Posts tagged ‘crafts for kids’
Chipper Recycle Craft + Snack: Garden Lady Bug
Spring is in full throttle and summer is right around the corner! Now is the perfect time to get outdoors and explore your gardens! Finding little creepy crawlies with your little ones is not only a fun exercise, it instill an inherent curiosity in your child. That curiosity will push them to explore and learn about not only the great outdoors, but all aspects of the world. Education should inspire them to find out more, not stifle their natural wonder.
Take your little one(s) on a nature walk, strolling slowly in your back yard or community garden. Take 5 minutes in each area, observing things carefully, to see what you can find! Keep a look out for lovely little ladybugs. Here are 10 fun facts about ladybugs to teach your kiddos:
- Ladybugs are also called Lady beetles or Ladybirds.
- The male ladybug is usually smaller than the female.
- A ladybug beats its wings 85 times a second when it flies.
- The spots on a ladybug fade, as the ladybug gets older.
- In many countries, ladybugs are considered to be good luck.
- Aphids are a ladybug’s favorite food, making them good for your garden.
- There are over 5000 different kinds of ladybugs worldwide.
- A female ladybug will lay more than 1000 eggs in her lifetime.
- Ladybugs chew from side to side and not up and down like people do.
- Ladybugs are all around us! Ladybugs can be found in trees, shrubs, fields, beaches, and even houses!
LADYBUG CRAFT
What you Need:
- Egg carton or round cardboard piece
- black and red markers, paint or crayons
- scissors or whole puncher
- Pipe cleaners
- Optional: googly eyes
Instructions:
- Separate one cup from an egg carton or use any round cardboard pieces you have on hand.
- Using markers or paint to color the egg carton cup red. Then, using black paint/markers, color in the head, and make spots on the body.
- Using the point of a scissors or a hole puncher, an adult should make 6 small holes (3 on each side) at the base of the cup (these will be for the legs. Make 2 small holes (for antennae) where the top of the head will be.
- Insert a black pipe cleaner into each a side hole and out the other side for the legs. Use half a pipe cleaner for the antennae.
- Glue on googly eyes or paint on white eyes.
- Take your ladybug into the garden and try to spot some real ones!
LADYBUG SNACK
This Simple Recipe is Tasty and Cute!
Ingredients:
1-small red apple
2tsp.- strawberry cream cheese (low-fat)
1/8 cup- raisins or dried cranberries
1 or 2-red or black seedless grapes
Optional: lettuce leaves for garnish if desired.
Alternatives: peanut or almond butter instead of cream cheese. Round cereal instead of raisins, a small pinch of cinnamon. Use your imagination and what you have on hand in the kitchen.
Directions:
Wash the apples and lettuce. Arrange a few lettuce leaves on each plate. Cut apples in half from stem to bottom. Remove seeds. Lay each half of apple cut side down on
cutting board and cut in half from stem to bottom. With skin side up place both halves of apple on top of lettuce. Put a small amount of cream cheese in-between the apple
halves to adhere the apple back together (enough to have a small amount squish out the top). Stick raisins to cream cheese down the middle of apple, then use a small dab of cream cheese to adhere the raisins (see picture below) on each wing. Cut a grape in half and use cream cheese to stick it to one end of your ladybug apple for the head.
This is a perfect recipe for adults and kids to make together. It’s fun, easy, cute, and so tasty. And did Chipper mention it’s healthy too? “Healthy before sweet, can’t be beat!”
Chipper Craft & Snack: Celery-printed flowers!
Happy Sunday! This week, Chipper snacked on and played with one of his favorite nutritious foods, celery! Normally, Chipper picks up some celery every week at the super market. Did you know that celery provides anti-inflammatory health benefits? Or that the crunchy vegetable contains antioxidants such as vitamin C and flavonoids that help protect us from unwanted oxygen damage to our cells, organs, and blood vessels? It does!
This week, Chipper created flower prints from celery. It is an easy craft that can be created with materials that are lying around at home. All you need is: celery, a knife, paint, and a piece of paper! Here’s how:
First, take your bunch of celery and cut off the bottom.
Then, dip the bottom portion of the celery stalk in to paint and stamp away! Chipper used red paint.
The celery stalk ends up creating these fun, flower shaped objects.
Here’s Chipper‘s end product.
Chipper cut up the rest of the celery stalk and enjoyed it with some peanut butter.
According to an article by Harvard Health Publications, peanut butter has fiber, vitamins, and mineras, among other nutrients. Unsalted peanut butter contains a terrific potassium-to-sodium ratio, which “counters the harmful cardiovascular effects of sodium surplus….even salted peanut butter still has about twice as much potassium as sodium.” In addition, many research studies have concluded that people who “regularly include nuts or peanut butter in their diets are less likely to develop heart disease or type 2 diabetes than those who rarely eat nuts.”
With this craft and snack, teach your child the importance of being creative and snacking right all at the same time!
Let’s Go Chipper for creativity and healthy snacking!
Chipper Craft: Celebrate Earth Day
With Earth Day inching closer, now’s a great time to start thinking about good ol’ Mother Earth. Held annually on April 22, Earth Day is a world-wide support day for environmental protection. Earth Day began in 1969 when John McConnell, a peace activist, proposed a day to celebrate the environment and Earth’s beauty. The reason why Earth Day is on April 22 is because of the abundant amount of youth activism in the 1960s: April 22 is a likely day for college students to be available because it falls between Spring Break and Final Exams. Interesting, right?
In celebration of the upcoming Earth Day, Chipper made an Earth Day craft this week! Not only is this craft simple, it will teach your little one about the importance of loving our planet.
Here’s what you’ll need:
Firstly, draw a circle on blue construction paper and cut it out. This will be the water of planet Earth.
Secondly, cut out arbitrary land-like shapes out of green construction paper and glue (or tape) them onto the blue circle. Your planet Earth is starting to take shape!
Then, place your hands into a heart like shape like so. Trace your hands and cut them out.
It will end up looking like this:
Using glue or tape, adhere your hands onto your already-made Earth. Voila! This craft symbolizes the importance of using your hands in activity to love on the environment around us.
Optional: Using red marker, draw a heart in the middle like so. This could further solidify the link between using hands to actively take care of Mother Earth.
Let’s Go Chipper for Earth Day!
Chipper Recycle Craft: Saint Patrick’s Day Leprechaun
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! Celebrated as a recognition of the Irish and Irish culture in America, Saint Patrick’s Day is observed through the prominent wearing of the color green, parades, fun, and religious observance! Saint Patrick was a Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. For those who religiously observe St. Patrick’s Day, they attend mass to thank God for their patron saint.
In honor of Saint Patrick’s Day, Chipper made a fun paper plate leprechaun this week! Made out of simple materials you can find around your house, this craft is the perfect low-maintenance activity for you and your little one.
Here’s what you need:
To make this cute paper plate leprechaun, first take a sheet of green construction paper and cut out a top-hat shape. The size of the hat will vary depending on the size of your plate.
Secondly, cut out a strip of black construction paper and an empty yellow square and glue (or tape!) them on to the hat. These will be the embellishments on the hat.
Next, take your red construction paper and cut out 1mm wide strips. 
Next, glue the red strips on the outside perimeter of the paper plate like so:
With a marker or chopstick, roll each strip from the outward most point to the plate. Your goal is to curl the red strips so that it becomes a fun beard for the leprechaun!
Glue the hat onto the plate. 
Using markers (or crayons or colored pencils) draw on a face!
And voila! Now you have an easy, fun, and cute decoration for Saint Patrick’s Day. Try hanging it in your little one’s room in celebration of this holiday. Chipper hung his in his treehouse room. Let’s Go Chipper for Saint Patrick’s Day!
Chipper Recycle Crafts: DIY Plastic Bag Jellyfish
Jellyfishes are one of Chipper’s favorite animals because they are just so fascinating: they lack heads, hearts, and brains, they existed before dinosaurs, and they never stop growing! These amazing animals are 95% water and can even sting when they’re dead! There are around 1000 to 1500 different types of jellyfish worldwide, including one of the top 10 deadliest animals on earth, the Australian Box Jellyfish. Learn more about these awesome sea creatures!
Try making this easy and fun jellyfish craft with your kids this weekend. It can be made from materials you have lying around at home– all you need is a plastic bag, some safety scissors, string, and an empty see-through bottle. It is also a fun way to remind your little one that the environment needs to be kept clean to sustain these amazing little creatures! Plastic bags are a dangerous pollutant to our oceans and teaching our younger generations to utilize reusable bags more often is an invaluable lesson. Learn more about how plastic bags harm our environment and how to avoid using them here.
First, take a plastic bag and cut out a small square. Chipper’s was the size of a CD case. Any color plastic bag will do!
Secondly, pinch the middle of the plastic bag square so that it forms a head. Use string to tie off the bag to secure the head.
Using scissors, carefully cut the bottom of the bag into thin strips–these are the jellyfish’s tentacles!
Fill a empty bottle with water (Chipper used an empty milk jug). Stuff your jellyfish into the bottle, cap the bottle, and shake to watch your jellyfish in action!
Along with this craft, a fun and active activity to engage your little one would be to act like jellyfish around the house. “Sting” each other and play a game of tag!
Let’s Go Chipper for Jelly Fish this weekend with a wiggle and a giggle!
Learn about Metamorphosis: Chipper Caterpillar and Butterfly Crafts
Teaching our younger generations about natural processes is not just about them passing science class. It gives them a deeper understanding of the world and all it’s critters. Metamorphosis is a process some animals go through to become adults! It is a series of physical changes. Metamorphosis is especially common in insects. Genes and chemicals called hormones control the process. 
Teach your little one’s about this natural process with a hands-on craft project! First make a recycled caterpillar craft and talk about how the caterpillar must eat lots of leaves before making his cocoon. Explain that this biological transformation into an adult happens with in the pupal casing spun of silk.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
-Glue or Tape
-Constructions Paper
-Scissors
-Hole Pincher
-Pipe Cleaners or any other material to make antennas
-Google eyes or a marker/pen to make the face and eyes
-Toilet Paper Roll (for Butterfly body)
HOW TO MAKE A CATERPILLAR:
First, cut two inch-thick strips of paper in two different colors (or the same color, it’s up to you!).
Then, either tape or glue the two strips of paper together at a right angle. 
Now, just fold one strip of paper over the other, going from color to color, until your reach the ends of the paper! Then secure with glue or tape.
Add antennae by punching two holes into your caterpillar’s head, cutting an 2 inch long segment from a pipe cleaner, and stringing it through. 
Now for the Butterfly! When he’s ready, the adult unravels the silk to enter a new world of flight! Much like when your little one leaves home for college or other pursuits, the newly-formed butterfly must learn to take care of itself. Complement this information with an adorable butterfly craft made from a recycled toilet paper roll!
HOW TO MAKE A BUTTERFLY:
This is a very simple craft. First, fit a strip of construction paper around your toilet paper roll and secure with tape or glue.
Then cut out wings (best way to do this is fold a paper in half, draw half of the wings with a pencil then cut out!).
Attach wings to your toilet roll body with glue or tape and then decorate! Use glitter, googly eyes, or whatever you can find around the house. Add antennae like you did with the caterpillar or add a string to hang your butterfly creation around the house or outside!
Once your crafts are made, take them outside and see you if you can spot caterpillars, cocoons, and butterflies in your own backyard or nearest park! Making a set of recycled binoculars can be a fun additional craft to take outside and explore! Your little one(s) will not only learn about this natural process but get to look for it themselves. This hands-on approach solidifies their newly found knowledge into their minds so they will remember it and connect with it throughout their lives. Let’s Go Chipper into the Great Outdoors!
Chipper Recycle Craft | Make a Christmas Snowman
If you live in an area where there is no snow to make a Christmas snowman, try one of these crafts with your little one and make your very own snowman or snow-woman from recycled material! Even if you have snow around, having a little homemade snowman on the tree or around the house makes a cute decoration! Make a treasure hunt out of it and see what materials you can find around the house or outside. You can even make little stick arms if you have a glue gun. Finding the perfect stick can make a great outing with the kids. Use burned out bulbs to be really eco-friendly or some saved toilet paper rolls to start and then get creative!
Click this image to learn how to make a snowman using tissue paper!
IF USING PAINT: Wipe bulb down with rubbing alcohol, this will help the paint adhere to the bulb. Let dry. Paint entire light bulb with white acrylic paint and let dry. Apply a second coat. If finish appears streaked, you can use a large paint brush or a sponge to blot on a “stucco” look. It is not necessary to paint the socket. Allow bulb to dry completely. Alternatively, try using some spray-on adhesive and white glitter to create a snowy effect, as seen in the video below.
You can use puffy craft paint for the eyes, nose, mouth and buttons or use permanent black and orange markers once the paint is dry. Alternatively, you could also use colored paper and cut out small round dots for the mouth, eyes and buttons and a small triangle for the nose. In our toilet paper snowman, we used small black pompom’s and a small piece of orange pipe cleaner for the nose. Work with whatever you have around the house or let your kids get creative! Half of the fun is figuring out what to use to make your craft.
One way to create a snowy look is to use spray adhesive and some white glitter!
For the scarf try finding some thick string to tie around the top of the bulb or cut up an old sock! You could event use colored paper or some pipe cleaners. Just like if you were making a real snowman, you have to work with what you can find!
This crafter used puffy paints, adhesive spray and white glitter. You can use regular glue mixed with a touch of water and apply with a paint brush to avoid using adhesive spray!
For the hat, you could use a piece of black paper, color the metal with a permanent marker, or get crafty with some cloth or an old sock. To hang your snow man on the tree, use some twine or wire and wrap around the groves of the top.
Toilet Paper Roll Snowman
Start out with a recycled toilet paper roll. Chipper had a white one but you can easily cover a cardboard toilet paper roll with some white paper (cut cut out a strip thick enough to cover roll and then attach with tape or glue). Then find materials for the nose, buttons, hat, mouth and scarf! Add some arms if you’re feeling ambitious. Here, Chipper used what he had in his craft box: pipe cleaners, pom pom balls, googly eyes, sequins, and a bit of construction paper! Good supplies to have on hand for any craft are: scissors, tape or glue and your imagination!
First, make your face! Chipper used black pom pom balls for the nose and mouth and googly eyes!
Then add the arms! We used black pipe cleaners here and poked a small hole in either side of your paper roll using a pair of scissors. You can use small sticks here or wrap a pipe cleaner around the snowman neck to attach the arms.
Instead of a hat, Chipper made some ear muffs using two pom pom balls and a small piece of cut pipe cleaner. We attached using glue and you can make the band stay by poking tiny little holes and bending the very tip of your pipe cleaner on either side and insert them into the holes. Regular old Elmer’s glue works to attach the muffs.
Cut a thin strip of construction paper for the scarf and attach with double-sided tape or glue. Alternatively, use a old sock, cut a thin strip, and tie around your roll! For buttons, Chipper just glued on some sequins but you can use real buttons, pom pom balls, or whatever you have on hand! There are TONS of crafts to make from recycled materials and paper rolls. Start your own collection by saving your rolls in a paper bag in the bathroom. Keep a designated craft box filled with materials and supplies so you and the kids can get crafty whenever possible. Crafts are not only a lot of fun, they are a great way to connect and practice motor skills!
Other ideas: Make Santa with some cotton balls or construction paper or make a little Rudolph–Let’s Go Chipper this Holiday Season!
Try making other Christmas Characters using toilet paper rolls! Sky’s the limit!!!
Chipper Recycle Crafts: Make a Christmas Snowflake from Paper
Paper Snowflakes are a classic craft for Christmas time! They are easy to make yet also challenge your creative skills. And they make great decorations for around the house or on your tree during the Holiday Season. All you need for this craft are a pair of clean hands (you don’t want a dirty snowflake!), a pair of scissors, and some white paper (use recycled paper and save some trees if you don’t mind a bit of text/etc. on your snowflake).
1) First, make a square from your paper. The easiest way to do this is to fold a triangle from one corner and cut of the extra (as shown below). Or you can be more tree-friendly and try making 2 squares in each 11X8.5″ piece of paper.
2) Second, fold into a triangle and then fold that triangle in half once again to make it a smaller triangle:
3)Now, imagine the triangle in thirds, and fold the right third over. If you want to be precise and have a protractor, each “third” in this step is a 30 degree angle. Fold the left third over.
4) Lastly, cut off the top of the paper at an angle. Make sure to cut if off so that all remaining layers of paper are equal. Cutting at an angle is what makes the points of the snowflake. Eventually, you’ll learn to cut at different angles to make snowflakes with points that are more or less sharp.
5) This is where your imagination comes in! Begin cutting away from the sides of the paper. Usually, cutting small triangles from the sides is easiest, but don’t forget to try other shapes.
Now reveal your snowflake and find a place to hang it somewhere in the house or hang it on your tree! See how many different styles you come up with. Like in nature, no two snowflakes will look exactly alike! Let’s Go Chipper and get crafty this Holiday Season!
Chipper Crafts: Recycle Old Christmas Cards for Tree Ornaments
Now that Turkey day has passed, it’s time to start preparing for Chipper’s favorite Holiday: Christmas! Why is it Chipper’s most loved holiday, you might ask? Because it’s a time of giving and receiving; a time of family; a time of carols, bright lights and cheer!
This Christmas, think about making your own gifts and ornaments! Not only is it environmentally friendly, it’s a lot of fun to do and a great way to teach kids how to reuse rather than always consuming the new! Also, a special custom gift made by a loved one is something any family member will cherish.
Recycle Christmas Tree Ornament Crafts
Another way to be environmentally friendly thisHoliday Season is to buy a living Christmas tree! It will smell divine, filter the air and can be planted once Christmas is over! The earth could always use another tree and they aren’t too hard to take care of (no worries to those non-green thumbs out there!). Plus, best of all, they aren’t as expensive as giant cut trees! Yes, they tend to be smaller, but with all the added benefits, take it into consideration this year.
what you need
To make ornaments, first gather any old Christmas or Holiday cards you have saved (usually located in a old shoe box under the bed somewhere). Then find some extra string, ribbon, thread or pipe cleaners to hang them. Any extra pieces of wrapping paper can be used as well!
Old Christmas Cards
Besides the cards and string, all you need is a pair of scissors and a little bit of tape. Then it’s time to get creative! Cut out stars or circles or use some Holiday cookie cutter shapes as a guide. You can draw your own shapes on the back as a cutting guide or just go free hand! Use as much of the cards as you can by using the back to cut out ornament shapes. You can even tape pieces together (see double star ornament below) or add things around the house like buttons, sparkles, and pompoms.
Poke a hole using your scissors
Cut off front of card
cut out a shape around decoration
tie the string!
then hang! Voila, ornament!
Use the back of the card to make small decorations!
make as many shapes as you can fit!
Then cut out!
- Double Star Tree Ornament
Lastly, poke a small whole in your ornament once it’s cut out. Then put a string or ribbon through the hole and tie (you make have to use a pen or the pointy end of your scissors to get through the hole depending on how thick you string is). Now you can hang your ornaments and have a beautifully decorated tree this Christmas!
Make a candy cane by taping some wrapping paper onto pieces of cards you didn’t use, then cut it out. You won’t need a string for these–just hang using the curve!
Tape or glue back of card to wrapping paper
Candy Cane made from old wrapping paper!
Keep in mind, this is only ONE way to make home-made ornaments! Please follow our blog for more ideas in the following weeks or follow us on Pinterest for all kinds of Holiday ideas! Let’s Go Chipper this Christmas!
Chipper Crafts for Children: Recycled Fall Leaf Garland from Coffee Filters
Paper plates, brown paper bags, and torn up paper are things that are great to use to create awesome arts and crafts projects. Invest in some paint; and look around the house for string, old buttons, newspaper, and beans. Whatever you can find! You can even looks outside! Leafs, pine cones, and sticks are perfect craft materials.
Celebrate the Fall season with this fun art project for kids: Coffee Filter Fall Leaf Garland! As the weather changes and families start to spend more time indoors consider arts and crafts for your child, as a fun way to pass the time and keep the boredom away. Turn off the TV and have a Family Arts and Craft Day! …or Night!
Create a colorful and easy Fall leaf garland with your tot or in the classroom that will have everyone loving the new Autumn season! This craft is wonderfully simple, making it a perfect project for little ones. Using coffee filters instead of plain paper creates really vibrant leaves that will spruce up any area, whether it’s your child’s bedroom or home room! Stringing the leaves to create the garland encourages your tot’s budding fine motor development, and offering your child marker-drawn leaves introduces staying within the lines while painting. The result is a really beautiful Fall leaf garland the whole family/class will love!
What You’ll Need:
- Coffee filters (cone or round)
- Red, yellow, orange, and brown markers
- Red, yellow, and orange watercolor paint
- Paintbrush
- Scissors
- Hole punch
- String
Directions:
- Offer your child a length of string and use for lacing the leaves. To secure them in place, tie a knot after each leaf and continue stringing until you have used up all your leaves.
- Now, find the perfect spot for displaying your finished coffee filter Fall leaf garland and have a Chipper Fall everyone!
