Christmas Art FOLLOW THE LINE ART PROJECT ( I guess this is art - or math) Use the colored light bulb shapes for a structured art project - good for 4 year olds. Draw a squiggly line on a separate sheet of construction paper and have the children glue the light shapes on the line. To make it a bit more difficult, number the bulbs. Fragrant Soap Balls Have children make homemade soap balls to give as a holiday gift or just as a middle of the year surprise to someone special in their lives. Use water to moisten Ivory Snow Flakes to the consistency of a very stiff dough. Divide the dough into several bowls. Add a different perfume and food coloring to each bowl for variety. Have children shape large spoonfulls of the soap into balls. Have them make about three balls each. Place the balls on trays (labeled with their modeler's name!) to harden for several days. Have each child wrap their three saop balls in colored cellophane paper and tie the package with a pretty ribbon. Pretzel Wreath Use the little pretzels (the ones that are shaped like a heart with a cross in the middle). Glue 1 layer of them in a circle like a wreath, then glue a second layer on top of the first joining the pretzels together over the middle of a pretzel on the first layer. You can weave ribbon between the holes if you would like. Hang with a ribbon. Rudolph Christmas Card Holder Take a gallon milk jug and cut off the top section right below the handle. Cover with brown paper (paper grocery bags). Trace the child's hand and place on the back of the container. On the front draw eyes & Mouth and attach big red pom-pom for nose. Place Xmas cards inside. Reindeer Magnet You will need small dog biscuits, small wiggly eyes, small red pom poms (for the nose), brown chenille cut in 2 inches length strips (for antlers) and magnet strip.You take a dog biscuit and work on it vertically. You want to hot glue a red pompom near the bottom (above where the dog biscuit indents), then hot glue the wiggly eyes above that. Twist the chenille sticks (pipe cleaners) into antlers and hot glue those at the top of the dog biscuit, gluing them to the back so they stand out at the top and then attach magnetic backing to the biscuit. Easy, holiday magnets. Glitter Ornaments Trace a simple star or whatever design on paper (tape the paper to the table). Lay wax paper over the top so you can see the design (also tape it to the table). Have the kids put glue over the outline of the design and then sprinkle on the glitter. Dry overnight and then peel from wax paper. Add a ribbon to hand on a Christmas Tree. Christmas Stocking Use a simple Christmas stocking outline on white paper. You can give the kids an assortment of whatever you have on hand to decorate it. After decorating, have them cut out the stocking (you can have them cut out two and glue them together). They then have their own stocking for Santa. Christmas Stockings BarbMc93 and Anita N.crbrcenter@aol.com Age: 2 plus Cut Christmas stocking shapes out of cardboard (about 1/2 metre long). Give the children toy catalogues to cut out toys to put in their Christmas stocking by gluing as a collage. For the younger children have pre-cut pictures. Then have already cut to size the net that fruit such as oranges come in to staple over the top. Pipe Cleaner Ornaments This is quite easy, you need pipe cleaners and tri-colored beads. Take the pipe cleaner and thread on the beads so they nest together. Can make a wreath, candy cane, star, etc. For older kids you can have them weave ribbon with holes in it through the pipe cleaner and between each bead. Doily Snow People One Large Doily for body, One Small Doily for head, One Small Doily, cut in half for arms, black construction paper for eyes, 3 buttons and mouth. Glue to colored construction paper. Days Till Christmas Bell Anita N.crbrcenter@aol.com and Use a smaller "Chinette" type paper bowl, turn the bowl upside down and paint the entire outside with red paint, or whatever color. Allow to dry. Cut strips of paper to make a paper chain. Have the children glue the strips together to make the paper chain for however many days are left till Christmas(reserve one strip to attach chain to bell). Place the painted bowl upside down on the table. Bring two ends of a pipe cleaner together. Stick ends down through a hole in the center, bottom of the bowl, until half of pipe cleaner is below bottom of bowl and half is above. (you should have a loop on the top to hang your bowl(bell) with. To keep the pipe cleaner in that position, twist it on each side of the bottom of bowl. Squeeze a drop or two of glue between the pipe cleaner and hole in bowl to help keep in place. Add your paper chain to the top of the bell and they can tear one loop or chain off each day and count down the days to Christmas. (decorate your bell with added accessories as you like) Christmas Puppets Supplies: Little Paper Bags Glue Crayons Construction Paper Misc Craft Items - such as fabric scraps, beads, ect. Get creative and make all sorts of Christmas characters. Make Santa Claus; make eyes, ears, ect, and then use cotton balls, felt, ect for the hair and beard. Don't forget the hat and red nose - like a cherry. You can also make rudolph, Mrs. Claus, elves...... Candy Cane Reindeer Supplies: Candy Cane Glue Brown Pipe Cleaners Small Wiggle eyes Small Red Pom Pom Thin Ribbon - optional Small Bell - optional Bring pipe cleaner under curve -neck- of candy cane and then twist to tighten into a V shape. Bend into a Z shape to look like antlers. Glue on two small wiggle eyes and the small pom pom for a nose. String the bell through the ribbon and attach it to the candy cane. You may need to use a hot glue gun - with adult help. Shredded Wheat Wreath Supplies: Cool Whip Type Lids Shredded Wheat Glue Green Food Color Red Hots Crumble up shredded wheat and mix with enough glue and green food coloring to coat. Put it onto the cool whip lid and shape it to look like a wreath. Press in the red hots for the berries and let dry overnight. Wreath Supplies: Paper Plate or Cereal Box, ect Glue Crayons Misc Craft Items - such as fabric scraps, beads, ect. If you are using cardboard, cut it into a circle about the size of a paper plate. Cut the center out of the paper plate or cardboard to make a wreath shape. Use various craft supplies to decorate. Reindeer Magnet Supplies: Small Dog Biscuit Hot Glue - adults only Small wiggle eyes Small Red Pom Pom Brown Chenile - cut into 2 - 2-3 inch strips Magnet Strip Work on the dog biscuit vertically. Hot glue the red pom pom onto the bottom -where the dog biscuit indents- for the nose. Hot glue the wiggle eyes into the middle of the biscuit. Bend the chenile into antlers and hot glue them to the top, back of the biscuit. Glue the magnet onto the back. Christmas Card Holder Supplies: Gallon Milk Jug Brown Paper - can use paper grocery bags Glue Crayons Large Red Pom Pom - optional Take the gallon milk jug and cut off the top section, just below the handle. Cover with brown paper. Trace the childs hand on another piece of brown paper, cut them out, and glue on as antlers. Draw eyes and mouth, and attach the big red pom pom for the nose. Christmas Reindeer Craft Supplies: Large Craft Stick - or popsicle stick Pipe Cleaner Glue or Hot Glue Gun Markers Wiggle Eyes Small Red Pom Pom Thin Red Ribbon or a magnetic Strip Make a reindeer by shaping the pipe cleaner into a V shave and glueing it to the top, back of the stick; glue on wiggle eyes and nose, and draw a mouth. You can make this a gift tag by writing To: and From: on it; you can use the ribbon and make it an ornament; or you can make it a magnet. Christmas Trees Supplies: Green Construction Paper Glue Ped Paint Misc. Collage Materials Cut out Christmas tree shapes. Decorate the Christmas tree: you can dip a finger in in red paint and make fingerprint ornaments, you can use various collage materials, such as glitter, buttons, fabric scraps, to decorate as desired. You can also make wreaths. Pasta Christmas Wreaths Supplies: Small Paper Plates A Variety of Different Shaped Pasta Craft Glue Silver or Gold Spray Paint Tinsel Bow Cut center out of the paper plate. Glue pasta noodles around the outer ring Try to completely cover the paper plate. Let glue dry and then spray paint the desired color. Embelish with a bow of tinsel. Egg Carton Tree Supplies: Two Egg Cartons Large Piece of Paper Glue Paint Misc Craft Items - such as fabric scraps, beads, ect. Cup the egg cartons so you have one row of 6 cups, one row of 5 cups, and so on to 1 cup. Paint the outside of the egg cup green. When the paint is dry, glue them on a large sheet of paper as follows: Glue the 6 cup row on the bottom of the paper, just above that glue the 5 cup row, and so on until you have used all the cups. It should look like a triangle when you are done. Decorate with misc. craft items. Styrofoam Ball Ornament Supplies: Styrofoam Ball - about 2 and a half inches Glue Paper Clips Paint Misc Craft Items - glitter, jewels, ribbons, ect. Put some glue on one end of a paper clip and push it into the ball, this will be the hanger. Paint and decorate as desired. Triangle Reindeer Supplies: Popsicle Sticks wiggle eyes Glue Red Pom Pom Put 3 popsicle sticks together to make a triangle. With the point facing down, the top stick should be placed lower to make antlers, glue together. Glue red pom pom on the point for a nose, and glue the eyes on the sticks about half way up from the point. Glue Ornaments Supplies: Glue Glitter Paper Wax Paper tape Draw a Christmas shape -such as a bell- onto the paper; tape the paper onto the table. Lay wax paper over the design, and tape it to the table. Trace design with glue, you will want it to be kind of thick. Sprinkle glitter over glue. Allow to dry over night and then peel off of wax paper. Pipecleaner Ornaments Supplies: Pipe Cleaners Tri-cornered beads Ribbon - optional Thread the beads onto a pipecleaner so they nest together. You can bend to shape a candy cane, a wreath, a star, ect. You can also punch holes in ribbon and weave it onto the pipecleaner, between each bead. Christmas Necklace Supplies: Cling Wrap Christmas Candy - about the size of a quarter Curling Ribbon Cut 2-3 feet of cling wrap and lay flat on table. Starting on one end, place candy in the center of the cling wrap. Do this the whole leghth of the cling wrap, leaving 2-3 inches between each candy. Fold the cling wrap over a few times -the long way- to seal the candy. Tie a piece of curling ribbon around the cling wrap in between each piece if candy. Tie the ends together to make a necklace. Gingerbread Man Supplies: Paper Grocery Bag Glue Crayons Misc Craft Items - such as fabric scraps, beads, ect. Cut a gingerbread man shape out of the grocery bag. Color or decorate as desired. Jigsaw Ornament Supplies: Popsicle Sticks Glue Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces Child's Picture Light Weight Cardboard Ribbon Glue popsicle sticks together to form a triangle. Glue the puzzle pieces onto the triangle to make a frame. Glue the picture behind the frame, and then glue the cardboard behind the picture. Add a ribbon for hanging. Supplies: Paper Grocery Bag Glue Crayons Red Pom-pom Ribbon Trace childs shoe and both hands onto the paper bag. Cut them out. The shoe is the reindeers head, and glue on the hands to be the antlers. Glue on the pom-pom and ribbon, and decorate as desired. Plaster Ornaments Supplies: Faster Plaster Christmas Candy Molds Paint or Markers Use the Faster Plaster and Christmas candy molds to make ornaments. Decorate them with paint or markers. Attach a hanger, pin backs, or magnets to the plaster mold. Christmas Tree Give the children a white Christmas tree shape and have them color it green. Have the children glue random small shapes cut from colorful magazine pictures on the tree in kind of a mosaic pattern. Mount the completed tree on another sheet of paper. This could be used to make a Christmas card. Christmas Tree Scene Mount a green Christmas tree shape on a full sheet of construction paper. Have the children decorate it as desired. Ask the children to draw presents for their family under the tree. Talk to the children about what they would like to give their family if they could. The answers may surprise you. Glitter Balls Materials - Cereal Box Glue Glitter Ribbon or Yarn Misc. craft items - such as fabric scraps, beads Cut bell shapes out of the cereal box. Put the glitter in a plastic sandwich bag. paint the shape with glue, put in bag and shake until it is coated. Let the bells dry. Poke a hole in the top and tie bells together, letting each one hang down about 5 -6 inches. Decorate with fabric, beads, etc. Pine Cone Christmas Tree Materials - Pine Cones Green Paint Glue Yarn, beads, glitter other misc. craft items Paint the pine cone green. When the paint is dry, glue on yarn, beads, etc, and shake glitter over it. Evergreen Painting small cuttings from evergreen trees tempera paint paper Let the children explore using evergreen branches as paintbrushes. Encourage gentle movements to make delicate lines. Play Dough Wreaths red and green playdough Show the children how to roll "snakes" out of the green playdough. Help them form the snakes into a wreath shape and pinch the ends together. Then have the children use the red playdough to make small red balls as berries on the wreath Bottle top Bell Threading Age: 2 plus Collect silver, red and gold milk or juice bottle tops. Press the tops over an orange squeezer to make a bell shape. Give the children lengths of wool for them to thread these onto. These chains can then be hung on the Christmas tree. CANDY MINT Take a paper plate>small or large > 2 plates of the same size Color the outside of both paper plates like a candy mint. Using a red crayon color a swirled design going around. Now staple both plates together . Now take some clear wrap or plastic wrap that you use in the kitchen for wrapping food & cover the plates. You will need a large piece of clear wrap. Cover both sides of plates. Tie both ends using green ribbon. Leave some of the wrap sticking out from each side of the plate . Curling Christmas ribbon works well for the ribbon. It will look like a candy mint. Nail Punched Christams Lid Ornament>> for older children 5 years & up Take a metal orange juice lid & trace around the lid onto paper to get a circle. Now cut out a circle slightly smaller to fit the inside of the lid. Make a simple heart or star design on the paper circle & tape it to the lid. Center the design. Now place the metal lid onto a board & take a hammer & a large nail & punch holes evenly spaced on the design. Also allow a hole at the top of the metal lid for stringing a red or green ribbon for hanging. You can stain the lid to give it an antiqued look. You could also spray paint it gold & sprinkle on some glitter. A "Berry" Nice Wreath cranberries 16-inch length of floral wire sprigs of greenery (sprigs from christmas trees would work well) fabric bows Strong cranberries onto the length of floral wire. When the wire is almost completely full of cranberries, twist the ends together and carefully reshape the wire into a circle. Hot-glue a few sprigs of greenery to the top of the wreath; then add a fabric bow to complete the project. Cranberry Wreath Cut 12-24 inches of 20-28 gauge floral wire (available at most craft stores) have your kids thread real crannberries on wire. Wrap wire full of cranberries around something round to hold its shape, twist ends together and add a holiday ribbon or bow to make a super cute wreath. Mr. Ho Ho Ho! red tempera paint styrofoam cone pink construction paper red pom-pom black permanent marker cotton balls Use the red tempera paint to paint the styrofoam cone. cut a circle from pink construction paper for Santa's face. Glue a red pom-pom in the center of the circle to resemble a nose; then use a black permanent marker to draw eyes on the face. Glue the face near the top of the painted cone. Then glue cotton balls around the face to resemble Santa's hair, beard and mustache. To complet Mr. Ho Ho Ho, glue a cotton ball on the top of the cone. Cone Trees cone shaped ice cream cones green frosting assorted small candies Give each child a cone. Let them put frosting on it and stick candy on the frosted cone as decorations. The children can eat the cone or take it home as a decoration. Rudolph - Cut reindeer silhouettes from sturdy brown cardboard. Have the children paint the reindeer with glue and sprinkle with coarsely ground cinnamon. Glue on a wiggle eye and tie a narrow red ribbon around the neck. These smell wonderful. They can be made to stand up if you glue cylinders of stiff paper to each leg. If you can't buy coarse cinnamon you can buy cinnamon sticks and chop them in a coffee bean grinder. To clean your grinder, process some fresh bread. I send a Christmas tree shape home with each child the first of the month. With it I send a letter asking the parents to use any materials that they have at home to help their child to decorate the tree. I suggest lace, material, ric rac, sequins, etc. When they finish they bring them back to school and we put them on the bulletin board. I use a blue background with a snow scene. At the end of the month, I leave up the snow scene. and we add snowmen, penguins, etc. for January. The Christmas trees are great because each one is different and the parents and children really like working on this project together! Christmas ornament Start with a small white paper plate. Fold the bottom up about an inch. Fold both sides to the middle leaving the top open. (looks a little like a burrito!) Have the child make a face on a 2" pink circle. Glue the circle to the top of the paper plate, peeking between the folds. Hole punch the top of the plate and add a pipe cleaner hanger and there you have it --- Baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes! Snowmen This is a great winter holiday art idea for preschoolers to kindergartners. This project requires allot of white paper towels!! Give each child about 9 paper towel sheets. Have your children crumple three together, then two, then one making each into a ball shape. Make a glue and water mixture and soak the last three paper towels in the solution. Squeeze out and wrap a wet towel around each of the dry crumpled balls. Arrange in a snowman fashion and let dry for one to two days. When dry they are hard and paint white. Add black construction paper top hats and etc. to decorate your snowmen. Be creative!! It sounds hard but is really quite easy!! It is sooooo cue! Gingerbread man Then I made out of construction paper hats, pants, shirt and shoes all different colors. I put a little glue in a container for each child and then gave them a paint brush and let them dress their gingerbread man. They brushed the glue on where they thought the shirt would go and pasted it and so on. Then I let them paste on eyes that I had gotten from the craft store which made it look really good. After that I noticed many of them had continued to spread glue on top of the pants and shirts etc. (these are 2 year olds) so we decided to put glitter there which gave it a great look!! Handprint Wreaths You can use muslin or white construction paper for this activity. If using paper, laminate the finished product. Trace a light pencil circle onto material, then paint the child's hand green and repeatedly place onto circle to form a wreath. When dry, add red thumbprint berries and a bow (if desired). Also, add in this poem (teacher handwrites it onto muslin, but you can glue a copy of it onto the construction paper): My handprints made this wreath, My thumbprints, each berry, I hope this helps you have, A Christmas that's merry! If using muslin, hang with yarn on a dowel rod. Don't forget to have the child write his/her name and remember to put Christmas l99-- Fragrant Holiday Ornaments 1 c plus 2 T. flour 3/4 c. cinnamon (I add a teaspoon of ground clove too) 1 c salt 1 c water Mix this well. Roll about 1/2" thick and cut with gingerbread man/woman cookie cutter(or any other shape that you may wish to use). Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for approximately 20-25 minutes, depending upon size of the ornaments. Place a hole in each ornament before baking for hanging (I used a straw). These smell really wonderful--& make the house smell great when they are baking. If they start to lose their fragrance just rub an emery board on the back of them. They may be decorated with puffy paint, tempera paint or left as they are. Tie a ribbon through the the hole made by the straw to hang them up. The children loved making these and the parents loved receiving them! Tissue Box Frame Cut top off of a tissue box, and decorate as you wish Tape your favorite picture or drawing to the back Napkin Rings Cut a paper or bathroom tissue roll into 2 inch rings Place glue over entire surface, and carefully wrap your favorite colored yarn around the ring. Let dry. Add a colorful napkin!! Desk Organizer Glue together several sizes of paper towel or bathroom tissue rolls Glue rolls onto a stiff cardboard or poster board. Let dry. Decorate! Add some pens, pencils, paperclips, etc. if you wish Magazine Necklaces Cut pages from magazines into triangle shapes, any sizes will do, try a variety of sizes to make a unique necklace each time. Using a pencil or pen, roll the triangle shape from the flat end to the point Add tape to the bead to hold together, string onto yarn! Juice lid Magnets Glue your favorite picture or drawing onto a metal juice can lid Add a 1 inch strip magnet to back, securing well with glue Bracelets String beads of various colors onto "pipe cleaners" (aka chennile sticks) Twist ends to hold together. Can also use several sticks for a necklace! Ornaments Glue holiday pictures or drawings onto plastic lids Punch a hole at the top of the lid, add string or yarn to hang Helping Hands Book Trace or print with paint, your handprint onto several pieces of paper Make a cover; "Helping Hands for You! Use the enclosed coupons whenever you need a helping hand!" Vase/Candle Holder Using a clear glass bottle (Adults may need to help), place pieces of colored tissue paper onto the bottle using watered down glue, or liquid starch. Cover tissue paper completely with "glue" Let dry Handprint Santa and Rudolph I had my children make Santa and Rudolf from their hand prints. Paint hands and fingers brown for Rudolph, add eyes and red paper noses, smear paint on two fingerprints to look like antlers. For Santa, paint palm brown (skin- tone), fingers white for beard. Add eyes, nose mouth, and cotton for beard and trim of hat. Cut red half-circle for hat. put Santa on red squares, Rudolph on green squares, create a quilt for your bulletin board. too cute!!!! (More of a craft than art) Use real wrapped candy canes to make Rudolph. Start with the song or a fingerplay then use 1/2 a pipecleaner, twisted, for the antlers on the top, 2 rolly eyes, and a red pompom for the nose. Very cute and easy!! Christmas Bell Pepper Wreaths Let the children draw a circle on construction paper. Cut bell peppers in half sideways and let the children dip them in green paint and put on top of circle. They can then tie a red bow out of yarn and put some red hole punch dots on the wreaths when they dry. Christmas tree I ask the parents to save bathroom tissue rolls and send them to class. I give the children a square of aluminum foil to wrap around the roll (no glue necessary) and then stick the ends inside the roll. Then I put dots of tacky glue on each roll and give the children some colored pasta (you can purchase the pasta or color your own with food coloring.) The children pick pasta to put on the dots of glue. Then I give them each a piece of ribbon or yarn to put through the hole in the roll. I tie and voila--a very pretty ornament with little expense! Christmas Tree Shirt I had each of my students bring in a white sweatshirt. Each child painted a Christmas tree in their handprints on their shirt. We used cotton balls to paint on ornaments, and q-tips to paint "HO! HO! HO!" . Hand Wreath When I was little, my mom traced my three brothers' and my hands onto green construction paper. Then, she cut them out and glued them to a round cardboard ring. They made a beautiful wreath. This would be ideal in a preschool, but let the children trace their own hands and cut them out. Make sure names and dates go on each handprint and this is sure to be a treasured treat for many years. Handprint Christmas Tree Cut a large triangle out of butcher paper. Let the children dip their hands in tempera paint to fill the triange with handprints. When the handprints are dry, set out several colors of tempera and let the children "decorate" the tree with their thumbprints. I cut out red candy cane shapes from plain ol' construction paper. The children will then be given a handful of miniature marshmallows to glue onto the cane (in a pattern of their choice). When they are done, they can eat a handful of marshmallows, or have some cocoa with marshmallows (if you have access to a kitchen or microwave). Pasta Christmas Tree Cut out Xmas tree shapes from a heavy paper, glue on all types of pasta. Let dry thoroughly, spray paint with silver or gold. Evergreen tree Make an evergreen tree out of construction paper (make mine about 3 feet tall). Hang on wall. As we make ornaments in December we hang them on the "tree". Of course this only works with paper ones or very light ones that we can tape on. This year I'm having a second tree and we're making little snow men and snow women to count the days till Christmas. Holiday Card Rubbings Tape holiday greeting cards face up on your art table. Lay butcher paper over the cards and let the children use crayons to create rubbings. Rudolph hand and foot prints I make a Rudolph mural with the kids. I paint each childs hands and one foot brown and have them print it on to butcher paper. The foot is the face an d the hands are the antlers. I then glue wiggle eyes and a red thumbprint for the nose. I then write their names under each deer. Bottle top Bell Threading Age: 2 plus Collect silver, red and gold milk or juice bottle tops. Press the tops over an orange squeezer to make a bell shape. Give the children lengths of wool for them to thread these onto. These chains can then be hung on the Christmas tree. Cut a large Christmas Tree shape from green paper. Mine is about 2 ft high. Laminate the tree or cover it with contact. Using a permanent marker, trace Christmas shapes such as a star, a bell, a candy cane, etc, on to the tree for ornaments. Trace these same shapes on to fun foam and cut them out. Apply self stick velcro to the backs of the foam shapes and to the shapes on the tree. Hang the tree in you room and let the children decorate it by matching the shapes. Permanent marker can be removed from laminated surfaces with Scrub Free or Bon Ami. The tree can be reprogrammed to match shapes, colors or whatever you wish. Poinsettias... Cut out paper poinsettias, attach pipe cleaners for stem, and tie together. Children attach these to plastic tomato baskets. Provide tissue paper for the children to stuff around poinsettias and in baskets. Stars... Have the children create stars by gluing popsicle sticks together in star formation. Paint yellow and add glitter to make them shine. If added string they make lovely ornaments.