January Craft Roundup

The triplets and I didn't do as many crafts this month as we usually do. Part of this was that everyone was sick for a good chunk of the month, part of it was that I never did get quite as organized as I wanted to (ha!), and part of it was that we do a lot more activities now (reading, games, etc) that take up more of our time.

Here's a roundup of what we DID manage to do this month (along with links to instructions, when possible):

Glue relief painting. I'm shocked that I can't find any instructions on how to do this - it's such an easy, fun craft! We do this once a month and change the "secret design" to fit the theme. You just draw a design in clear-drying school glue on the paper the day before, let it dry, and as the kids paint over it with watercolor, the design emerges. These were snowflakes.

Again, super simple craft. I had the kids go nuts with the watercolors, cut out the mittens for them, and let them glue them to the cardstock. This was especially fun since it snowed the day before and they'd worn mittens for the first time!

One Two Three Counting Charts. Doily snowflakes that I let the kids glue on. This was a super simple 5 minute craft when everyone was sick. :( We used the charts to talk about the colors blue and white, and counting and recognizing 1, 2, 3.

Painting with blue paint on blue construction paper. We did this at the beginning of the month to introduce the color blue. We also used kosher salt as "snow glitter" (the kids love glitter and salt is much more forgiving lol).

Snow paint. I was initially unimpressed with this craft, and said so, but it ended up being pretty cool and an activity we'll definitely do again. I was expecting a more "paint" texture, which threw me, but this ended up having a very snow-like feel and dried looking just like snow, which was cool.

Hot chocolate mugs with cotton ball marshmallows and chocolate paint. Essentially it's this craft with construction paper instead of felt. I know I found the chocolate paint recipe somewhere but now I can't find the link! It's the same recipe as the snow paint (above) with a good 2 TBS of unsweetened cocoa powder mixed in. I let the kids go nuts on plain paper and they had a good time doing sensory play with the paint before we did the "real" craft. :)

Paper plate snowmen! I put dots of glue in the right places and gave the kids verbal cues on what to place where.

We also did some new activities this month.

In keeping with our theme for winter ("Snow") we had our first snowfall of the year right on time! The kids loved playing with it, building a snowman, and taking countless long sled rides. It was great that they got to see the real thing before we did so many snow-related crafts.

I made this "Do You Want To Build A Snowman?" felt wall hanging for their birthday. Great educational play about body parts, etc.

We made a sensory bin with "tub snow" and it kept the kids busy for over an hour. Best part was that it all washed down the drain when we were done! :)

We also played with the gel window clings I picked up at WalMart. Great for hand-eye coordination and they love them.