1) When we do our unit on the five senses the children love to do the texture painting. Give each child a sheet of construction paper. Using a bottle of glue children make a design on their paper. Don't let them make puddles with the glue. Let dry over night. The next day children can feel the bumpy texture of their design. The children then finger paint their design with tempera paint. 2) Cup Bells Materials: Paper Cup String Small Bell What to Do: Poke two small holes in the bottom of a paper cup. Thread a string through a small bell. Pull each end of the string through a different hole in the cup and allow the bell to hang partway inside of the cup. Tie the ends of the string together outside the cup. Make one cup bell for each child. Let the children shake their cup bells back and forth to make them ring. 3) Bell Shakers Materials: Bells Cardboard Crepe paper What to Do: For each child put two bells in a small box or a cardboard tube and securely tape the container closed. Let the children decorate their shakers by gluing or taping on crepe paper streamers. Then have them shake their shakers all around to make the bells ring. 4) CREPE PAPER WINDSOCKS Materials: Construction paper Crepe Paper What to Do: Cut pieces of construction paper in half lengthwise. Give each child a piece of the construction paper and several 6 to 8-inch crepe paper strips. Have the children glue their crepe paper strips to one of the long edges of their construction paper pieces. To complete each child's windsock curl the short ends of the construction paper together, tape them in place and add an 18-inch piece of string to the top for a hanger. 5) Crepe Paper Suns Materials: Yellow Crepe Paper Paper Plates What to Do: Give each child squares of yellow crepe paper and a paper plate. Have the children glue their squares all over their paper plates to make suns. variation: Use yellow construction  paper circles instead of paper plates. 6) Crepe Paper Colors Materials: Crepe paper Clear Glasses What to do: cut out squares of red, yellow and blue crepe paper. Set out three clear plastic glasses filled with water. Ask the children to guess what will happen when you put a square of red crepe paper in one of the glasses. Put the crepe paper in and have the children watch as the dye from the crepe paper turns the water red. Repeat with the yellow and blue pieces. 7) Popcorn Pictures Materials: Popcorn Light blue and black construction paper Glue What to Do: Let the children help make a batch of popcorn. Give each child a sheet of light blue construction paper and a large pan shape cut out of black construction paper. Have the children glue their pan shapes at the bottoms of their papers. Then let them glue pieces of popcorn "popping out of the pan" all over the rest of their papers. 8) Popcorn Wreaths Materials: Cardboard Glue Popcorn Ribbon What to Do: For each child cut out a cardboard wreath shape (about 7 inches across) and punch a hole in the top. Provide the children with glue and popped popcorn. Then have them glue the popcorn all over both sides of their wreaths. When the glue has dried, string ribbon or yarn through the holes in the tops of the wreaths to make hangers. 9) Watermelon Art Materials: Green and red construction paper Watermelon seeds What to Do: Give each child a circle cut out of green construction paper and a slightly smaller circle cut out of red construction paper. Have the children glue their red circles on top of their green ones. Then let them glue watermelon seeds all over their red circles. 10) Feather Collage Materials: Feathers Toilet paper cylinders Glue What to do: Collect feathers of any kind (if you have a feather duster, you can recycle the feathers by using them for this activity) and toilet paper cylinders. Glue the feathers onto the cylinder in any design they choose. Note: To dry the feathered cylinders, place a tree branch in a can of rocks in the classroom. Slip the cylinders on the branches to dry. The children see their "birds" roosting in the tree. 11) Pizza Materials: felt (red, green, light brown, white, orange and yellow) scissors cardboard pizza circles pizza box, sized to the pizza glue Resealable Bag What to do: Set one pizza circle aside (it will be the pizza base).Cut the brown felt to fit the second circle, forming the crust. Glue the  cardboard  Cut the felt-covered, cardboard circle into four pieces. Put the pieces plastic resealable bag. Cut tomato sauce from red felt for each of the four pizza slices. Put pieces in a plastic resealable bag. Cut mushrooms from brown felt. Put the pieces in a resealable bag. Cut onion from white felt. Put the pieces in a resealable bag. Cut pepperoni from orange felt. Put the pieces in a resealable bag. Cut bell peppers from green felt. Put the pieces in a resealable bag. Cut olives from green and red felt. Put the pieces in a resealable bag. Cut cheese from yellow felt. Put the pieces in a resealable bag. A child creates a pizza using the pieces. Keep in a pizza box. 12) Car Tracks   Materials: Paint Sponge or Paper Towel Cars Paper What to Do: Pour tempera paint over a sponge (or papertowel). Prepare a different color for each sponge. Place small cars by each color of prepared tempera. Children roll cars across tempera soaked sponge and then on the paper to create a colored track design which can lap and over each other 13)Car Painting Materials: Markers or crayons Paper Cars What to Do: Secure felt markers of various colors to the back of toy cars use tape or rubber bands. Cover the floor with newspaper and place butcher paper on it. Children move the cars and trucks across the butcher paper. Creating designs behind the moving car. 14) Warming Tray Pictures Materials: Griddle Newspaper Paper or wax paper What to Do: Place a warming tray on low setting Cover it with several sheets of newspaper to protect the children from the hot edges of the tray. Place a sheet of art paper on top of the newspaper and let the children take turns coloring with wax crayons. The children will discover a change in the "feel" of the way the crayon moves and a change in the "looks" of the drawing. 15) Glue Dots Materials: Food coloring Glue Toothpicks Paper What to Do: Use food coloring to tint two or three small containers of glue. Provide toothpicks for each color of glue. Children use toothpicks to dot glue on art paper in a free-form pattern, varying the colors they use. 16) Hand Trees Materials: Green Construction Paper Glue Scissors What to Do: Cut out the hands. Write each child's name on her hands. Arrange on the wall in the shape of a tree, by starting with the bottom row and then overlapping successive rows like house shingles. Holiday Adaptation: Place a star on top and paint tips of fingers red to make a decorated Christmas tree 17) Humpty Dumpty Art Materials: Plastic foam eggs Construction paper Wallpaper scraps, yarn, bead Markers What to Do: Cut plastic foam eggs in half lengthwise. Cut rectangles out of construction paper. Set out the egg halves, the rectangles, large piece of construction paper, and various materials for decorating the plastic foam eggs. such as wallpaper scraps, yarn, beads, felt-tip markers, etc. Have each of your children glue a rectangle to a piece of construction paper for a wall and an egg half on top of the wall. Then let them use the decorating materials to make faces on their eggs. To finish, give each child two 1- by 8-inch strips of construction paper to accordion fold and glue on as legs. Display the artwork on a wall or a bulletin board. If desired, write the poem on a separate piece of paper to display with the art. 18) Foot-Shaped Rabbits Materials: White Construction paper Scissors Construction paper Glue Cotton Balls What to Do: Trace around each child's foot on a piece of white construction paper. Let your children cut out their foot shapes (or cut them out yourself). Then let the children turn their shapes into side-view rabbits. Show each child how to position his or her shape horizon-tally so that the narrow end forms the rabbit's head and the wider part forms the rabbit's body. Give the children construction paper ears, facial features, whiskers, feet and inner-ear shapes to glue on as shown in the illustration. Then have the children glue on cotton balls for tails. 19) Three Men in a Tub Art Materials: Light Blue Construction Paper Brown Paper Crayons What to Do: Have each child place one hand in the middle of a piece of light blue construction paper. Trace around each child's three middle fingers. Give each child a brown construction-paper tub shape. Have the children glue their tub shapes below their finger outlines. Then have them use crayons to add wavy ocean lines beneath the tub. Help your children add a face to each of their finger outlines to make three men in a tub. 20) Mouse Tails Materials: Gray Construction Paper Yarn Construction Paper What to Do: Cut several mouse body shapes for each child out of gray construction paper. Let your children glue pieces of yarn to their mouse shapes for tails. Then have them glue their mice on pieces of light-colored construction paper. Let them add eyes and other details with crayons or felt-tip 21) Grazing Billy Goats Materials: Construction paper Glue Easter Grass What to Do: Give each child a piece construction paper. Let brush glue across the of their papers and put the green Easter grass on glue. When the glue dries. Get out a commercial ink  rubber stamp in the shape of a goat. Let each child take turns to print three goats grazing grass on his or her paper 22) Paper-Plate Pigs Materials: Pink Paint Pink construction paper Black Construction Paper What to Do: Let your children paint paper plates light pink to use for pig faces. Cut ear shapes and circles for noses out of a darker shade of pink construction paper. (Or cut the ear and nose shapes from pink felt, wallpaper, foil or fabric.) When the plates have dried, let the children glue on the ear and nose shapes. Have them each glue two circles punched out of black construction paper on their pig noses. Then let them glue on larger black circles for eyes. 23) Octopus Materials: Brown trash bags Glue Scraps of construction paper Picture of an octopus Newspaper Styrofoam packing half circles Tape What to do: As the children are seated for circle time show them a picture of an octopus.  Discuss the characteristics of the octopus color; size, how many arms, how it moves. Make an arm by stuffing a trash bag with newspapers filling only half of the bag lengthwise. Tie the bags.  Fold the other side of the trash bag over the stuffed side and tape it, making a large narrow arm. Using the stryrofoam packing half circles, have the children glue them to the bottom of each arm representing the octopus' suction cups. Make the head by stuffing the entire bag with newspaper and use construction paper scraps to make the facial features of the octopus. When the eight arms are finished, tie them together and then tie them to the stuffed head. Display the octopus on the floor for an ocean scene. 24) Tissue Paper Rainbow Materials: Various Colors of tissue paper Glue Pencil What to Do: Draw a rainbow on the construction paper. Tear the tissue paper into lots of small pieces. Spread a little glue on the band of you rainbow. Press one color of tissue pieces onto the glue. Then cover the other bands of your rainbow with glue and tissue paper pieces. Let your tissue paper rainbow dry 25) Ice Painting Materials: Ice Cubes Craft Sticks Tempera Paint powder, Several Colors Spoon Heavy paper What to Do: To make an ice cube paintbrush poke craft sticks into partially frozen ice cubes. Then continue to freeze solid. Take an Ice cube paintbrush by its handle and rub it back and forth over the powdered color on the paper. Try putting small amounts of other colors on your paper and rubbing those with another ice cube paintbrush. Let dry. 26) Bean Fun Materials: Dried Beans Paper and Pencil Glue Newspaper What to Do: Cover the table with newspaper. On a piece of paper draw a letter you are learning. Then for fun draw a big shape around it like a triangle. Spread glue along the letter. Place beans on the glue. Next outline the shape and do the same. 27) Egg Carton Maracas Materials: Dried Beans egg carton tape What to Do: Pour a handful of dried beans into the empty carton and seal it up with masking tape. Shake it and listen. 28) Noise Makers Materials: dried beans paper plates crayons stapler and tape craft sticks What to Do: Draw a picture on the back of two paper plates. Flip one plate over so it's right side up. Tape a craft stick to the plate leaving out part of the stick for a handle. To make a noisemaker, pour the dried in the center of the plate. Staple the plates together face to face. 29) White on Black Bold Materials: Soap Flake Finger paint Heavy Sheet of Black paper Plastic squeeze bottles What to Do: Put soap flake paint in squeeze bottle. Squeeze out interesting white lines of different shapes and thicknesses on black paper. Arrange them in a bold pattern 30) Sand painting Materials: 2 or more colors of sand white glue water Heavy drawing paper cookie sheet paintbrush What to Do: Mix a spoonful of glue and a spoonful of water together in a cup. Use a pencil to lightly draw you design on the paper. Set the paper in the tray. Use the paintbrush to paint all the areas where you want one color of sand to stick. Use a spoon to sprinkle the sand over the glue. Let sit for a few moments. Gently turn the paper over the tray and tap to let the extra sand fall off. Continue until you picture is done. 31) Layered Sand jar Materials: A variety of colored sands Nicely shaped clear jar with lid Funnel What to Do: Spoon a layer of colored sand into the jar-or pour through funnel. Gently tap jar to make sand level. Continue adding colors until you reach the top. Screw the lid on the jar. 32) Tissue Blossoms Materials: Tissue paper White glue in dish pencil What to Do: Push a square of tissue around the end of a pencil. Holding tissue with fingertips around the pencil dab tissue into white glue. Then dab the tissue onto a design on construction paper. Be sure blossoms touch each other. 33) Melted Crayon Laminations Materials: Old Cheese Grater Waxpaper Newspaper Old Iron Yarn-for hanging What to Do: Grate crayon onto wax paper. Cover with more waxpaper-add yarn for hanging. Cover all this with newsprint. Quickly touch warm iron to the covered wax paper and shavings-Do this gently!! 34) Family Tube Puppets Materials: Toilet tissue tubes Felt Scraps moving eyes Construction paper Yarn Craft Sticks glue Scissors What to Do: Cut toilet tissue rolls into a variety of sizes. Decorate them to look like different family members. Felt and construction paper for nose, mouth and clothing. Yarn for hair, etc. Glue craft sticks inside the bottoms for handles. 35) Peek a Boo Elf Puppet Materials: 1-inch Styrofoam balls toilet tissue roll straw red felt markers yarn glue scissors What to Do: Push one end of the straw into the Styrofoam ball to make a hole. Remove straw and fill the hole with glue. Put straw back in, let dry. Use marker to draw facial features. Glue on pieces of yarn for hair. Cut two small triangles out of felt to make a hat. Put puppet inside toilet paper roll and let the elf puppet play peek a boo with the children. 36) Caterpillar String Puppet Materials: Egg Carton Yarn Glue Scissors What to Do: Cut out all of the egg cups. Poke a hole in the bottoms. String the cups on yarn to make a caterpillar. Cut another piece of yarn tie one end to the front and the other near the eighth egg cup. Make caterpillar crawl by holding the loop of yarn and moving it up and down. 37) TREASURE ROCKS Materials: 1 cup flour 1 cup used coffee grinds ˝ cup salt 1/4 cup sand tempera paint or food coloring 1 cup water What to Do: In a large bowl, Mix all ingredients into a dough Remove the dough form and knead it on a floured surface hide toys and surprises in the center of dough and then all dough to dry 2-3 days. When dry, the dough will look and feel like a rock. Break open rock with a hammer to reveal treasures. 38) Make Your Own Rocket Materials: sausage-shaped balloon string clothespin straw scissors tape What to Do: 1)  Cut a long piece of string. 2)  Thread the string through straw. 3)  Inflate balloon. 4)  Put clothespin on neck of balloon. 5)  Tape balloon onto straw. 6)  Release clothespin and watch rocket go! Try out different shapes of balloons.  What happens if you use different string (fishing wire, yarn, etc)?  39) Making a Straw Glider Materials: paper straws tape scissors What to Do: 1) Cut paper strips 1" wide. 2) Form strips into circles (about 4-5" and 2-3" in diameter). 3) Tape one circle to end of straw. 4) Tape other circle to opposite end. 5) Launch it! Try different shapes.  How high does each fly?  How far do they glide?  Try aiming for a target. 39) Cardboard Roll Baskets Materials: Cardboard Rolls - Bathroom Tissue, Paper Towels... Tape Heavy Paper or Contact Paper Crayons, Markers, or Paint Pipe Cleaner What to Do: Cut the roll as above. Cover one end with heavy paper and tape securely. Cover the outside of the roll with paper or Contac and decorate as desired. Punch 2 holes near the top and attach a half length of pipe cleaner Use a pipe cleaner for a handle. Fill with goodies for May Baskets. Also cute for party favors. 40) Ocean in a Jar Materials: Baby Food Jars Hot Glue Blue food coloring Vegetable Oil Seashells and anything else you can find What to Do: Combine a few seashells, some blue food coloring, a little vegetable oil a babyfood jar with water. Seal the jar with hot glue The kids shake it to mix the oil and water and then watch what happens.... : ) 41) Rainbow Plates Materials: 2 Paper Plates Colored Cellophane Glue What to Do: Cut out a large circle in the middle of 2 paper plates. Glue colored cellophane to cover the hole on one plate, and then glue the two plates together. Children look through and see the world as different colors. 42) Circus Trains Materials: Styrofoam Meat Trays Construction Paper cut in strips Animal cut outs from magazines coloring books etc. Milk Caps painted black Glue What to Do: Glue the pictures to the trays then glue (or staple) construction paper strips to the tray to look like cage bars. Then glue the milk caps to the bottoms to look like wheels. I always "connect" the cars and hang them on the wall for a couple of weeks. 43) Lions Materials: Construction Paper Glue Crayons Rice Crispies cereal What to Do: Since March comes in like a lion, we crafted cute lions by folding a piece of yellow construction paper in ˝ then cut out a half circle as big as the ˝ sheet itself (this will be your all in one body, legs). With more yellow paper create a roundish head have kiddies draw on their faces and paste on rice krispies for the mane. We have rice krispies as a snack before so they aren't tempted to eat the ones frosted with glue!! 44) Zany Zebras Materials: Construction Paper Black paint Florescent Paper What to Do: Give each child a construction paper picture of a zebra with no stripes, mane, or tail.  Use a fine brush or Q-tip & have them make stripes with black tempera paint. When paint dries, glue strips of florescent paper on neck & tail. Have the kids fringe paper. 45) Alligator Puppet Materials: Paper Bag Construction Paper What to Do: Draw and cut out the eyes, nose and the upper section of the alligators mouth from construction paper. Glue them to the bottom of the paper bag. Draw and cut out the inside of the mouth and the two front feet from paper. Glue them to the front of the bag. Attach a tail to the back of the bag. Place your hand inside the bag and curve your fingers over the fold to move the puppet. 46) Paper Plate Frog Craft Materials: 9 inch paper plate green construction paper (or white paper if colored green) glue green and black crayon What to Do: Color paper plate green.  Cut out frog legs - imagine the letter L, only make it a little puffier, kinda like you used to draw "bubble letters" when you were a teenager. Color the legs green if you used white paper  instead of construction paper. Cut out legs. Draw  a few misshaped black circles on the legs. Cut out 2 oval shapes from green construction paper, or color white ovals. Color a black circle at one end of the oval. These are the frogs eyes. Glue eyes onto plate, and glue legs onto plate. (cut out legs should be about 4 inches long, and 4 inches across. Make sure about 2 inches of the leg is glued onto plate. Glued legs should face this way on plate: __|  |__   Draw  a mouth on the frog like this:  //\/\/\/\/\/\/\     47) Penguin Materials: Grocery Bag Construction paper What to Do: Slit the front of the bag from the top to bottom.  Cut a neck hole in the bottom of the bag.  Cut wing-shaped flaps in the sides. Color the bag black and white to resemble a penguin. Form a cone from a triangular piece of orange construction paper. Staple it together and punch a hole in each side. Tie a 12-inch piece of string through each hole. Place the cone over your nose like a beak and tie the strings together at the back of your head. Now put on the bag and join in the...Penguin Parade!! 48) Paper Plate Rabbit Materials: Paper Plate (large and small) Construction paper What to Do: Have each child attach a small paper plate to a large paper plate. Next, have each child cut 2 rabbit ears from white construction paper and glue them to the small plate for ears. Encourage the children to use crayons or markers to add facial  features and other details.  Finally, have each child glue a cotton ball tail to the rabbit. 49) Coffee Filter Melt Materials: Lrg. Coffee Filters Crayon stubs Cheese Grater Foil Cookie Sheet What to Do: Cover the cookie sheet with foil. Open and press two lrg. Coffee filters on the cookie sheet. Begin dropping little stubs of old crayons on the coffee filters. Grate some larger crayons and drop shavings on coffee filters. Place cookie sheet in warm oven (200 F) Leave oven open to watch crayon begin melting. This usually only takes a couple minutes. Remove when melted let cool then hold up to the light to enjoy the colors.