How to make Window Clings with Kids

We finally attempted to make our own Window Clings and they turned pretty cute! I decided to make an Under the Sea/Ocean theme with both my preschooler and my toddler. Would you like to see how we made them and check out the entire window? Head over to the Gummy Lump blog to check out our crafty blogger post:

How to make Window Clings with Kids

© 2013 www.craftsandartforchildren.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved.

Nature-Inspired Spring Tree Art & Nature Collage

I am loving the way my son's Spring Tree Art Project turned out! It was inspired by a pretty spring tree craft from Red Ted Art. It is made with items found in nature. We went on a short Nature Hike around our home to find items to create the crafts with. Big Brother used his bug catcher to collect items and Little Sister used her butterfly catcher. They only collected items they found on the ground instead of picking the beautiful parts still attached to the bushes, etc. Thankfully there was a ton of spring-colored flowers and leaves lying in teeny piles where they had fallen down. We only picked ones that retained their color even though they were dried up and yellow ones. The kids also found several twigs to use for the tree trunk.

Using a big sheet of paper, they painted glue over the entire surface. At first, Big Brother was frustrated because his twigs weren't staying down. The thinner ones with no curves in them work the best. He started to get to the point where he didn't like what we were creating, so I had him start sticking the colorful pieces we had collected while I finished the trunk. This got him excited and he proudly exclaimed, "Mom, my tree is going to look so beautiful!" He loved choosing what pieces went where. I also showed him how much fun it was to crumble some of the leaves and dried flowers in our hands, then sprinkle over the paper.

My toddler girl made a Nature Collage. She was so content with putting things on and then taking them off again, LOL! I really like the way her craft turned out as well.

What nature-inspired crafts have you made in the past?

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© 2013 www.craftsandartforchildren.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved.

Fun End of the School Year Gifts for Students from Teacher

On Preschool Graduation Day, my son's teacher had these fun End of the School Year Gifts for the students.

• You are a real "Smartie" Pants! You will do great in Kindergarten! His teacher cut a teeny pair of pants from blue construction paper and placed a smarties candy roll with it.

• Have a "Kool "Summer! taped to a  Koolaid packet.

• You "Otter" know you're amazing! You will do great in kindergarten! It was tied to an Otter Pop with blue curling ribbon and finished off with a [thick, durable] sticker embellishment featuring a cap and the year.

What little gifts has your child received in the past from their teacher? Please share in the comments section.


See also:
Look Whoo's Graduating Handprint Owl Craft
Teacher Appreciation/End of the School Year Gift
Paper Graduation Craft for preschoolers
10 Handprint Graduation & End of the School Year Keepsakes
Graduation Handprint Keepsake with Poem



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© 2013 www.craftsandartforchildren.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved.

Teacher Appreciation or End of the School Year Gift

Here is a cute, inexpensive idea for a Teacher Appreciation gift. Since my son's last day of preschool happened to be during Teacher Appreciation Week, it also double as an End of the School Year Thank You Gift. It's a mixture of school supplies, items just for them to enjoy, and personalized items.

1. The mini crate is from Dollar Tree. I placed a folded piece of tissue paper on the bottom so that the items wouldn't fall through. I found cute ribbon to wrap around it making it look more decorative, as well as a flower. I stuck the flower on with paperclips so that the ribbon and flower could be taken off incase she planned to use the crate to store toys in for the classroom.
2. Also from Dollar Tree, I picked up a nice-smelling hand soap and embellished it with a pink ribbon.
3. Since ECE teachers tend to use a lot of stickers, I also grabbed a pad from the dollar store to place in the gift basket.
4. The last item from the Dollar store I scooped up was a pretty pink notebook. I helped my son personalize it with a handprint and a cute teacher saying. Get the Handprint Notebook instructions here.
5. I found the sweetest candybar wrapper that I printed for free from Nothing but County. It reads "It's so sweet having you as a teacher!" On the back there is even cute ingredients listed. It's wrapped around a Hershey's candybar with the end taped.
6. Another cute printable I found for free was a "2 Nice 2 be 4 gotten" gift tag that I used on a box of crayons instead.
7. My little guy colored a "I love my teacher because....." printable from Giver's Log. He told me what to write for the question sections. The dotted apple circle he glued on for his teacher ribbon is from Dimple Prints.
8. I meant go find a printable for the Sparkling Lemon Water, but decided to skip it since my printer was acting goofy and making everything come out with lines on it.
9. Using 3 glue sticks, I wrapped a ribbon around them and also placed them in the gift basket. I happened to already have them on hand.
10. The instructions for the "Thank you for Bee-ing my Teacher!" can be found here.
11. The scratch art keychains are from GummyLump.com My son drew a picture of himself on one side and used a stencil to scratch a flower on the other side.

Check out the precious flower drawing my little guy also made for Teacher Day!

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