We made paper plate ladybugs this week and they turned out super cute. We did this project over a two day period to make sure we had enough time for the paint to dry.

To make the lady you will need red paint ... glue ... scissors ... black construction paper ... wiggles eyes ... and paper plates. We used the thicker chinette brand for our paper plates.

The first step is to paint the back of the paper plates red. You can do this by using a paint and paint brush or a paint dauber. After we painted the plates we let them dry for the rest of the day.

We cut head shapes out of black construction paper and glued them on to the bottom of the paper plates.

The next step was to glue wiggle eyes on the heads. If you do not have wiggle eyes a different color of construction paper such as yellow or blue cut into small circles will work fine.

We cut circle shapes out of black construction paper and glue them on to the painted paper plate. You can put as many or as little spots on the ladybugs as you want.

We cut black construction paper into 3-4 inch lengths and folded them back and forth (accordion style) for the legs.  We glued three on each side of the paper plate.

We hung our ladybugs up around the room.  The children got lots of fine motor practice through the use of scissors and gluing pieces together.

You can see a video of this project below:

This is one of our favorite shamrock projects to make! I printed the shamrock pattern on cardstock paper and traced around it on a piece of green cardstock paper. After the shamrock was cut out the children applied glue drops and pressed sequins on the glue. For easier use of the glue I put glue into small cups and children dip a q-tip in and then dot the glue onto the shamrock.

You can see a video of this project by clicking here or below:

I made a shamrock tiny dot pattern to help work on fine motor skills. The children really loved this activity!! We did the pattern with the word tracing on it but I also made the pattern without.

I printed the pattern on cardstock paper but you can also use regular paper.  I put a little bit of green paint in a small container and set out q-tips.  I used the name brand instead of a generic one as I felt they were more sturdy.

Children dipped the q-tip in green paint and then pressed it inside the blank circles.  If you did not want to use q-tips you can also use the bottom of a paint brush or pencil to dip in the paint.  The patterns can also be filled in with markers or colored pencils.

We sprinkled gold glitter on the shamrock while the paint was still wet to give it some extra sparkle. 

shamrock tiny dots pattern

We made tissue paper hearts which is a really great craft project for working on fine motor and scissor skills.  You will need the heart pattern ... tissue paper ... scissors ... glue ... and sequins.

The first step is to print the pattern on cardstock paper and cut it out. Next cut or tear tissue paper into small squares.  Apply glue drops to the inside of the heart and press on the tissue paper squares.

If some of the tissue paper hangs over the heart you can cut off the extra. The last part is to apply glue drops on the tissue paper and press on the sequins. You do not have to add sequins but they are wonderful for fine motor development and also add a nice sparkle to the hearts.
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During the first week of school we make "all about me" books and read them at circle time so the children can get to know each other a bit better. 

The book includes the following pages:

cover page - child colors person to look like them

my name Is - write and decorate name

this Is my picture - glue picture of child

this Is my handprint - trace around and color or paint and press

my favorite colors - color in the three circles

I know these letters - cut and glue letters child can identify

I know these numbers - cut and glue numbers child can identify

I know these shapes -cut and glue shapes child can identify

I know these colors - cut and glue colors child can identify

this Is my family - draw and color a picture of family

my favorite foods - cut and glue images (magazine or internet search)

my favorite animals -  cut and glue images (magazine or internet search)

You do not need to complete all of the pages of the book especially with younger children.  I intentionally left out a page for the child's phone number as well as an address page to protect the child's identity in case the book gets lost. You can grab the book pattern below:

all about me book

I am so excited to announce my color clip cards download is now available in the download store!!  There are 51 sets of color clip cards designed to work on color recognition and fine motor development.  Each set comes in b&w as well as color and with two color level choices for printing. 

Simply print the color clips on cardstock paper ... cut them out and laminate. Children clip the correct color on each card with a clothespin or paper clip.

To learn more please visit the color clip cards information page.
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