By Gigi on October 3rd, 2017
Let’s make some truly magnificent broomsticks! This extension activity for the delightful book Room on the Broom
is all kinds of fun. Paired with the story, this craft helps children to practice rhyming (phonemic awareness), rhythm and repetition, pro-social behavior, creative expression, and fine motor skills.
This exciting book is written by Julia Donaldson, and is brought to life by the colorful and extremely beautiful illustrations of Axel Scheffler. This is the same bestselling, award-winning team who created The Gruffalo
.
Room on the Broom tells the story of a friendly witch and a remarkable journey on her broomstick. From the start, the weather conditions are against her; the witch loses her belongings (hat, bow, and wand). She meets a cast of helpful characters along the way and offers them all a ride on her broomstick. Together they are able to overcome adversity. The friends not only find the witch’s missing possessions, they also escape a hungry dragon!
MATERIALS USED:
– Paper towel rolls
– Brown tempera paint
– Paper bags
– Twine
– Scissors
– Glue
– Star stickers
– Glitter
– Small acrylic craft jewels 
Have children paint their paper towel rolls and sprinkle them with glitter while they’re still wet. Once the rolls are dry, little ones can decorate their broomsticks with stickers and jewels, and any other items provided. Give each child a strip of paper bag and have them fringe cut the edges. They can glue their fringe on their sticks and you can help them wrap and tie the twine around it. A crumpled ball of paper can then be glued into the front of the broom, and voila! Behold some truly magnificent brooms!
By Gigi on September 28th, 2017
Collages are an open-ended activity where children can be creative with just about anything. These Halloween pumpkin collages are made from materials other than paper. I provided small scraps of fabric, felt, ribbon, and other goodies. Use your imagination and look through your art supplies for a variety of things that can be glued.
It is best when children are able to use the items they select to decorate their pumpkins as they see fit. Some young learners will cover their entire pieces; other will not. Some may use only one color, while others may enjoy using and mixing all of the elements.
MATERIALS USED:
– Construction paper
– Glue
– Scissors
– Our free printable pumpkin template
– Fabric scraps
– Feathers
– Pom poms
– Buttons
– Foam stickers
– Acrylic craft jewels
– Faux fall leaves
– Pipe cleaners/fuzzy sticks
– Crinkle cut paper
By Gigi on September 25th, 2017
These worms are hungry and need help getting to their apples. These free apple tracing sheets make fine motor practice fun!
This packet includes 5 skills sheets:
– Straight lines (1)
– Big hills (1)
– Small hills (1)
– Zigzag lines (1)
– Combination of lines – all 4 above (1)
Encourage children to take their time while tracing and to keep their crayon or pencil on the “ants”. Pre-k children should be working on their pencil grips (tripod grasps) during this activity.
Download the Free Apple Tracing Packet. Happy tracing!
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