Thumbprint Ladybugs

• Thumbprint ladybugs is a relatively simple craft project that invites kids to create a collective work of art out of their thumbprints. Take a large sheet of butcher or construction paper, unroll it and lay it flat on a table. Assist the children with the task of cutting and gluing a background (green for the field, blue for the sky) onto the paper. Help them add cotton balls for the clouds. For the ladybug "bodies," have the children dip their thumbs in colored ink and press them onto the paper. For the "heads," have the kids dip their thumb tips in black ink. Spots may be added using a toothpick and white paint.
  
  

Flipbooks

• Hand out stacks of large-size sticky notes to the children, along with felt-tip markers, pens and ink stamps. Show them the process of drawing pictures that are progressively different, so as to create the illusion of motion when they thumb through the pages of the flipbook. When they are done with their creations, allow them to present their work to the group.
  
  

Pipe Cleaner Rings

• Help the children cut out flower-shaped pieces of colored felt with scissors, then assist them to make a hole through the middle of each flower with a single hole punch. For each ring, take a pipe cleaner and bend it into a 'V' shape, then thread it with a shank button (a button with a small metal protrusion on the back), and do the same for the felt flower shapes. The children can then wrap the two ends of the pipe cleaner around their ring fingers, and twist them around each other (like a bread bag twist tie) so that they form a ring. Beads and buttons can be added to the center of the flowers.
  
  

Tangrams

• Use colored butcher or construction paper to help the children cut out quadrilaterals and triangles of similar sizes. The pieces can then be backed with felt to give them weight. Show how the shapes can be arranged to create creative designs, such as lions, geese and dragons.