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{ Printable Hyena Craft }

Kimberly — Fri, 24 May 2013 00:00:13 +0000

Hyenas are an African animal that look similar to a large dog. The most common type of hyena is the Spotted Hyena. Hyena cubs are born with black hair, which eventually lighten ups and turns spotted. Lorelai has always been fascinated with hyenas because of the Lion King. These cackling animals have very strong jaws and live in clans.

Facts About Hyenas:

Spotted hyenas are omnivores; they eat both meat and plants.
They cackle when they catch their prey. They do this to let other hyenas know that they have food to share. It also attracts larger prey (ie: lions) that will fight them for the food.
The spotted hyena clans are led by females.
Hyenas like to take mud baths!
Hyena mothers give birth to twins in a shallow hole in their den.
Hyenas can run for miles without getting tired.
You can learn more about hyenas here.

A Great Documentary About Hyenas:
*Note: This documentary shows all aspects of hyenas, including hunting, etc. Parts might be a bit disturbing to sensitive children. Please pre-watch before showing young children!! The very beginning has hyenas doing their laugh/cackle.

(Source)

Hyena Books:

* Sorry for not giving a proper craft photo; we actually did this craft months and months ago. It got buried in my folders and I completely forgot to take a picture & blog it.

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{ Cupcake Liner Butterfly Craft }

Kimberly — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:00:23 +0000

I’m proud to announce that this craft was 100% thought up by Lorelai, my butterfly-obsessed, five-year-old daughter. The other day, when we were waiting for the Coffee Filter Butterfly to dry, she ran inside to the craft cabinet, dug around for a minute, and came back for the materials for this one. She proudly showed me the cupcake liners and demonstrated how to pinch them in the middle (just as we had done for the coffee filter butterfly), and then proceeded to glue down the popsicle stick. I was amazed! She’s such a little craft bug that I probably shouldn’t have been so astonished. We ended up making a whole flock of butterflies (at least 12) together. They all turned out so cute!

Materials are listed in the photograph above.

Directions:

Take a cupcake liner and flatten it out. Using your pointer and thumb, gently pinch the cupcake liner in the middle (towards the top and bottom). Pinch the center together.
Once the center is pinched, gently use your other fingers to fan and smooth out the cupcake liner (the “wings”) on both sides.
Quickly glue the pinched center, and press a miniature popsicle-stick into the glue
Keep an eye on the popsicle stick – ours tried to come off of the glue a little… just press down again and hold for a few seconds.
Once set, draw on eyes, a smile and antennas (optional)
You can decorate the wings with glitter or glitter glue for extra cuteness!
If you want to do something extra, you can cut out construction paper antennas. My daughter was happy with the short ones we drew onto the popsicle sticks.

That’s it! I hope you can do this fun craft with your little one. Leave us a note in the comments below if you get a chance – I know Lorelai would love to hear your thoughts on *HER* craft. =)

Some of the recent butterfly crafts we have done include this beautiful Monarch Butterfly, this Painted Lady butterfly, a cute Paper Roll Butterfly, a Handprint Butterfly, a GIANT Printable Butterfly, and a Popsicle Stick Butterfly.

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{ Coffee Filter Butterfly Craft }

Kimberly — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:00:54 +0000

Butterflies and butterfly crafts have been the number one request from my 5.5 year-old lately. Some of the recent butterfly crafts we have done include this beautiful Monarch Butterfly, this Painted Lady butterfly, a cute Paper Roll Butterfly, a Handprint Butterfly, a GIANT Printable Butterfly, and a Popsicle Stick Butterfly. Okay, that’s more than a few, but they are all cute and really simple to do!

We recently did a coffee filter butterfly craft at our local library’s story time… Lorelai loved it, and requested we do another one. We used paint dabbers this time and it came out great! Directions are at the bottom of this post…. enjoy!

Materials are listed in the photograph above.

Directions:

Using the paint dabbers (or markers), have your child decorate a flattened coffee filter.
Once s/he is done, have then use a spray bottle to lightly mist the coffee filter. The paint/markers should start to blend together. *Note: don’t spray too much water or let your child play with the coffee filter, as they are very fragile when wet.
Set aside and allow your coffee filter to dry.
While that is drying, cut out the antennas from the construction paper and glue down. (Note: you can use pipe cleaners for this – just wrap them around the clothespin!)
Glue on the small googly eyes.
When the coffee filter is finished drying, pinch from top to bottom until the middle is completely scrunched up.
Clip your clothespin to the scrunched coffee filter.
Next, you’re going to adjust the wings. Use your fingers to smooth it out some so that the coffee filter resembles wings.
You’re done!

Other Things to Consider:

If you don’t have coffee filters, you can use large paper towels cut into circles (trace a bowl!).
You can tie fishing line to your butterfly and hang it from the ceiling – a great way to display them!

Books About Butterflies:

I hope you get the chance to do this classic butterfly craft with your child! It’s so simple and always comes out so beautifully!

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{ Paper Bag Craft: Eagle Puppet }

Kimberly — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:00:15 +0000

Bald eagles are one of my favorite kinds of birds, and not just because I’m American. I grew up living near a farm that’s home to a family of eagles. Every winter, my dad, little brother, and I would walk across the icy swamp to check out the eagles’ nest. Every once in a while, we would also park the four-wheelers on a big hill and watch them fly back to their nest, and we would occasionally find a feather laying in the field; an exciting discovery! Eagles were such a common occurrence on the farm that it makes me sad to know there are people who have never seen one in real life. They really are very beautiful.

With Memorial Day and the 4th of July coming up here in America, Lorelai and I crafted this cute paper bag eagle puppet. I know we have done quite a few paper bag puppets lately, but that’s only because they are really easy and fun to craft… and of course, they always turn out great! We’ve recently crafted an owl, giraffe, and a puppy dog.

We have also done a bunch of eagle crafts! Check them out: Printable Bald Eagle Craft, Handprint Bald Eagle, Paper Roll Bald Eagle

What You’ll Need:
1 Brown Paper Bag
White, Orange, & Brown Construction Paper
Black Marker
Scissors
Glue Stick

Directions

First, trace the top flap of the brown paper bag onto the white construction paper. You’ll need a rectangle of white for the head part of the eagle. Cut out.
Draw circles for the eyes and then color in the black circles inside. You can skip this and use googly eyes – I didn’t have any that were big enough!
On your orange construction paper, draw the beak and the feet to look like those in the picture above. Cut out and set aside.
Next, draw the wings onto your brown construction paper. I actually used two pieces of brown construction paper…. I layered them together, then only cut once. It was a lot easier and the wings came out symmetrical.
Next, cut out the feather tuft for the top of your eagle’s head.
Glue everything down! You’re done!
I know, the directions are a little silly… this craft is so easy and pretty much self explanatory. You really can’t go wrong!

Books About Bald Eagles:

I hope you get a chance to craft a paper bag eagle with your little one(s)! It would be a great patriotic summer craft!

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{ Paper Plate Jellyfish Craft }

Kimberly — Sun, 19 May 2013 21:27:08 +0000

Need an easy, fun, and ADORABLE craft? This is it! The pictures I took really don’t do this paper plate jellyfish craft any justice. It’s actually really, really cute! The process itself is also very simple. Lorelai practically did it all by herself. Directions are below… enjoy!

Here are some other jellyfish crafts we’ve done: Printable Jellyfish Craft & Jellyfish in a Bottle

What You’ll Need:
Paper Plate (cut in half)
Paint
Scissors
Party Streamers (cut in half length-wise so they aren’t too thick), or ribbons
Googly Eyes
Glue/Tape
String (optional)

What to Do:

Once your paper plate is cut in half, have your child paint his/her jellyfish. I gave Lorelai two colors (pink and glittery yellow) and let her go to town on it. Set it aside and allow it to dry while you do the next step.
If you are using party streamers, it’s best to cut them in half length-wise. I just took a strip and folded it (gently – don’t press the folds down) and cut that way… it only took a minute or so.
Once your paper plate is dry, glue or tape the party streamers to the back.
Glue on the googly eyes.
Draw on a mouth (optional).
To hang your jellyfish, make a small hole towards the top of the jellyfish’s head. I strung a piece of white string through so that we could hang her jellyfish in Lorelai’s room. It looks really neat when the fan hits it, and it drives the cats bonkers! =)

Books About Jellyfish:

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{ Printable Craft: Mexican Folk Art Sun }

Kimberly — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:00:11 +0000

We have been browsing the internet for Mexican folk art lately, as a nod to our Around the World series. I love the vibrant colors and patterns of traditional Mexican art, and decided to introduce it to Lorelai via this craft. There’s a local shop here that sells authentic Mexican art in this style, but unfortunately the hours are really weird and we won’t be able to visit until after our vacation. So we made do with internet and google images. =)

Lorelai decided to make her sun vibrant and full of patterns. I think it turned out really nice. The sun on the printable is almost connected, so it could double as just a coloring sheet if you don’t want to hassle with scissors. We decided to cut it out and glue it down onto a piece of construction paper. Print below!

Open & Print Sun Craft

Books on Mexican Art:

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{ Printable Craft: Day of the Dead Skull }

Kimberly — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:00:19 +0000

Day of the Dead, or Día de Muertos, is a Mexican holiday that is celebrated on November 1st and 2nd. It’s a holiday that honors and brings remembrance to loved ones who have passed. Family members build alters with pictures, candles, and flowers for their loved ones, clean their grave sites, and celebrate the lives they had. They pass out sugar skulls, which is the inspiration for this craft.

I made this printable Day of the Dead skull to open up the conversation about this popular and widely-celebrated Mexican holiday. It was a great addition to our Around the World series! While Lorelai painted, I told her about the holiday and what goes on then. She really enjoyed making the “pretty skull”. =) Read more about Day of the Dead here.

There are two version available – a skull with the outline decorations, and a blank one with only the eyes, nose, and mouth. Print below and happy crafting!

Open & Print Day of the Dead Skull - with Design

Open & Print Day of the Dead Skull - Blank

Books:

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{ Paper Bag Puppy Dog Craft }

Kimberly — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:00:21 +0000

Good morning! Today I’m posting about dogs, or more specifically, a brown paper bag dog puppet craft. That’s a mouthful. =) My animal-obsessed, future veterinarian recently requested another dog craft. We have been on a puppet kick lately, so this really was the perfect craft for her. Paper bag puppets are classic and are always super easy to do. Check out our owl and giraffe from last week! The instructions for this cute puppy dog are at the bottom of this post.

Other Dog Crafts:
- Bloodhound Craft *printable*
- Heart Dog *printable*
- Mini Puppets *printable*

Dog Books for Kids:

Craft Directions

Materials You’ll Need:
Brown Paper Lunch Bag
Construction Paper – brown, white, and blue (colors can be changed up!)
Scissors
Marker
Glue Stick
What To Do:

On your brown construction paper, draw all of the parts for the dog – the legs, muzzle (oval), tail and ears. Cut out and set aside.
On your white construction paper, draw the large oval for the belly, and the eyes. (Note: for the eyes, I just drew in the center circles with my marker. You could use black construction paper or just googly eyes as an alternative.) Cut out and set aside.
On your blue construction paper, draw the rectangle collar. Cut out and set aside.
Mock assemble your dog.
Next, glue everything down!
This is seriously so easy, I don’t think instructions are even necessary. I just like to put them up to be thorough. =)

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{ Mexican Sarape / Poncho Craft }

Kimberly — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:55:14 +0000

I have been slacking a bit with our Around the World series as of late. Believe it or not, it’s not easy to pick different parts of a culture and present it into a fun activity… especially if you’ve been completely ignorant of said culture up until now! I really want our studies to be authentic and involved. My husband reminded me a couple of days ago that I’m teaching a five-year-old, and to just touch on the basics and keep it simple. I’m trying! =)

I’ve had this sarape/poncho craft idea in my head for a while now. Unfortunately, our grocery store only had medium-small brown grocery bags, so I had to make do. Instead of doing the blanket type sarape that wraps around her like a shaw, we did a sarape poncho hybrid — those actually exist! It turned out really cute (if a bit small) and was really easy to do.

Materials:
Paper Grocery Bag
Scissors
Stapler
Paint

What to do:

Lay your paper grocery bag flat on the table. Cut around the outside of it, snipping off the folds. See picture above for an example.
Keep only the front and back of the bag and discard the rest. Note: You might have to cut the back piece down to be the same size as the front. The bottom fold of the bag on ours made it extra long. Just trim it down!
Cut the neck hole by layering the two sections together. Test it on your child’s head to make sure it’s big enough.
Next, staple area where the two bags meet at the shoulder.
Last, decorate!! We just used red, green, and yellow paint. Check out this sarape store for pattern ideas!
Allow to dry, then wear!

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{ Printable Craft: Painted Lady Butterfly }

Kimberly — Fri, 10 May 2013 15:00:44 +0000

As we learned while crafting the monarch butterfly, the painted lady also migrates to Mexico for the winter. We have had a lot of interaction with painted lady butterflies as of late. Lorelai’s teacher brought in caterpillars and the class got to watch them go from caterpillar, to chrysalis, to butterfly. The children’s librarian at our favorite library also had a netted enclosure and displayed it so the children could watch the life cycle. (Check out my printable butterfly life cycle worksheet!) After story time one day, they took the butterflies outside and the kids got to release them. It was really neat!

As with the monarch butterfly’s printable, this one has the black areas on the wing colored in. After painting the orange sections, Lore went back and dabbed & blended in some round on the inside areas of the wings. A tip when gluing the craft together: glue the wings together first by slightly overlapping them at the center.. they are way too big and heavy to be glued separately to the body part. Print below!

Open & Print Painted Butterfly Craft

Fun Facts About Painted Lady Butterflies:
Painted lady eggs are pale green.
Adult painted ladies sip sweet thistle and clover nectar.
They may be the most widespread butterfly on earth! They are found in North & South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa!
Adults only live around 2 weeks.

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{ Paper Bag Giraffe Craft }

Kimberly — Thu, 09 May 2013 21:54:48 +0000

Paper bag animal puppets are incredibly simple to make and result in lots of giggles and fun puppet play. We did a paper bag owl puppet a couple of days ago (posted yesterday), and decided to do this giraffe today. This one is a bit more involved, as you have to cut out the yellow construction paper to fit the front of the bag, but it’s simple enough to still be worth crafting! It has been a while since we crafted a giraffe; here were the others – printable giraffe | handprint giraffe & giraffe worksheet

Materials We Used:

Brown Paper Bag
Construction Paper – yellow, orange, brown, white
Scissors
Glue
Marker/Pencil

Directions:

Layer your sheet of yellow construction paper over the paper bag and cut it to size. I cut into two pieces; one on the top flap, and one on the bottom part that extended up into the “mouth” area under the flap. Cut out and glue down.
Draw the following shapes on your Orange Construction Paper – Ears, ossicones (horns), muzzle – then cut out.
Draw the following shapes on your brown construction paper – spots (4), hair tuft – then cut out.
Draw the eyes on your white paper. I colored in the black parts with the marker. Cut out.
Next, glue everything down.
That’s it! See? I told you it’s simple. =)

Alternate:
Instead of cutting out yellow construction paper, use paint! It won’t be as dark, but I bet it would be just as cute!

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{ Printable Fairy Craft }

Kimberly — Thu, 09 May 2013 15:26:43 +0000

Fairies are a household favorite right now; Lorelai is constantly drawing pictures of fairies, watching Tinkerbell, and pretending that she is one! You’ve got to love the imagination of a five-year-old. =) She asked me for another fairy craft and this is the one I came up with. A while ago, we did this printable Ballerina Fairy Craft that was a huge hit. We also did a few other magical creatures that she loved ~ Unicorn, Mermaid, Griffin and Bigfoot. Also, every fairy needs a Toadstool! =) Print this new Fairy Craft below!

Open & Print Fairy Craft

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{ Paper Bag Owl Puppet Craft }

Kimberly — Wed, 08 May 2013 15:00:39 +0000

Owls have always been a favorite of ours, both to craft and look at. A local park has an enclosure building with all kinds of injured birds that can no longer protect themselves in the wild, including a bunch of owls. We go there often to play and we make sure to stop to see the owls every time. I have an owl app on my phone that has real-life owl calls (it’s called Audubon Owls, in case you’re interested). I’ve played calls to the Barred Owls in the enclosure and they always get excited and hoot back at us. So exciting!

Making a paper bag owl puppet was a nice change of pace, and Lorelai really enjoyed getting to play with the puppet afterward. The directions are really straight forward, but I’ll write it out to be thorough. =)

What You’ll Need:
Brown Paper Bag/Lunch sack
Construction Paper – white, black, brown (x2), yellow
Marker
Scissors
Glue Stick

What to Do:

On your brown paper, draw the wings, large triangle for the head part, and the belly oval. Cut out. Tip: For the wings, I just drew one wing, then layered the two pieces of brown paper together and cut out that way. I wanted the wings to be symmetrical.
Draw the beak on the yellow paper. Cut out.
Draw the eyes on the white paper. Cut out. (You can cut out black circles from the black paper if you want… I just colored in the inside of the eyes with my marker.)
Draw the feet on the black paper. Cut out.
Now just glue everything down onto your paper bag!
Last, have your child draw the squiggles on the owl’s belly!

Extra: Have feathers? Let your child decorate his/her owl paper bag puppet with those!

I hope you get a chance to make a paper bag owl puppet with your child. I’m sure he/she will love it!

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{ Printable Pretend Play Set: Restaurant }

Kimberly — Tue, 07 May 2013 17:49:34 +0000

Pretend play is my five-year-old’s favorite way to play. Ever since I made the Pet Adoption & Vet Clinic Pretend Play printable sheets, she has requested again and again for more. I finally got around to making this Restaurant set last night, with her glued to my side and making suggestions here and there. There are two versions of the main Restarurant Menu; one is empty and one is full of general, kid-friendly foods that Lorelai helped me pick out. You could always print out (or clip from a magazine!) pictures of food and add them that way. There is also a sheet for a standard “receipt”. Nothing fancy… just fun!!

Lorelai and I made “food” with her play dough and we took turns being the server/chef. We play this all of the time anyway, but it really was neat to have the printable there! I was initially going to laminate the sheets like I did with the Pet Adoption sheets, but I couldn’t find the pouches. I pulled out a standard sheet protector (like the kind you would put in a binder) and it worked great!! It was actually a LOT easier to erase the marker on the sheet protector than on laminate. I will definitely be faux-laminating our printables from now on. =)

Well, there you have it! Another fun pretend play printable set to play with! Print below and enjoy!

Open & Print Pretend Play Restaurant Menu - with menu items

Open & Print Pretend Play Restaurant Menu - without menu items

Open & Print Pretend Play Restaurant Receipt

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{ Printable Craft: Nurse }

Kimberly — Tue, 07 May 2013 01:16:10 +0000

It’s National Nurse Week! I don’t know about you all, but I know some pretty awesome nurses and nurses-in-training. I thought it would be fun to do an nurse craft since we haven’t yet, and I was right! Lorelai did this one almost 100% by herself; I did help cut out the head. The rest of it (including the gluing down of the pieces) was done by her. She’s really proud of it! She decided at the end that the nurse needed some eyelashes…. and boy did she give her some! =)

The printable comes with both female and male heads; it was easier to put two heads on one printable, then do two separate printables. As always, print below and enjoy!

Open & Print Nurse Craft

Other Relevant Crafts: Ambulance Craft, Police Officer Craft, Firefighter Craft

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