Kindergarten is a wondrous, magical time in a child's life at school. Children learn about math and language basics through games, play and art. Making arts and crafts is a great way to learn basic motor and academic skills that will carry your students through the rest of their academic career. Design projects to entice their imagination, such as paper bag puppets, paper chain caterpillars and papier-mache globes. Since items for these crafts add up, don't forget that you can ask parents to donate items for these projects.
Paper Bag Puppets
Make paper bag puppets to accompany a story you are reading to the children in class. This activity allows students to work on hand-eye dexterity while using their imagination. Have kids create characters from the story using a simple paper bag, construction paper, crayons or markers and decorative items such as buttons, string, glitter and ribbon.
Create the puppet by placing the bag on a table with the bottom side facing up. The bottom fold acts as the puppet's face and mouth. With the bottom bag flap facing you, create the puppet's eyes, nose and mouth. Next, the kids can draw or cut out features from construction paper. Ask the kids to decorate their puppet character using the accessories.
Have a show once everyone has completed their puppets. Read the book aloud and ask the kids to make their puppets act out the scenes as you read.
Paper Chain Caterpillars
Making paper chain caterpillars teaches hand-eye coordination. Cut long strips from several green sheets of construction paper and provide an equal number to each child. Purchase enough extra large pom-pom balls, the size of a tennis ball, for all the children from the local craft store. This will be the caterpillar's head. Pick up enough googly eyes and pipe cleaners for antennas.
Using a glue stick, ask the children to make a paper circle with one green strip. Next, ask them to make another circle but thread the new circle into the first one so that they connect. Continue this exercise until all paper strips are connected. At the end of the chain, glue the large pom-pom and add eyes, pipe cleaners and other features and decorations. Hang the caterpillars around the classroom.
Papier-mache Globe
Teach children about geography with this fun, but messy project. You can construct one globe and allow all the children to work on it together or give each child the opportunity to create his own globe.
You'll need a blown-up balloon, flour, water, newspaper, paint and paintbrushes. Mix the papier-mache glue using one part flour and one part water. This is a non-toxic recipe, although there are plenty of other ways to make papier-mache glue using regular white glue or boiling the water and flour glue.
Dip strips of newspaper into the glue and cover the balloon. Allow the mixture to dry for a few days. The balloon will pop while the project is drying.
Print out a map of the globe from the geography section on the Enchanted Learning website, or refer to your school geography book. Help the children copy and draw the continents and countries on their map. Because this project is for kindergarten keep the lesson basic and outline mainly the continents and large countries.
Allow the children to paint the oceans blue and the continents green with tempura paints. When the paint dries, use a marker to label the continents and countries, and place a big star on the state and city where you live.
Tags: construction paper, chain caterpillars, continents countries, each child, eyes pipe