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Choose Activity Book A. Check out mouth position videos to help your child's speech and language development.

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Revision Final sounds Double consonants Hard and soft c and g

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The organisation Chime read and sign the following story.

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A firm favourite in our classroom! The children all loved getting active each day with Joe in school. Why not tune in each weekday morning at 9 for a new workout!

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We are very conscious that we are directing pupils to a number of sites. Limiting screen-time can be a battle for many parents. Webwise offers some practical advice

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Talk to someone

Worried about something you have seen online or concerned about your child? Childline and the National Parents Council Primary offer free advice and support service.

Childline is a support service for young people up to the age of 18.There is a 24hr telephone, online and mobile phone texting service.

The National Parents Council Primary enables and empowers parents to be effective partners in their children's education.

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Worried about something you have seen online or concerned about your child? Childline and the National Parents Council Primary offer free advice and support service. Childline is a support service for young people up to the age of 18.There is a 24hr telephone, online and mobile phone texting service.

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Fine motor development is very important part of Early Intervention as well as Junior Infants. By strengthening these small muscles, it helps with pencil grip as well as writing later in your child's education.

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These are the type of activities that hone your child's pincer gripe so that they can hold a pencil properly and also help with hand and eye co-ordination.

Recent research on kindergarten fine motors kills and executive function had findings indicating that both fine motor skills and executive function measured at kindergarten entry predicted growth in math and reading achievement through middle school after controlling for gender, socioeconomic status, and early math and reading skills.

These associations were positive, such that starting kindergarten with better fine motor skills or executive function ratings was related to steeper rates of growth in both math and reading.

Maria Montessori was well before her time, putting together activities that had more than one function, for example, she designed cylinder puzzles that have small knobs on the top. The primary purpose of the activity is to become aware of the size and depth of the cylinders but the secondary purpose is to strengthen the pincer muscles.

Working on fine motor skills is also important for building concentration. It will become apparent when your child has the need to practice their fine motor skills, one week they will be bouncing around unable to sit still for more than 30 seconds next thing you know, poking small items into small holes can keep them quiet for half an hour.

If you need ideas for building their creativity and imagination, check out Boredom Busters. Some of those ideas can be worked in conjunction with fine motor skills.

Fine motor skills are an important part of childhood development and should be encouraged. But what are they and why is it important?

The Four Areas Of Fine Motor Skills Development

WHOLE ARM

This is the development of gross motor skills including the upper arm, forearm and shoulder. The child needs to control these as well as their fingers.

Activities include:

Large painting and drawing at easels

Using equipment such as rakes, brooms and shovels

Bouncing and throwing a ball

Climbing - anything that uses upper body strength

Anything that involves pushing, pulling and large arm movements

WHOLE HAND

Developing hand muscles is important for grasping actions and finger movements. This development can be seen even in babies as they learn to grasp different shaped objects and transferring objects from hand to hand and hand to mouth.

Activities include:

Spooning activities

Using a spray bottle to water plants/paint

Playdoh, rolling the playdoh, using cutter etc.

Pouring activities, moving water from one object to another

PINCHER GRIP

This is using the thumb and index finger together and is used to pick up and move small objects.

PINCER GRIP

This is using the thumb, index and middle finger to coordinate and move objects, this is also the tripod grip used when holding a pencil for writing.

Activities include for pincher and pincer:

Using tweezers and tongs to transfer small objects

Threading beads onto a lace

Building blocks including Lego

Making small objects with Playdoh

Now, you don't need to rush out and buy expensive equipment, there are plenty of activities that you can set up at home and now that you know that many of Montessori's original activities have fine motor skills as a secondary function you will start to see things in a different light...

You can use the same activities all the time, just increase the difficulty by making the objects smaller or by using pincers or other tools. Make sure you bookmark or pin this page so you can come back and reference it often!
Some of these activities use small pieces if your child is still mouthing, then use with caution and never leave a small child unsupervised if they are using small objects. Disclosure: The following activities include affiliate links which means I make a small commission, at no cost to you, if you decide to buy something.

Sorting small objects such as beads, dried beans or buttons - Easy to set up, choose objects that can be sorted by shape, size or colour and place in a bowl and then provide a tray or smaller bowls to sort them into.

Matching nuts and bolts - Raid the shed and see how many different sized nuts and bolts you can find. Place the nuts in one bowl and the bolts in the other and show your child how to find the matching set and then when they are all matched, to arrange in size.

Posting small objects such as pipe cleaners into a bottle - Pipes cleaners or straws, posted into the neck of a PET bottle

Pipet or water dropper - use this to create art with or to transfer water from one bowl to another.

Pouring from one container to another - small jugs work well for this (scour your local charity/op shops) as your child gets better at this you will notice the way that they grip the handle of the jug changes.

Threading beads - You can get some great chunky wooden beads these days, you could make some cards for your child to follow as their pincer grip gets stronger you can change this up and start using small beads like the ones for making necklaces.

Hanging out laundry - using clothes pegs is quite a skill! Get your child to help you with the laundry or set up an activity where they hang up their dolls clothes with clothes pegs.

Balancing marbles onto golf tees - Use a polystyrene block and show your child how to push the gold tees into the block. Then ask them to balance marbles onto the tees, not as easy as it sounds. Up the ante by getting them to use pincers to lift the marbles!

Buckle and unbuckling and buttoning skills - anything where the child is practicing to buckle up or fasten buttons, zips, hook and eye. The Montessori dressing frames are a great fine motor skills activity but dressing dolls and teddy bears is a good substitute.

Putting coins into a money box - Kids love listening to the noise it makes too. For younger kids, you can get them posting things into a cereal box.

Matching padlocks and keys - collect a selection of locks and their keys together, keys in one bowl and locks in another. Challenge your child to find the correct key for each lock. My nephew had an uncanny knack of getting this right just by looking at the locks!

Using building blocks - any kind of block build is great. Lego is perfect and although Duplo is advised for smaller kids, I have seen plenty of toddler work wonders with regular Lego

Board games that use small pieces - any board game that uses small pieces work for this, even if your child can't actually play, lots of fun can be had. My son would play with the scrabble board before he could spell etc. My top recommendation for extra pincer training is Operation, and a fantastic game which works well for mixed ages/abilities is Bananagrams.

Transferring objects from one bowl to another, first with fingers then with pincers. Beans, beads, buttons, rice, the smaller the object the harder it gets!

Matching colours - using coloured clothes pegs and coloured cards, the child matches the card and peg by attaching the peg to the coloured card.

Picking up mini pom-poms - You need some mini pom-poms in a bowl, tweezers and an ice-cube tray. Show the child how to pick up the pom-pom with the tweezers and place in the ice-cube tray. I always bought mixed sized bags like this one, not only can you use it for this type of activity but there all types of crafts to be done with pom-poms too!

Spooning - Another one that is easy to increase the difficulty by changing what you set out. Use two bowls, one with the beans/rice/marbles/pom-poms and a spoon. Move the objects from one bowl to the other.

Peeling fruit - anything in fact that needs peeling, satsumas are perfect, nuts, bananas, grapes (if you are Japanese!)

Using lacing cards - There are loads of store-bought types out there or make your own. If you are making your own lace, put tape around the end to make it easier to thread, trying to thread with a frayed lace is extremely annoying.

Sewing - younger kids can use a plastic needle, yarn and burlap. Older kids, sewing buttons onto felt is a great way to start and making their own simple softies out of felt.

Counting - activities which use small objects as counters. You don't need anything special to do this, coins, buttons, Lego pieces, acorns after a walk, sticks...

Using scissors - just cutting to start with then cutting on the line, shapes etc. My son loved THIS BOOK from Kumon.

Matching coloured paper clips - to coloured dots on a card. This is similar to the pegs but more difficult.

Pin punching - follow an outline and punch all the way around using a push pin. Or like we did HERE make astronomy books, punching the star constellations.

Picking seeds out of a fruit or vegetable such as pumpkin, this works as a sensory activity too! More sensory activities on this post.

Playdoh - not only keeps them quiet for a long time it is also working those little muscles. Making peas or beans or eyes, anything that involves rolling the playdoh between the thumb and fingers is good. My go-to Playdoh recipe is HERE

Popping bubble wrap - who doesn't love doing this! It does need to be between two fingers to be working the right muscles.

Learning to tie laces - a skill many kids don't have before they start school these days. My son yochien (kindy) has a clever workaround as many kids here don't have laced shoes. The kid's bento (lunchbox) bag had to have laces so the kids practiced every lunchtime when they got out their bento. By the end of the first term, my son had mastered it.

Playing an instrument - Piano, recorder, guitar, violin just a few great instruments for working those pincer muscles.

Arranging flowers in a vase - this is another one that is also a sensory activity. A small vase or glass, even a jam jar and a few flowers from the garden or your nature walk is a great activity.

Finger painting or fingerprinting - messy, yes but great for getting those little fingers active. Making fingerprint paintings is a lot of fun, the Ed Emberley books are brilliant if you need a bit of inspiration.

Making sculptures with marshmallows and toothpicks - good fun, great activity to do with friends but only if eating the project isn't going to spoil dinner! Get a bag of mini marshmallows and some toothpicks the see who can build a house, a car, a tower...

Gluing seeds and beans to make a mosaic or picture - I vividly remember doing this when I was at school! Glue, seeds and card are all you need!

Ripping - smaller kids just like ripping paper, maybe it's the sound? Older kids you can rip up an old magazine to make pictures & collages. This is a good sensory activity, you can find more of these here.

Playing bingo - using counters instead of marking a cross on the paper. This is great because you can reuse the bingo cards over and over again!

Sorting M&M's into colours (& putting them in your mouth!) Would works for skittles or similar sweets too.

Finger puppet play - this can be a great project to do, making finger puppets and then playing with them. Finger puppets were one of the things I always had in my bag when we left the house, there are endless ways to divert a child's attention when stuck on a train or at the bank if you have a finger puppet or two handy.

Stacking objects - again, the small the objects the more difficult it becomes. coins, cards, blocks etc.

Playing tiddlywinks - an oldie but a goodie, in fact, many of the simple old games are great for pincer muscles, pick-up sticks, Chinese Chequers...

Typing - a skill all kids should have these days and if you have an old typewriter this is a lot of fun.

Elastic bands (or hair bobbles) onto different sized objects. A bag of elastic bands can bring a lot of fun. Try putting them over bottles or a can. On door handles is another good one.

Fastening safety pins onto cloth - this one is for kids that are a bit older, it's not easy! If you have any nappy/diaper pins, they are good to start with, then work your way down to smaller safety pins.

Using a stapler or hole punch - kids LOVE using stationery items, give them a stack of old paper and a punch or stapler and they will come up with their own game. Did you know that most hole punches punch holes that are just the right size for Lego so now you can add paper to your Lego building fun!

Sharpening pencils - this one is actually really good for the writing movement too!

Sticking pipe cleaners into colander holes - grab your kitchen colander and some pipe cleaners and create a masterpiece of modern art sculpture.

Weaving - I had a little kitchen shelf with was like a wire rack, attach a ribbon at one end with clothes peg and then weave the ribbon through the rack. Any other kind of weaving would work too as would loom bands (hands up, who still have 5 million of them in the cupboard?)

Hammering nails - Into wood is the norm but you can do it into a pumpkin if it is the right time of year, for an alternative. Marking where to hammer the nails rather than just random nail bashing will make it a bit harder. You can do it as a wall art project like THIS

Knobbled puzzles - Montessori puzzles always come with the little knob handles for the puzzle pieces, this is the way she designed them. But there are plenty of other knobbled puzzles on the market.

And of course, using a crayon, pencil, paintbrush to create art. Any use of a writing implement is good, there are ergonomic crayons available to help the child learn how to hold the pencil correctly. We always liked the Rock Crayons.

Does your child or children have a favourite fine motor skill at the moment, let me know what it is in the comments section.

If you liked this post, you will love my book Montessori Inspired Activities For Pre-Schoolers, available in kindle and paperback from Amazon and all good bookstores.

References
( Carlson 2013), Abby G., Ph.D.,Kindergarten fine motor skills and executive function: Two non-academic predictors of academic achievement GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY

Montessori Demystified FREE Workshop

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50 Fine Motor Skill Activities To Do At Home - help your child strengthen their pincer muscles to prepare for writing.

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These are the type of activities that hone your child's pincer gripe so that they can hold a pencil properly and also help with hand and eye co-ordination.

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This game can be used on a tablet or laptop or it can be printed out. The emphasis here is on language. Can your child name all of the items in the picture first and then sort them by letter.

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Copy of Alphabet Sort  Paperless Google Classroom Distance Learning

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Very creative ways to utilise your recycling and spark your creativity.

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Junk Art is open-ended, child-led and creative.Children create their own art using items you might put in your recycling bin.

"Creative play involves children exploring and using their bodies and materials to make and do things and to share their feelings, ideas and thoughts. They enjoy being creative by dancing, painting, playing with junk and recycled materials, working with play-dough and clay, and using their imaginations."

-Aistear: the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework, NCCA 2009

The benefits are numerous. This video from Dr. Jacqueline Fallon explains them .

Sounds a bit ambitious, right?

When I first contemplated Junk Art with my Senior Infant class, I will admit that I was nervous. Would they be able to make anything independently?What about the mess?!It's a lot less complicated than it sounds.I'll outline a gradual approach to it further down if you feel it's daunting.The other thing to remember about Junk Art is that you're doing it as part of your Aistear Play Hour, so you only have one group taking part at a time.Less mess.

So, what resources do you need?

There are a few things you'll need to buy, but you might have them in your classroom already.

Scissors

Pritt-stick

Masking tape (so much easier for children to use than sellotape!)

PVA glue (I store this in cleaned out yoghurt jars)

Glue spreaders

Toilet rolls & kitchen rolls

Egg cartons

Milk cartons

Cereal boxes

Shoe boxes

Cardboard and plastic boxes of all shapes and sizes

Leftover/scrap coloured and white paper and card

Supermarket leaflets

Holiday Brochures

Toy catalogues

Bubble Wrap

Foiled or shiny paper (chocolate and sweet wrappers, wrapping paper)

Gift bags

Ribbon

Straws

Buttons

Scraps of material

Note: The children will bring in lots of toilet rolls, egg cartons and cereal boxes.Keep an eye out yourself for unusually-shaped boxes, foiled, shiny or patterned paper, bubble wrap and ribbon.

The following can be very useful but would need to be bought:

Topic-based Art

A Suggested Approach to Junk Art

This is how I started it with my Senior Infant class this year.

Paper Plates

Toilet Rolls, Egg Cartons and Masking Tape

After working with mostly 2D creations, I then gave the children some empty toilet rolls and kitchen rolls.They stuck paper to the toilet rolls and some of them even made Gruffalo characters (we had read the story that week).

By now we were into October and our topic was 'Houses and Homes'. The children used boxes and milk cartons of all shapes and sizes to create 3D structures, some of them being houses, some of them not!They also had access to all the previous materials they had used.As they became more confident with Junk Art, they were able to look through all our recycled materials to find what they needed.

Paint

Having let the children experience painting the toilet rolls, I then decided to combine painting and construction.The children were able to make their 3D creations as before, and then paint them as desired.

Next up was the introduction of PVA glue.I store this in lidded yoghurt jars, so I don't need to pour it out every day.I use glue spreaders with PVA glue, but they're not a necessity.You can use paintbrushes or scraps of stiff card instead.I gave the children googly eyes, cotton buds and pipe cleaners to stick to their creations with the glue.

Assessment

I try to assess each child around once a week.I do this in two main ways, observations and work samples.

Observations

You can find the document I use to take notes on each child here.I look for children's learning in the following areas:

Dispositions (curiosity, concentration, perseverance)

Skills ( cutting, writing, drawing, problem-solving)

Attitudes and values (sharing, care for the environment, and positive attitudes to learning)

Knowledge and understanding (classifying objects, learning 'rules' for interacting with others)

Work Samples / Photographs

I take photographs of the children engaging in play, and of their finished creations.The children often come to me and request a photo to be taken.I upload all the photographs to each child's Class Dojo portfolio, which is a great way of getting an overview of their play and progress over the course of the year.

A note about Planning & Reviewing

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What is Junk Art? Junk Art is open-ended, child-led and creative. Children create their own art using items you might put in your recycling bin. "Creative play involves children exploring and using their bodies and materials to make and do things and to share their feelings, ideas and thoughts.

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Follow Geraldine the Giraffe around her home as she finds things that start with QU. We often enjoy helping Geraldine in school by finding examples of the sounds in our classroom!

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Here's an interesting video that looks at the life-cycle of a ladybird!

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The Stunning Life Cycle Of A Ladybug | The Dodo

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This website has lots of fun and engaging songs, games and stories that look at the alphabet, colours, numbers and beginning to read!

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At Starfall, children have fun while they learn. Educational games, movies, books, songs, and more for PreK and Kindergarten learners.

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The organisation Chime read and sign the following story.

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Chime - National Charity for Deafness & Hearing Loss

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A great website that focuses on counting, matching and ordering. See if your child can remember the story of the Gingerbread Man.

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The Gingerbread Man Game - Counting, Matching and Ordering game

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Three fun counting, matching and ordering numbers games can help early years children learn to count objects and recognise numbers 1 to 10 and also number words to 10.

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Mommy Speech Therapy - Thoughts on speech & language development

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The speech and articulation worksheets as well as the other downloads on this page have been created by Heidi Hanks, M.S.CCC-SLP, and are property of Mommy Speech Therapy. These speech and articulation worksheets are free to download as support material to the related articles found on this site, and they are intended for use in your home or therapy setting to help your child. Please do not sell these or post them anywhere else. If you have any questions on how to use the articulation worksheets, please read my post The Process of Articulation Therapy for additional information. Good Luck, remember to be patient and make it fun!

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Helpful documents and activities for you to download to help you work with your child in different areas of their speech

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A wonderful way to practice mindfulness and relaxation. Specifically designed for children aged 3+.

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"kids yoga" "yoga for kids" "yoga for children yoga story for kids" "children's yoga" "yoga adventure for kids" "kindergarten yoga" "preschool yoga" "kids me...

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YOGA | MINDFULNESS | RELAXATION FOR KIDS! Screentime that gives kids SUPERPOWERS! ⬇️ D O W N L O A D T H E C O S M I C K I D S A P P ⬇️ 🍏Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cosmic-kids/ 🛍️Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cosmickids 🖥️ Desktop (great for teachers!): https://app.cosmickids.com/ 📺 Roku: https://rb.gy/44r8d -------------------------------------------------------------------- Why watch on the App?

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Free ebooks for ages 3-11, spelling, phonics, reading, and maths too.

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With a library of activities and resources for every stage of the learning journey, curated by the team at Oxford University Press, we are here with inspiration to help your little ones learn, grow and flourish at home, in the classroom and beyond.

Just click on the sections in the menu to explore by subject, or use the options below to uncover content by age group.

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Oxford Owl for Home: help your child learn at home - Oxford Owl

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Oxford Owl is packed with expert advice, tips and activities to help parents support their child's education. Help your child with reading, phonics and maths.

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This website is also available to download as an app. Fantastic games to help your child to begin to read.

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Teach Your Monster: Free Phonics, Reading and Mathematics Games

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Help children learn with our free, award-winning reading, mathematics and phonics games.

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The lovely people at Nessy are offering their services free for a period of time because of the school closures.

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Improve Your Spelling, the latest book written by Nessy founder Mike Jones, explains the rules of reading and spelling. It will help teachers teach, and parents to understand how to help their children.

By the end, you'll be a master speller!

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You've found Nessy; World leader in helping children who learn differently. Founded and run by educators and dyslexia specialists, our award-winning programs are guided by the Science of Reading.

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This game can be used on a tablet or laptop or it can be printed out. The emphasis here is on language. Can your child name all of the items in the picture first and then sort by number.

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You might find some nice printable activities here in Phase 1 and Phase 2 for your child.

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Letters and Sounds – Free phonics resources for the Letters and Sounds programme

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Whether you are a parent or teacher, you can use these free resources to help support the DfES Letters and Sounds phonics programme. If you’re new to Letters and Sounds and want to find out what it’s all about, visit What is Letters and Sounds to find out more.

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Some great ideas here and you might have some of the necessary materials around the house already.

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Earth Day is fast approaching (April 22), though there really is never a bad time to celebrate Mother Earth. It's important to teach students the environmental benefits of recycling, like conserving energy and natural resources and reducing air and water pollution, all year long. While recycling breaks down old items in order to create something new, upcyling makes something new from an existing object in its current state. Challenge your students to create something unique and wonderful from preexisting items like magazines, plastic water bottles, tin cans, egg cartons, and more. Check out our list of the best upcycled crafts for Earth Day or any day, and give some of them a try!

1. Make wildflower seed bombs.

Give back to Mother Earth with these easy-to-make seed bombs. Blend together used scraps of construction paper, water, and wildflower seeds in a food processor, then form them into tiny muffins. Let them dry, then toss them in the ground. As the seed bombs receive sun and rain, the paper will eventually compost and the seeds will germinate.

2. Create nature wreaths.

Take your kids on a nature walk to gather interesting leaves, flowers, berries, etc. To make the wreath forms, braid together strips of old T-shirts and form them into a circle. Then attach natural items into the crevices and secure with clear fishing line or hot glue. Attach a ribbon at the top to hang your wreath.

3. Construct a bug hotel.

Create a cozy place for all the creepy-crawlies to hang out. Cut a two-liter plastic bottle into two cylinders, then stuff it with sticks, pine cones, bark, or any other natural material. Make sure to pack the organic material tightly. Then loop a piece of twine or yarn around the two cylinders and hang your bug hotel from a tree branch or fence.

Learn more: Red Ted Art

4. Make a quilt.

Textiles make up a huge portion of municipal solid waste- over 16 million tons per year. Teach your kids to repurpose old material that would otherwise end up in the landfill by putting together a cozy quilt.

Learn more: Teach Student Savvy

5. Use magazines to create a bowl.

We love Earth Day crafts that result in a practical object you can use around the house. This project is best for older students who have the patience and dexterity necessary to carefully roll their magazine strips and glue them together.

Learn more: DIY Joy

6. Create Earth moss balls.

Pay tribute to our lovely planet on Earth Day with these fuzzy moss balls. Kids who love getting their hands dirty will particularly love this craft. All you do is squish pre-soaked sphagnum moss into a tight ball, wrap it tightly with blue yarn or strips of discarded T-shirts, layer more moss and more yarn, etc., until you've created an Earth-shaped orb. Finish with a loop of yarn and hang it in a sunny window. To keep your moss ball healthy, simply spray it with water every couple of days.

Learn more: Mother Natured

7. Create a hanging garden.

Large plastic bottles become beautiful hanging planters in this green-living and green-thumb project. A great way to make a gorgeous hanging garden.

8. Upcycle trash into flower art.

Scraps of paper are the only supplies you need for this recycled-flower-garden activity and lesson. The measurement and math element is an added bonus.

9. "Grow" an egg carton tree.

Save those egg cartons! This simple project only requires a few supplies to make a recycled egg carton tree.

Learn more: Glued to My Crafts

10. Create binoculars using paper towel rolls.

Save those paper rolls so your class can customize their own binoculars! Have a variety of paints, stickers, etc., on hand so your students can really personalize their bird watchers!

Learn more: Today's Parent

11. Create your own flexible seating.

One of our favorite Earth Day crafts has to be upcycling tires into comfy seating for our reading nook.

Learn more: Hanging With Mrs. Hulsey

12. Fashion a pop-top bracelet.

Aluminum beverage pop tops become wearable jewelry thanks to some ribbon ninja work. Put this video onto your interactive whiteboard to give your students the full 411, and then get crafting!

13. Chime the wind.

Go outside for a nature walk and gather sticks, weeds, and pickable blooms, then bring the treasures inside to be showcased in recycled jar lids. With some wax paper and string, your students can craft this surprisingly beautiful recycled wind chime.

Learn more: Hands On as We Grow

14. Paint paper bags.

Brown paper bags become eco-canvases for artwork and a perfect way to adorn fridges for Earth Day. Bonus points if you can source handled bags, because the handles serve as built-in artwork hangers.

Learn more: Small for Big

15. Make a recycled city.

Create an adorable village using little more than paper rolls, paper, scissors, paint, glue or tape, and your imagination!

Learn more: Today's Parent

16. Create pebble art.

Take students outside to collect small rocks and pebbles. Have them arrange the rocks into a creative pattern of their choice. Get creative, and try for as many different designs as you can! Once you're finished, simply leave the rocks where you found them.

17. Use old crayons to make new ones.

This isn't just any recycled crayon. It's a gorgeous Earth crayon! You can make these with your kids using a muffin tin. You just need to sort out the right colors.

Learn more: The Gunny Sack

18. Use upcycled objects to make mazes.

STEM and recycling go together wonderfully! This idea is a great way to challenge kids to make mazes or something else entirely.

Learn more: Hello, Wonderful

19. Make a rope snake.

Recycling projects that use objects you may have laying around your garage or shed are some of our favorites! Grab that old rope you've been saving and create these adorable rope worms/snakes with your students.

Learn more: Make Film Play

20. Feed the birds.

Herald spring with this easy crowd-pleaser: the large plastic bottle bird feeder. This short video will teach kids how to get started constructing their feeders.

21. Get organized with old cans.

Tin cans are easy to get your hands on, and they can go a long way in organizing supplies. Get your kids involved by having them help decorate the cans. They'll really take ownership of this, which will hopefully help them want to keep supplies more organized.

Learn more: Sandy Toes and Popsicles

22. Make papier-mâché pots.

Cut off the bottoms of beverage bottles or reuse food containers and jazz them up with bright-colored paper scraps. Except for the glue, these papier-mâché planters are composed solely of recycled materials.

Learn more: Childhood 101

23. Make a necklace out of junk.

Earth Day art that is wearable is a bonus! Use found objects or some string to create these unique necklaces.

Learn more: The Awesome Childhood Project

24. Make chair fidgets out of old tees.

Give old T-shirts new life with this craft by making chair fidgets. This uses a simple braiding technique, and your kids will love helping out.

25. Collaborate on an aluminum can recycling bin.

Kids can work together to create an aluminum-can recycling center. Watch the video above to get the simple instructions and learn how your school can make recycling fun and rewarding.

26. Create tin can robots.

Recycling projects like these are the best since kids love robots. Be sure to have an extra pair of adult hands around to help with the hot glue.

Learn more: Creative Jewish Mom

27. Fashion fairy houses.

Are these the sweetest Earth Day crafts ever? Plastic bottles from home become homes for fairies, thanks to paint, scissors, glue, and real or faux greenery.

Learn more: Crafts by Amanda

28. Create a giant upcycled art wall.

This is an amazing recycled wall masterpiece. You could set it up on a cardboard backing and then let students add to it, paint it, and create with it whenever they have free time throughout the day.

Learn more: Art Bar Blog

29. Make your own games.

Use bottle caps in a game of tic-tac-toe. They can also be turned into checkers. This would be a great makerspace activity. Give your kids several upcycled items and challenge them to create games!

Source: Reuse Grow Enjoy

30. Make a treasure magnet.

These treasure magnets are just so beautiful! Recycle a bottle cap and glue a variety of gemstones and beads inside. Finally, add a magnet to the back.

Learn more: Hattifant

31. Turn old magazines into art.

We love how this upcycled magazine cut-paper art project can be modified for primary students or used to inspire sophisticated art by high school students.

Learn more: Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom

32. Build beautiful terrariums.

A bottle gets a second life as a museum-worthy terrarium as well as a home for an environmental science project. Be sure to add the activated charcoal and moss for plastic bottle terrariums that flourish.

Learn more: Adirondack Girl at Heart

33. Paint with corks.

This is the perfect kind of Earth Day art since you use recycled material (corks) to paint your favorite scene from nature.

Learn more: 30 Seconds

34. Set up a self-watering planter.

Your classroom studies of plant life, photosynthesis, and water conservation will get a boost with this hands-on crafting of a self-watering planter. The base? A good ol' large plastic bottle.

Learn more: ehow

35. Form flowers from water bottles.

Upcycled water bottle flowers are an easy craft that can be sourced directly from your recycling bin, with the help of some paint.

36. Build cardboard castles.

Gather all your recyclables and put those tiny engineers to work. You'll be amazed by what they create!

Learn more: Fun-a-Day

37. Make these newspaper owls.

Old newspapers find their spirit animal when they become recycled newspaper owls. All you need are markers, watercolors, and paper scraps to make them come alive.

Learn more: I Heart Crafty Things

38. Construct a plastic bottle recycling bin.

Water bottles come together, as do your kids, to make this water bottle recycling center. This project combines teamwork with respect for our environment, a double win.

39. Create genius ideas out of cardboard.

Cardboard is one of the easiest, least expensive materials you can get your hands on. Grab a ton of it and challenge your kids to make awesome creations. You never know what they might come up with.

40. Make an instrument.

There are no limits to the recycling projects you can create using paper rolls. We especially love that this DIY instrument will teach kids about vibrations and sound.

Learn more: No Time for Flash Cards

41. Create a spinning top.

Do you have a bunch of CDs lying around that never get played anymore? How about a box or drawer of markers that barely write? If you answered yes to these questions, then this is the perfect project for you.

Learn more: Artsy Momma

42. Fashion lady bugs from bottle caps.

These little ladybugs are so cute and yet so, so simple. Grab some bottle caps, paint, googly eyes, and glue and get ready to make some adorable friends!

Learn more: Love and Lollipops

What are your favorite Earth Day crafts? Share in the comments below!

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42 Earth Day Crafts and Classroom Activities That Use Recycled Materials

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Raid your recycling bins for supplies and then try one of these eco-savvy Earth Day crafts that is sure to be a hit with students.

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Online Jigsaw Puzzles

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Millions of free jigsaw puzzles created by a large community. Create, play, share jigsaw puzzles and compete with other users.

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Babbledabbledo.com have a great range of art activities to keep creative little hands busy!

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If there is one age that I patiently waited for my kids to reach, it was 3-4 years old, the preschool years. If you are a creative type, you probably are also excited about these years because it's the age kids can really start trying projects, particularly ART. Engaging art at this age sets the stage for a lifetime love of creativity, in fact I believe the best preschool art projects are the foundation for creative thinking, exploration and problem solving.

I urge anyone working with kids this age whether they are your own or those you teach or care for to make sure that when choosing art projects for 3-4 year olds you select ideas that are open-ended with plenty of opportunities to explore. What you really want to foster at this age is a love of play and creating, avoid projects with complicated steps or things that are too crafty, instead try process art, and art projects with a science twist to make them even more magical.

Top Tips for Art with Preschoolers

Embrace the mess. The best way to be able to embrace messes is to plan for it. Cover work surfaces in butcher paper or take really messy ideas outside. No one will enjoy a project if you are stressed about the mess which at this age is inevitable and should be a welcome part of the exploration.

Step Back. Adults should set up the projects and facilitate them as needed but please take step back and let the children explore on their own. Let them take chances and play with the materials at hand. In fact doing this often yields off-shoot projects that are just as fun!

Keep it short! Preschool aged children are like whirlwinds of energy and interests. Don't expect them to sit still for long so choose projects that can be accomplished quickly.

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Some of these projects are best suited for older preschoolers because they involve more advanced fine motor skill development; I have noted them Pre-K.

(Pre-K) These suncatchers have a magical outcome for a minimum of effort! All you need are glue, food coloring and a little patience...

A great introduction to process art, gather up an old sheet, paint and rollers plus some textured items and stencils and have fun!

This super simple project doubles as a lesson in color mixing and absorption.

I cannot tell you how worth the prep and mess this is! My whole family had a blast with it!

(Pre-K) A fun use for dyed pasta- turn them into colorful suncatchers.

The next time a large branch falls in your yard, save it! This is a wonderful group art project and lasts for years if you use acrylic paint (just be sure to wear smocks or messy clothes as acrylic permanently stains clothes). You can substitute washable paint for a non-permanent version.

Paint your patio! Or the driveway! This will work on concrete as well and washes off in a few good rains.

(Pre-K) Totally irresistible... Adults will need to prep the tops, but kids can help mix the paint and spin the tops for some crazy spin art fun!

(Pre-K) My daughter invented this project! You can do this in groups by spreading a thin layer of salt on the bottom of a tray.

A classic art project for a reason! This process makes lovely marbled paper.

This produces a massive amount of art very quickly! I love how it encourages children to think about creative ways to make art.

Pulled string art is one of the coolest classic art projects you'll ever try! And it doubles as a wonderful math art project for kids.

This doubles as a snack idea! First use your fine motor skills to cut and create mosaic piece of art, then eat it!

A classic art project that is always a hit with kids!

Everyone LOVES this project! Kids can create art without even touching the paper! See the picture above.

(Pre-K) Using oil pastels makes this easier to apply the two layers of color. This is fun for all ages!

A simple color mixing experiment featuring science!
Get the recipe for ice chalk here
18. Ice Chalk Painting

You will also need squeeze bottles filled with a mixture of vinegar and water. SAFTEY NOTE: Vinegar can sting the skin so be sure to let your children know to only squeeze the vinegar/water onto the chalk.

We placed an old white sheet on a table and the kids dissolved the ice chalk using a mixture of water and vinegar. Bonus: When everything is melted the chalk turns into oobleck!

(Pre-K) To make this easier to prep, substitute inexpensive air dry clay for the wood blocks.

(Pre-K) A great way to develop fine motor skills. WARNING: You'll probably start hoarding styrofoam trays just for their awesome textures after this....

Not only are these three paints taste safe, kids can help make them. The pudding paint makes a wonderful homemade finger paint!

A great STEAM project for preschoolers that asks them to problem solve. Set out some clothespins and assorted materials and ask them to make and paint with homemade brushes. Check out some of the fun materials we tried here.

Sidewalk chalk on black canvas. A wonderful alternative to the typical blank white canvas.

(Pre-K) A simple introduction to sewing using shoelaces and burlap.

One of our favorite ways to explore color mixing! Squeeze the primary colors onto a coffee filter, spin them in an old salad spinner and BAM you have new colors!

I hope this list of preschool art projects gets your children interested in creative exploration.
In fact join the Babble Dabble Do community and I'll send you 5 secrets to connecting with kids through creative projects.
You have been waiting for this age, time to start making! And don't be dismayed if your kids aren't interested in a particular project, it doesn't mean they don't enjoy art.
Send me awesome creative project ideas!

Join over 14,890 parents and educators who want connect with kids and nurture their creative process through magical, easy projects you can do TOGETHER.

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Colorful and engaging art projects perfect for preschool aged children.

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Twinkl are very kindly offering parents and teachers month long subscription free of charge during the school closures. Twinkl has a wealth of resources across all primary class levels. Plenty of bright visuals, presentations and activities.

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Schools across the globe are responding to the outbreak of the Coronavirus. In some cases schools have closed or are making preparations for a potential closure.

At Twinkl, our mission is to help those who teach and we are therefore taking steps to support continued learning at home.

We've put together a simple, step-by-step guide about how to use our site during Coronavirus. This guide is not designed to supercede or replace any official guidance, but is intended to advise on using the Twinkl website during this period.

How can I help parents to use Twinkl independently?

We have a number of really helpful guides, designed for parents, for different areas of the curriculum. You can direct parents towards our dedicated Parents' Hub which contains hundreds of educational activities designed for use at home. Or, browse this area yourself and hand-pick individual resources to share.

For parents with children in EYFS, take a look through our EYFS for Parents area to find some really useful guides and activities to share.

For primary-aged children, take a look at our 5-11 area. Again, this was created with parents in mind so it's filled with guides and information about what children should be learning in each year group, for each curriculum area.

For parents with secondary-aged children (for ages 11 to 16), take a look at the Beyond area of the website. Resources are available for English, Maths and Science, as well as languages, art, humanities and other curriculum areas. Lots to keep older children occupied.

Our Parents User Guide and general Twinkl Membership guide are both useful documents to refer to for general information about the site, our content and how to find it.

What can I do to support learning at home?

There are a number of simple ways you can curate and share content from the Twinkl website, as well as many useful areas that parents can easily use.

Using our Home Learning Packs

We've put together Home Learning Packs from Year 1 to Year 6.

Our EYFS Home Learning Packs can be found here.

Our KS1 Home Learning Packs can be found here.

Our KS2 Home Learning Packs can be found here.

Our Secondary Home Learning Packs can be found here and here.

Our SEND Home Learning Pack is available here.
These packs are available as ZIP files. For guidance about how to download and open this type of file, take a look at our FAQ.
We're also putting together Interactive Learning Links resources. These are interactive PDF resources which link to other helpful materials on the Twinkl site that you can use without a printer:

We've also added a new feature to our app, where you can annotate PDFs in the app with any info you like.

Sharing from the Site

Share a resource directly using our sharing tools, found at the top-right of a resource preview. You can share to a class Facebook group or send via email to multiple addresses. Or simply copy and paste the URL and pop it into a class blog. Use our Save For Later feature to organise resources into folders on site to make sharing resources linked to a topic or theme easier.

Using Google Classroom

Google Classroom is designed to upload resources, create deadlines, mark work and start discussions with your class online. This way they're still learning and not falling behind whilst not in school. We've made it easier for you to work with Google Classroom by including a Google Drive Button next to all our resources, where available. This allows you to download the resource straight to your drive, which can then be uploaded into Google Classroom.

Read our guide to Google Classroom here.

Creating Lessons in Twinkl Go!

Twinkl Go! is a really useful tool that can be used to curate our interactive content. Within the Twinkl Go! area of the site, you can find online games, self-marking comprehensions, audiobooks and more.

If you're teaching a particular topic or area of learning, you can group together all related activities in a lesson, then share this lesson with parents using a code. It's really easy to do and a very efficient and effective way to create online lessons for your pupils. Again, lesson codes can be shared through class blogs, email, your website or printed out to send home at the end of the day. A video tutorial for how to do this can be found here and we also have a Twinkl Go! user guide for further information.

We've also put together a selection of lessons within Twinkl Go! for different age groups. Check them out here. Really useful, really simple and available to anyone who has full access to the site.

Using Twinkl Originals

Parents may feel more comfortable and confident in using books as a starting point for learning. Our Twinkl Originals books were created to encourage a love of reading and enhance curriculum-wide learning through accompanying teacher-created resources. Each book is available in different formats - PowerPoint, eBook or audio book (available through Twinkl Go!) - and has been written using age-appropriate vocabulary and themes. Books are available for EYFS, KS1 and KS2 and each comes with ready-made resources to support writing, maths and other curriculum areas. Once you've found a book within the Twinkl Originals page, click to see all supporting resources. If you're covering a particular topic at school, this is a great way to continue this learning at home.

Imagine

Twinkl Imagine gives you a different photo every day with a range of activities for KS1 and KS2 children designed to be done independently or with an adult. Activities cover English, Maths, Art and Design, research challenges and engaging discussions. There are also topic webs with ideas on how each topic can link to a child's learning across different subjects.

With over 400 photos to choose from, there are lots of different topics to explore.

Lapbooks and Workbooks

For parents who may prefer a topic-led approach, we have a fantastic range of lapbooks to choose from. Browse the options online - again, these might align with topics being learnt at school. There's also a helpful guide which explains how to make a Twinkl lapbook. Super simple and a really enjoyable activity for children and parents alike.

Our maths workbooks offer a really simple solution. They're organised by age group and topic, and are available with answer sheets for easy marking. Use ready-made workbooks from the site, or create your own to print out and share with parents.

Other Useful Resources

Twinkl Boost offers step-by-step lessons and interventions. Designed for use in class, there's lots that parents could select for their children at home.

Our Maths Mysteries are incredibly popular, self-led activities. Perfect for use at home.

For hands-on, fun science activities, take a look at our Awe and Wonder collection.

How can we discuss Coronavirus with children?

Inevitably, children will have questions about the Coronavirus and want to find out more. To support parents and teachers with these conversations, we have a range of suitable materials on site. Discuss good hygiene and hand washing using our display packs, or take a look at our child-friendly news reports in Twinkl Newsroom - designed for use in KS2 (ages 7 to 11) with new stories added each day. Or search 'coronavirus' on the Twinkl site to find other related materials.

As ever, if schools, teachers or parents have any questions, we're always here to help. Contact TwinklCares using the help icon at the bottom of the page to send a message to our experienced team of teachers. Our Facebook communities are a fantastic source of ideas, knowledge and support for parents and teachers alike. Furthermore, we'd love to hear any other ideas you might have which we can share with the wider Twinkl network.

In unexpected times, we all play our part in helping in whichever way we can. The help we are offering would not be possible without the continued support of our members - thank you. We're hopeful that we've been able to make a challenging situation a little easier and our thoughts are with anyone who has been affected.

Jonathan Seaton

Twinkl CEO

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How to Utilise Twinkl during the Coronavirus Shutdown: A Guide for Schools

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Schools across the globe are responding to the outbreak of the Coronavirus. In some cases schools have closed or are making preparations for a potential closure. At Twinkl, our mission is to help those who teach and we are therefore taking steps to support continued learning at home.

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A great game that focuses on sorting shapes. Be careful though one of the pictures does not match!

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Copy of Copy of Shape Sort Paperless Google Classroom Distance Learning

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PDST teacher resource for PE. Clear explanation that seeks to assist your child's gross motor skills.

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Official education portal of the Department of Education and Skills in Ireland. Curriculum focused resources and support for primary and post primary teachers.

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The organisation Chime read and sign the following story.

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Games, Videos, Brain Boosters, for animal lovers.

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The organisation Chime read and sign the following story.

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Chime - National Charity for Deafness & Hearing Loss

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Trolls: Can't Stop the Feeling. Stay active to feel great!

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Trolls: Can't Stop The Feeling | GoNoodle

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From the Literacy Shed. An interesting story for any Lego lovers out there.

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A true story about the history of Lego which can be used as a model text for writing chronological reports or biographies.

The narration of the text can be used to show directly what these texts look and sound like. Note the use of rhetorical questions in the opening section.
How paragraphs often begin with connectives, words to show when something happened or to show the passing of time. e.g. Many years ago, one day, suddenly etc.
It can demonstrate the links between paragraphs e.g: "It seemed like nothing could go wrong. But a stormy night in 1942 changed their luck.

Writing Opportunities

-Practice writing rhetorical questions for effect.
​-Children could create lego models and write instructions
-Use model to create biography for a similar figure.
-Create an advert for the early toys
-Create biography for Ole Christiansen.
-Map his mood through the events in the story.
-Compare lego with other toys such as meccano or modern games and argue why Lego is best. Maybe worthwhile comparing with mine craft, listing similarities and differences, which is more engaging? Which is best for money? Etc
-Design own lego land - use Lego to build it. Draw maps, write brochures and visitors guides. ​

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A true story about the history of Lego which can be used as a model text for writing chronological reports or biographies. The narration of the text can be used to show directly what these texts...

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Stories are read online by actors. Some interesting reads include, The Rainbow Fish and When a Dragon Moves In.

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The SAG-AFTRA Foundation's Daytime Emmy-nominated, Storyline Online, features celebrated actors reading children's books to inspire a love of reading in millions of children worldwide.

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A great website to practice counting, matching and ordering.

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Ladybird Spots - Counting, Matching and Ordering game

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Three fun counting, matching and ordering numbers games can help early years children learn to count objects and recognise numbers 1 to 10 and also number words to 10.

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A lovely website to practice counting, try to see if your child can name or sign the sea creatures.

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Learn to Count up to 10 with Underwater Counting Maths Game

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A fun learning to count maths game for early years children by Topmarks. Find the treasure by counting the underwater creatures. Two difficulty levels - counting up to 5 or up to 10.

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An excellent one stop PDF for infants. Phonics, maths, matching. Ideal if you have a printer and are working from home.