Origami is Japanese folded paper art and kirigami is the art of cutting paper to create stand up, pop up or 3D figures. Here are free printable origami and kirigami patterns and templates.
At your wits end to know what to get dad for Father's Day? Make him something, using these free printable Father's Day greeting cards and dad themed crafts. Good for all ages, even preschoolers! Dad will love your creativity and thoughtfulness. Free Printable Father's Day Greeting Cards and Craft Activities
Need a cheap (as in cost, not quality) gift for Father's Day? How about a free one? Even better, right? So make photo frame crafts from recycled materials. Personalize with special pictures of you and dad. Here are simple photo frame crafts made by decoration plain picture frames. Collect plain wood, plastic or metal frames. Watch clearance sales, garage sales, rummage sales, even junk piles for photo frames to refurbish. Now read on Easy, Inexpensive, Green Mother's Day / Father's Day Photo Frame Crafts
Do you love puzzles like I do? I've been working jigsaw puzzles since I was very young. I love crossword puzzles, Sudoku, word searches, cryptograms, mazes and word games. I called myself the "puzzle genius" (confident, if a bit bombastic, was me). Back in the olden days, aka when I was a kid, you had to ask mom or dad to buy you a puzzle book or jigsaw. You redid your old puzzles, over and over again. In this digital generation we're lucky to have online or free printable puzzles. Indulge your inner puzzle lover with free online puzzles. Use puzzle generator software to create and print jigsaw puzzle templates. Then carefully cut pieces apart and store in a Ziploc bag. Print hundreds of word games and puzzles from your home printer. Use for day care, Sunday School, homeschool, party games and crafts.
Holiday party planning is easy when you're dealing with one age group. Planning for young and old is more challenging. Easily-bored kids want to romp while grandparents want to sit (quietly!) and visit. Here's a patriotic Memorial Day party--RWB crafts, all-American food and recipes, kiddie parade, educational activities--everyone from toddlers to seniors, yes even parents, will love! Cheap Homemade Memorial Day Party Fun for Toddler to Grandparent
I started this blog almost six years ago. In that time, I've shared gobs of links for free printable Disney crafts. I used the Family Fun website (from Family Fun magazine) quite a lot. Family Fun partners with Disney and is the source for many Disney-themed crafts. Family Fun/Disney has a new website called Spoonful. All the regular Family Fun favorites and Disney crafts can be found there now. I wanted you to know, if you're reading an older article of mine and the printables links don't work, that it might be the old Family Fun one. Sometimes the link will redirect to Spoonful and you can print from there. But if doesn't work, type "spoonful.com" in your URL bar (without the quotes). Then look for what you want. You'll find printables from Disney "Frozen" and "Sophia the First" added. Spoonful has actually expanded the old site so there are loads more crafts. Do you like the 3D stand-up Queen Elsa doll shown in the photo? You can print that plus an entire "Frozen" playset. Just one of the nifty Disney Spoonful freebies. Free Disney Printables from Family Fun New Site Spoonful
Cinco de Mayo, or Fifth of May, celebrates the victory of the smaller Mexican army over the mighty French juggernaut, in the Battle of Puebla, 1862. Cinco de Mayo is not the Mexican Independence day, but many Latinos living in the U.S. celebrate it. Here are free printable Mexican themed crafts. And here are free printable coloring pages for Cinco de Mayo. Commemorate the Mexican cultural celebration Cinco de Mayo with free printable crafts, coloring pages and lessons. Free Printable Cinco De Mayo and Mexico Coloring Pages
I've written articles on free printable kids crafts since for years. I often link to the Family Fun website (from Family Fun magazine). Family Fun partners with Disney and provides lots of Disney-themed crafts. Family Fun now has a new website Spoonful. Besides regular Family Fun goodies, Disney crafts can be found there too. Free Disney Printables from Family Fun New Site Spoonful
Kids need art like plants need sun. In fact, art imitates childhood, when it grows organically and isn't manufactured. I had a sad childhood experience with formula art. A teacher publicly criticized my piece for not fitting the mold.
I empathize with moms of little ones--too cold to play outside for long. How about a cheap, chilly day craft for housebound kids? Most everything you need comes from your recycle bin. It's an easy retro crafting technique called decoupage or Mod Page. Cheap, Recycled Gift Craft for Children
Teachers, want to make ABCs fun? Here are healthy animal alphabet-themed snacks from A-Z. Use Alpha-Bits cereal, letter pretzels, cookies for letter shape. Make character sandwiches using any spread and leave open face. Use pretzels or matchstick carrots for whiskers. For eyes, use Cheerios, spray cheese, raisins, olives, banana or kiwi slices. Make ears, nose and mouth from apple bits, pimentos, pepper pieces, triangle chips or crackers. Use pretzel sticks for legs. For cookie creations, use candy or fruit to make faces. Preschool Animal Alphabet Themed Snacks From A-Z
Here's a favorite craft that I used decades ago, made with recycled materials. Pet baby tornado. With a name like that, can you see why it so intrigues kids? Give each child a glass jar with lid or have them bring from home. Have them wash at school and teach life skills of dishwashing. When clean, fill jar almost to top with water (leave a little room) and add a drop of dish soap. Pet Tornado Craft for Kids
Yesterday was the first day of Advent. Each week on Sunday, Christians light one candle on the Advent wreath. Each candle symbolizes our hope, expectation, preparation and joy at the Birth of Christ on Christmas. If you'd like to make an Advent wreath with your children, classroom, Sunday School or day care, there are free printable Advent wreaths online. Help children explore the lovely tradition of the Advent wreath with these printable coloring, cut and paste wreaths. Free Printable Advent Wreaths to Color, Cut and Paste
Shubh Diwali, my Hindu-Sikh-Jain friends, a little belated. Diwali or Deepavali was celebrated Sunday, November 3,2013. It's the five-day festival of lights, ending with Bhai Dooj on November 5. I have a Sikh friend who has explained some of the festival to me. So I thought, being the free printable crafts lady, you'd like rangoli printables. These would make pretty tattoo stencils, too. If you're not into permanent ink, let kids trace patterns on their arms with washable markers. (photo from Wikimedia) Free Diwali, Bhai Dooj, Rangoli Printables for Kids
Got stuck-at-home-itis? can’t Got rainy-day, can't go out to play bored kids? Maybe someone is sick, or the whole family has head lice (been there done that)? Maybe the car is down or little ones are lonely with siblings at school? If so, you need teacher mama's boredom first aid kit. I’m your go-to gal for cheap, easy, parent friendly fun. '
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I read a blog post recently about digging through old jewelry. That post got me thinking about a nifty game-craft I did with my kids when they were younger. It was especially popular with my sons. We made pirate treasure boxes. Here's how.
Life science, or biology, is an essential school subject. But kids often hate science because it's taught from boring textbooks in meaningless paper-and-pencil activities. Rediscover the inherent fascination of life science this summer with hands-on experiments and crafts. Teach green, using recycled supplies. Outdoor Summer Life Science Activities, Biology Nature Crafts
Winter is finally getting serious in our area. Kids are loving the big snow drifts! But below-zero wind chills force some parents to keep kids in the house. Schools cancel recess if it's too cold. Excess times indoors makes for restless, irritable children. Looking for cheap, indoor activities for bored, winterbound kids? How about a crafts-travaganza party? Winter Party--Arts and Crafts Day
Little Miss took her neatly-labeled valentines to school and arrived home with reciprocal Valentine cards from friends. So now, what to do with these prized missives? Clean freaks will surrepititiously toss them when she isn't looking. Sentimental (ahem, packrat) parents will encouraging saving. Artsy (aka messy) moms won't know what happens to them as valentines will filter into the child's general room litter. None of these is very satisfying considering cost and work put into valentines. Here are five cheap, homemade recycled ways to repurpose kids valentines. 5 Repurposed Uses for Valentines--Art Projects, Crafts, Gifts
We know that we need to reduce, reuse an recycle. As teachers, we can demonstrate this important lesson by turning garbage into learning materials and lessons. Egg cartons are one of my favorite items to reuse in the classroom. The possibilities are endless. Here are over 10 ways that you can incorporate this concept into your curriculum and lessons using old egg cartons. You'll save money and be a friend to the environment as well. 10 Science Lessons Using Recycled Egg Cartons
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