It's December! Time to bring out the glitter and get working on some cute Christmas crafts with your kidlets! If you're anything like me, there's been the occasional project you've attempted with your class that has been, how do I say this nicely... a disaster. :) Today I wanted to share with you some easy crafts that I've personally done (successfully!) with my own students.
First up is this simple wreath:
The base of the wreath is a paper plate with the centre cut out (I'd done this in advance for my kidlets). Collage on some chopped up light and dark green paper (we used crepe paper but you could use whatever you have handy) and add red paper for holly berries. Colour in a bow (I googled to find the image, but you could draw one yourself) and you're done!
Next up - salt dough ornaments:
Salt dough is easy to make - just mix together 1 cup of salt, 2 cups of flour and 3/4 cup of water. Knead it until it's smooth. Then you can use it to create all sorts of ornaments. Either give your kids creative license and let them make whatever Christmassy symbol they like, or use cookie cutters like I did. Don't forget to poke a hole in the top to thread some ribbon through so they can be hung on a tree (you can also hot glue the ribbon to the back if you like). Bake in a slow (180 degrees C) oven until the ornaments have dried out - the time this takes will depend on how thick the dough is. When it's cool, use paint and glitter to decorate.
Another easy tree ornament is this adorable craft stick snowman:
As you can see, the year we made the snowmen shown above I used coloured paper for the hat, nose and scarf (it must have been a last minute addition to our day!) - but your ornaments will turn out much nicer if you use felt. You can buy felt from the dollar store, and I only needed 1 piece of each colour for my whole class. Paint some extra large craft sticks white, and just glue all the bits on when dry! Use a Sharpie to dot on the eyes and mouth and don't forget to add a ribbon to the back for hanging.
These paper plate baubles looked amazing when hung from the ceiling of my classroom:
This photo isn't mine, it's from craftymorning.com where I originally got the idea. :) Have your kidlets decorate a paper plate each - we collaged on brightly coloured crepe paper but you could use paint, glitter, crayons, Christmas wrapping paper or anything else you have handy. Glue a black square of paper to the top and some ribbon as the hanging loop. I threaded ours onto some tinsel which we then hung from the ceiling.
Lastly, here's two Nativity crafts that you might like to do with your own children at home if you're not allowed to teach the Bible story at school:
More paper plates! I should invest in a factory. :) Paint the outside edge of each plate yellow (or really, any colour you like). Sprinkle some glitter on while it's still wet. Cut out a wedge (about 1/4 of the plate) and glue it down to make a skirt. Make sure the hem of the skirt is below the edge of the wings! Draw an angel face onto a circle of paper or card, add some glitter, tinsel or sparkly pipe cleaner for a halo and glue it on to the top of the skirt piece.
These angels make a beautiful classroom display.
Finally, this Jesus in the manger artwork idea came from Doodlebugs - it's my all time favourite Christmas craft:
Kacey has a free download with the patterns for you to copy, but I only use the ones for the blanket and face shape. The manger pieces I make by just slicing up some brown paper into about 2 inch strips. Glue down the manger pieces first - the criss cross and then the top. Collage on some yellow paper (you can use real hay if you're so inclined). Kidlets draw the sleeping face of baby Jesus onto the circle and then glue it to his body. Lay him in the manger and you're done!
Hopefully I've given you a few new ideas to make with your own class! I'd love to hear if you try one out. :)
Merry Christmas!
