you like to decorate your tree. Some things to try: yarn, rick-rack, beads, sequins, tinsel, ribbons, etc. You can also use a hole punch to make little round ornaments to glue to the tree. One note... you can totally skip the glitter step above and just decorate the pine cone the way you want.
