There is no doubt about it: crafts are an undervalued part of the education process for young children. And yet SO important! Those little hands still need opportunities for hand-eye coordination and those little minds delight so much in the ability to create things. Using a craft to connect the dots between a letter/sound or a read-aloud story, take that learning to another level. So while the temptation is to put craft-making on the shelf, I'm trying to remember that it is an all important facet of the daily process.
Our latest Craft Packet tries to keep in mind the types of crafts that can be most easily implemented in the classroom, as well as keep them fun and entertaining for children. Not too difficult, but still challenging those little hands with using scissors, and working in letters when appropriate.
Above, in our Ant Craft, we use the Letter A to make the Ant's lower set of legs. Children draw in the letter A before gluing on pom-poms to form the body. It's a perfect follow-up to learning the song, "The Ant's Go Marching":
...or reading a favorite children's book about Ants.
In fact, here's my recommended children's book list for letter A, perfect for reading out loud and perfect for introducing apples, astronauts, ants and alligators to little ones!
Our Alligator Craft will challenge those small hands with extra cutting, but it is a very rewarding finished product to little people who still see paper creatures as a kind of new toy.
We love pairing this guy up with the story "Hooray for Amanda and her Alligator" by Mo Willems (see our Book list above).
Apple crafts are a dime a dozen, but we suggest having students poke a little hole in their apple that their finger can stick through. A little happy face drawn onto their "worm" finger will make their face light up with smiles.
There's no better way to follow up Nick and Sally meeting an Astronaut then to let children put themselves in space with the awesome photo craft.
All of our crafts are also available in black and white, so if you want them to practice coloring their crafts to make them truly their own, that possibility is there:
Feel free to look at our Letter A Craft Packet in more detail in our Store. This is a printable packet, requiring glue, tape, scissors, printing ability, and little else. You can check it out here today.
