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Thursday, November 05, 2009

Fall and Thanksgiving Crafts (Part 1)

I posted a little message on facebook a week or two ago asking my friends for craft ideas for Reagan. I got some FANTASTIC ideas! I have enormously crafty friends and I didn't even realize it! Some of them are teachers so it stands to reason I would get amazing ideas from them. But many are not and they had just the neatest suggestion.

First, my lesson plan:



Thanksgiving Tree:

This one was from Wendy - GREAT IDEA! Each morning I ask Reagan who she is thankful for. When she says a name I write it on a little leaf and then she and I stick it to her Thanksgiving Tree. Throughout the day, when we pray we include that person in our prayers - thanking God for them and asking Him to bless them today. I also made little leaf rubbing cards off of some leaves Reagan collected (which now sit in a jar on our dining table). I write a short little note to the person she names saying that Reagan is thankful for them and that she loves them, etc. I think this is a sweet way to celebrate Thanksgiving for a little longer time and maybe it helps it sink in a bit more to her what gratitude is. The finished product will be not only something really pretty...but something we can keep and cherish for years to come. I may do this every year with the girls. I might even laminate it!





Paper Strip Pumpkin:

This one was fun, but it was not easy and ended up being something I did more than Reagan. She still enjoyed sitting in my lap and playing with the strips of paper. If you try this, do not waste your time with glue. Just go straight for the tape. I used double-sided tape when I secured the strips to the top and that worked MUCH MUCH better. The glue on the bottom got extremely messy and just did not hold well initially. Also, next time I would cover the tp cylinder thingy with orange paper.





Paper Bag Pumpkins:

These were pretty fun and a good activity for Reagan. I did have to help her color hers first and then she had a good time just going to town with markers and crayons. She LOVED stuffing the paper bags full of crumpled up plastic grocery bags! We secured the top with a green rubberband and had a cute little end-product. She requested I draw a face on hers too :)




So that is where we are at for now. But there are more to come! She's at such a fun age and I just know we are going to have a blast doing crafty things together for years to come.

2 comments:

Taytayh said...

Love these Jean! I think I will do some of those with Hope! :)
Sarah

Sherri said...

Love it! I may steal some of your ideas!