Monster Crafts

It's crafting time!

Here are a couple of cute monster crafts you can do at your next monster party (sorry the monster mural picture isn't the best). Also, see my last post "Pin the eye on the monster" game. I don't know why I didn't do them together, oh well.

When we do monster storytime at the library, most of the time we pull out the butcher paper and draw all sorts of large not-to-scary monsters and after storytime we let the kids color or paint the mural. The kids love doing this and love it even more when they come to the library the next time and see their mural hanging up for all to see. 

We've never had to worry about the kids not wanting to share their monster since they are so big. We put the mural on the floor and line the kids up on either side of it and let them have at it! 

If you want to do a craft that each child can take home with them then choose the monster mask. Just google free monster coloring sheets and find the monster face you want. Enlarge it to face size, cut it out, have kids color, add wiggle eyes and yarn for hair, and glue or tape to a Popsicle stick. 

If you want a mask they can wear just cut the eye holes out and hole punch each side of mask, then run yarn from each hole, measure to childs head and tie off. Presto!

A few great books to read at your monster party would be Go away, big green monster!  by Ed Emberley, How to potty train your monster by Kelly DiPucchio ; illustrated by Mike Moon, and Leonardo the terrible monster [text and illustrations by] Mo Willems.

Have a smashing monster party!

lil_jill

Pin the eye on the monster

It's crafting time!

Made this cute monster game and wanted to share it. I got the idea from a pinterest post. To find that post follow me on pinterest (lil_jill or just search Jill Henson) and look at my preschool board.

• Draw a picture of a monster on a poster board and title the poster.
• Paint or color monster (A friend of mine painted this one for me. Thanks MJ you're the best!)
• Laminate the poster. You ask your local preschool, learning oasis, or library if you can borrow their lamination machine or just go to hobby lobby and buy a roll of contact laminate paper. 
• Draw, color, and cut out several large eyeballs and laminate them.
• On the backside of the poster (sorry there is no picture of this) tape a gallon size zip-lock bag to hold the eyeballs and roll of tape you'll use to "pin" the eyes on. (Of course only tape the sides and bottom of the zip-lock so you can open and close the zipper part to put eyes in or out.)

Easy to do game that will be a hit at your next monster party! Of course it doesn't have to be a monster. Do a pin the trunk on the elephant, nose on the bear, stinger on the bee, and so on and so on.

Thanks for stopping by!

lil_jill

Melted Crayon Art

It's crafting time!

This is a project to do with tweens and teens, not pre-schoolers as you have to use a hot glue gun.
  
Okay in this project instead of using a hair dryer to melt the crayons I ran the crayons through a small, low temp, hot glue gun. As you can see it turned out great! I do suggest you get the glue gun that takes the fully rounded glue sticks and not the glue sticks that are flat on one side. If you have the flat kind the crayons wont fit well and pulls back out when you let go of the trigger instead of advancing further into the gun.

• First I cut a good size piece of canvas off the roll and pinned to a peg board. 
• Next I picked out the color of crayons I wanted to use and peeled the paper off of them. 
• I started with blue and held the glue gun up to the top of the canvas, pulled the trigger, and let the melted crayon run down as far as it would. 
• (For really long strands hold the gun to the canvas and pull the trigger in the same place a couple of times, one after the other, before the first strand can dry.)
•  (For drips or short strands hold the gun away from the canvas and pull the trigger just a little bit letting it fall to the canvas.
• I alternated my favorite colors of blue, purple, and green, of course.
• I left the bottom center portion clear until I could decide what to put there and just made the "rain" cover the rest of the canvas.
• When I decided what I wanted to put in the clearing I just drew an outline on the canvas then colored it in with black sharpie. 
• I went with a simple silhouette of a little girl holding an umbrella. (I did not free hand draw this, I printed out a picture a picture little girl and a picture of an umbrella, cut them out, taped them on the canvas just so, and traced them.) 
• After coloring the silhouette, I taped the little girl back on top of her silhouette so I wouldn't drip crayon on her by mistake (she is under an umbrella after all.).
• I then added more 'rain drops' to the top of the umbrella and even under the umbrella. I did this because while, yes, under the umbrella is dry behind the umbrella is not and you can always see behind the person holding the umbrella so...

In the Pictures, you can't really see the colors I used since they were darker but you can tell on the actual art work. Using lighter colors would make it possible to see in photos also.

Thanks for looking!

lil_jill

Owl

It's crafting time!

 

Simple fun owl craft.

What I used:

Blue Paint

Construction Paper

Card Stock Paper

Star Stickers

Foam

• First cut the simple owl shape out of the card stock paper color of your choice.
• Glue owl shape to construction paper.
• Cut out and glue two circles for the eyes.
• Add pupils to the eyes. (I used foam circles from a hole puncher)
• Cut out and glue a beak and feet to owl.
• Cover hand with paint (use a tray/plate of paint and dip palm of hand in or paint hand with paint brush).
• Add paint hand print to owl for its wing.
• Repeat with other hand.
• Add star stickers to background.

Some great Owl story books to read are, Little Owl lost by Chris Haughton, Cock-a-doodle-hooooooo! by Mick Manning ; Brita Granström, and Good-night, owl! by Pat Hutchins.

Happy Crafting!

lil_jill

Circus Theme Storytime

It's Crafting Time!

This is a cute and easy clown craft. 

What I Used:

Paper Plate
Yarn
Markers
Glue
Popsicle Stick

Water Balloon

Ribbon

Wiggle Eyes

Artificial Flower

• Draw a clown face on the paper plate. (For the eyes you can draw them or use wiggle eyes. I love the sticker wiggle eyes!)
• Glue on yarn for hair (the crazier the better).
• Add a small balloon (I used a water balloon) for the nose. To attach the nose I poked a small hole through the paper plate and slid the balloon knot through it.
• Glue the clown plate to a large Popsicle stick.
• Add a ribbon to the stick.
• Add ribbon or flowers to female clowns hair. 

Great Books for this storytime are Circus by Lois Ehlert, Sidewalk circus / presented by Paul Fleischman and Kevin Hawkes, Last night I dreamed a circus by Maya Gottfried ; paintings by Robert Rahway Zakanitch, Circus parade by Harriet Ziefert ; pictures by Tanya Roitman, and The circus is coming : a picture parade by Hilary Knight.

Happy Crafting!

lil_jill

Lion craft

 

I have tried to search for where I found this craft and can't find it so i don't have a link to share.

• You can take pretty much any picture of a lion, cut about an inch or so circle around the face. 
• Cut out two legs and the tail. 
• Have kids color all lion parts.
• Have the kids cut slips all the way around the head like I've done. (Yes having preschoolers with scissors can be scary but it is good for them. It helps build the skills they need for writing.) 
• Take the head and glue on the bottom side of a small paper plate. (The raised side.)
•  Take the tail and two legs and glue to the opposite side of the plate of the head.
• You could also add yarn around the lions head for a more 3D effect.

This is a cute craft for lion storytime or circus storytime. When having lion ST I read the books Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen, We're going on a lion hunt by Margery Cuyler, and If I were a jungle animal by Amanda Ellery. Also good, would be a version of The Lion and the Mouse.

I will share some great circus books on the circus theme blog.

Keep up the crafting!

lil_jill