Toddler Craft: Apple Tree

Big sister can't have all the fun, can she???

Drew was pretty excited when he saw the Apple Tree Craft Anna and I did, so I decided he should make his own little apple tree while she was off at preschool one morning.  

This craft is simple and fun, but can be kind of messy if your little one is like mine.  Drew definitely doesn't mind getting messy.

Supplies needed:

Paper plate

Sponge

Cork

Brown construction paper

Red and green paint

Start by taping down a paper plate.  Then hand your child a sponge with some green paint and invite them over to paint the plate.

Watch out....it gets messy fast with little fingers!!

(You can let the paint dry if you'd like, but we just skipped that step!!)

Then put a cork in some red paint and show your toddler how to stamp the plate with the cork to make an "apple".

Cut out a trunk from your brown construction paper and tape it to the bottom of your "apple tree".

Hang and admire!!

Letter A: Fun with Apples

Last year, I introduced Anna to the letters of the alphabet using fun little methods and crafts.  Click here to be taken to all of our alphabet activities and crafts.

Since she is pretty familiar with each letter and it's sound, I am planning on going back through the alphabet, but am focusing on pre-writing and writing of each letter and the letter sound in the word (a- for apple).  

We are also making an alphabet book which I will share more of as we complete the pages.

Here's what we did for letter A...

I drew some random apple shapes on some paper and Anna colored them and I cut them out.  Then we worked on sorting by color...

And patterning...

And writing the uppercase and lowercase A/a.

We also did patterning by uppercase and lowercase letters, which was a little tricky since it wasn't always a red/green combination.

Then we made a large apple tree from a brown paper bag, colored it and added our apples to the apple tree!

The tree already has me craving Fall!!  

Watercolors and Q-tip Painting

This is another simple and easy watercolor activity.  Instead of using brushes, we used q-tips.  Sometimes it's fun to change up the tools you use, you know!!

Anna liked making different colored dots on her paper...

And then experimented with trying to draw and write with the q-tips.

Simple..

but fun and different!

Since my daughter is only 3, I just let her experiment with the paint and q-tips.  If you have an older child feel free to encourage them to make a picture or design with the dots.  Grab some extra q-tips...you'll want to join in the fun!!

Outdoor Scavenger Hunt

I thought I would share some more outdoor fun with chalk.

This is a scavenger hunt I set up for my daughter the other day.

I used the numbers 1-5 and had her first identify the number and then I helped her read what each word(s) said.  Then she went running through the yard trying to find all of the objects.

It was super fun and an easy and free way to enjoy the outdoors!!  I think we'll definitely do this again this Fall!!

Making a Chalk Drawn City

We spend lots of time outside and lots of time drawing with chalk.  I'm not really sure why I've never ventured any further than hearts and butterflies with my chalk drawings....but I love this chalk city!!

First I drew some roads for the kids to ride their tricycles on.

Then gave the roads a "go"...

and "stop" sign.

And sent them on their way...

Anna requested a house with a garage, and we also drew a pool, our Mimi's house and some other random buildings for our city.

Even my little guy loved riding around!!

Here's to some chalk fun!!

DIY Preschool Word and Number Worksheets

My daughter loves to learn.  She loves worksheets, painting, coloring, reading.....basically anything and everything "school" related.

Recently she's been very excited about recognizing letters and familiar words so I put together these simple little word and number worksheets for us to work on together.

Basically...with these pictures/words, I am trying to introduce her to the beginning letter/sound of each word and am encouraging her to look at the picture and then look at the words to match up the picture and word.

It only took about one or two examples for her to catch on and request to do more and more and more...

Here are some of the words/pictures I used.  (And please....no judging for my drawing!!)

And these are the simple number/object matching I made.  These were really easy for her to do, but she loved them all the same!

I try to always remember that learning is fun and easy!!  

Fine Motor Activity: Color Matching with Star Stickers

This is another color matching activity similar to the watercolor one from the other day. 

My daughter always loves finding something "new" to do and I love making these simple little activities for her.

This one is great for color matching and fine motor skills.  

All you need to do is draw some small dots on a piece of white paper in a variety of colors.

Then add a sheet of star stickers and let your little one match up the colors.

Easy peasy!!