Craft Ideas Archives - Page 3 of 5

4 Reasons Crafts Are Important In Kindergarten

August 27, 2021 teachersbrain Craft Ideas, kindergarten survival, Teaching Tips

Crafts are powerful tools for developing skills needed in reading and writing. Some think crafts are “fluff” or “busy work.” Continued research supports the value of crafts for young students.

Here Are 4 Reasons Crafts Are Important In Kindergarten

Fine Motor Skills.

Students at this age are still developing their fine motor skills. They are also still working on hand-eye coordination. Doing crafts in the classroom is fun and can help students work on these important skills as they cut shapes, glue, and put things together.

They teach colors, shapes, letter recognition, and formation.

These are skills students will use every day of their lives so it is important for them to get plenty of practice in new and exciting ways. Creating something new can help get students the practice they need without them even realizing they are learning.

Engagement.

I don’t know any younger students who don’t love crafts. Its a hands-on activity where they get to use their creativity to make something that they can show to their parents. It’s so fun! This is a great way to get students truly engaged in learning.

Listening and following directions.

Many kindergarten students are having their first ever experience in a school setting. Things like listening and following directions are not always concepts they understand yet. Doing these activities are a fun way to practice listening and following directions to create something exciting.

Crafts are a fun addition to any lesson. Working on letters? Try out some alphabet crafts! Reading a new story? Do a craft to go along with it! Learning about community helpers? Make some police hat crafts! The opportunities are endless.

Aside from the benefits listed above, these activities are a great way to add some variety to your lessons and prevent students from burning out while doing traditional worksheets.

Looking for more kindergarten tips? Check out my tips for teaching alphabet writing and identification.

School Holiday Door Decorating for Christmas Ideas

December 8, 2020 teachersbrain Classroom Decor, Craft Ideas, Teacher's Pay Teachers, Teaching Tips

Our school asked us to decorate our door every year for the holidays. For teachers, the holidays is not the time to usually ask us to do “extra” projects even if we enjoy the task. It does make the school look festive though. To make it a little fun, the administration usually makes it into a contest so we can win gift cards for holiday shopping. Here are a few holiday door decoration ideas!

Holiday Door and Display Decorations

Christmas Bulletin Board — by The Homeschool Style – Katie Ring

Let it Snow Door Decoration — by Teacher’s Brain – Cindy Martin

Christmas Decoration Bulletin Board — by Allie P’s Practical Preschool

Snoopy Door Decoration — By Tammy Cleghorn “The kids loved that the lights actually lit up!”

Elfie Picture Holiday Door — by Instagram @misschloe91

If you haven’t seen Joey Udovich’s door designs, you are missing out! She has a ton of them for the whole year in her TpT store. Here is an adorable holiday door design to Deck the Halls!

Winter Door Decoration — Don’t Have a Meltdown Keep Your Cool

Bear Cave Winter Door Decoration — by Debora Marines TeachMagically

Simple Door Christmas Decoration — By Lisa Taylor Teaching the Stars

Doing writing with winter toppers is great for window decorations too!

Holiday door decorations can be fun, but what about the windows? These reindeer want ads were my favorite window display activity I did every year for the holidays. Students learned about classified ads and practiced fine motor skills.

Find MORE Door Decorating Ideas HERE

Christmas Gift Ideas For Parents

November 27, 2020 teachersbrain Craft Ideas, Winter

Nothing says Christmas time like sweet handmade gifts from children. As a teacher, you probably want to help your students create gifts for their families in the classroom, but it can be difficult to find gifts that are useful and truly created by the kids.

Guided artwork activities can be a perfect way to make heartwarming gifts that are adorable keepsakes. Creating gifts with your students teaches them the value of giving instead of getting.

Here are some examples of creative gift ideas for parents that your elementary students can make:

Handmade ornaments for the tree
Painted flower pots or bowls
Handprint crafts
Pictures of your students with handmade frames
Handmade jewelry

Ideas abound for creative gifts kids can make, but some items can become clutter for families. The key is to find a gift that is useful and adorable!

One of my favorite gifts ideas for parents is the Fingerprint Art Calendar. There is also a Virtual Art Calendar Gift available now.

In creating the gift, students will learn math skills such as months, days of the week, and counting. They use their own fingerprints to create art for each calendar page, which families will love because it reminds parents of how small their children are.

For each month, a sample art activity is provided- or you can come up with your own. When you purchase the calendar activity, lifetime updates are included. So your family gift from your students is planned and ready forever!

Perhaps most importantly, this activity makes a useful gift that will keep a smile on their parents’ face all year long. It would be beautiful on the family fridge, or in a parent’s office. Families will be excited to receive this gift, and students will be excited to give a gift that they made with their own little fingers.

What are your favoriteChristmas gift ideas for parents? Let me know in the comments!

For more holiday activities, check out my post here!

Christmas Gift Craftivity or Bulletin Board for Kids

December 1, 2019 teachersbrain Classroom Decor, Craft Ideas, Teacher's Pay Teachers, Winter

Paper Bag Gift Book

Making gifts for parents in the classroom is something I always struggled with as a teacher until I started making gift waffle books. They make a great decoration for the bulletin board and then, you can send them home for student o give to a parent or loved one as a gift for the holidays.

Here are the directions:

You can even use wrapping paper on the front cover to make it look more like a gift with some fancy paper. Coupon books that promise rooms getting cleaned, massages or some other special action on the part of the student make a nice touch inside the gift bag book. There are 10 different pull books to choose from for the holidays, birthday or even a blank template for students to create their own.

Bulletin Board Set

Add a cute title the a bulletin board to create a cute display for the holidays. This helps serve two purposes… a display and a gift to send home! Parents love them and students enjoy creating the craft. Place decorative bows on top for an extra special touch.

Find the printables HERE.