Potato stamping

As part of Lucian's feeding therapy I've been trying to incorporate foods into our projects. Getting him to touch foods in a non-threatening way is a step to maybe one day getting him to try them. Our Easter project today then, was stamping with potatoes carved to look like Easter eggs.

First, I attempted to carve 6 potato halves to look like Easter designs. They are nowhere near perfect, but they worked. I stamped each egg first to make sure they worked, and then we passed small paper plates around (each had one potato half and the color of washable paint assigned to it). 

Sutton usually has limited patience for art projects, but she really enjoyed this one. Even after the other kids had left the table she used some of the potatoes again to fill up her piece of paper. 

Now my artwork display area is looking very Easter like! 

Easter baskets

It's spring break week here, so I have an extra daycare kid (age 5). Today I had the four kids paint or color an Easter basket from a template I printed out from here.

Then, they used their fingers to fill their baskets with dots (eggs), and color in the bows. Some got quite messy, like Sutton's. She said her eggs exploded. :)

Two of the books we read today are 2 of my favorite Easter books. 

You can get both from Amazon. Happy Easter, Mouse! (If You Give...) by Laura Numeroff, and 10 Easter Egg Hunters: A Holiday Counting Book by Janet Schulman. Both are easy to read, and hold the attention of young children.

Easter racers

While our friends were visiting today we tried making the Easter racers I kept seeing on Pinterest. Working with little marshmallows instead of the big ones they recommend made the wheels a bit funny, but the kids had fun.

You will need:

Twinkies

Marshmallow bunnies (Peeps)

Large marshmallows cut in half (or small ones like we did)

M&ms

pretzels

And frosting for "glue"

First, cut a small rectangle at the top of each Twinkie about 2/3 of the way from one end. Place a marshmallow bunny and pretzel (steering wheel) in the hole you created. Eat the Twinkie piece you cut out. 

Next use frosting to hold the marshmallow wheels on. Then frost one side of each m&ms to place on the wheels. Quick, take a picture before someone eats them! Ours didn't turn out "Pinterest Perfect," but the kids had fun making them (and eating various parts), so that's all that matters.

Marshmallow bunnies

Easter is Sunday, so our books and projects will be Easter themed this week.

This morning we used a bunny template and glued marshmallows all around it. You can use any template you like (or draw your own), but I chose this one.

I put glue around each bunny and the kids placed their marshmallows.

These take a while to dry, so we will leave them sit a few hours before hanging them up. 

Two of my former daycare kids are visiting today during spring break,  so we have a snack time project planned, and will play Easter bingo also. 

St. Patrick's Day Shape Worksheet and Leprechaun pranks

All 3 kids did a shape worksheet. It took me much longer to cut their shapes for them than it did for them to glue their shapes on! Even the newly turned two year old did this worksheet and was able to name all the shapes except one.

This morning when the kids woke up, they discovered that the dining room chairs were on top of the table and that four gold (chocolate) coins had been hidden for each of them. 

They enjoyed the St. Patrick's day fun and are hoping to see a "real leprechaun" now. 

Straw painted shamrocks...or not

Our project today did not go as planned. I gave the kids shamrock templates and wanted them to dip straws in paint to fill in the shamrock. It didn't take long and they decided they wanted to use their hands or brushes instead.

With help, the newly turned two year old made hers with the straw.

Sutton eventually used her entire hand.

Lucian opted for a mess-free brush.

Leprechaun handprint

I've been trying to explain leprechauns to my kids this week. They know about fairies and elves, so I think they understand leprechauns are part of that magical world. Today's project was to make leprechaun handprint art.

First, I painted each kids hands tan and brown. After they stamped their hand on the paper I painted a bit of brown hair on top. When they dried a bit I added a green hat, and the kids glued eyes on. 

After they finished drying, I used a Sharpie to draw in a mouth and nose. Then I used scraps of construction paper to make a band for the hat.