6 Snowman Themed Painting Projects for Kids

We didn't get enough snow to make snowmen last year. We waited with crossed fingers until April rolled around, then we gave up, defeated and longing for a day spent rolling big balls of snow around.

This year, if we don't have ample snow in our own backyard for winter fun, we are at least prepared to craft up some snowman fun! I found 6 Snowman Themed Painting Projects for Kids to keep in my reserve of winter fun and I think you are going to like these ideas too!

Handprint Snowman Preschool Craft
Bubble Wrap Snowman Painting
Snowman Winter Art Project
Snowman Sensory Art with Puffy Paint
Footprint Snowman Craft
Easy Puffy Paint Snowman Project

These ideas are simple enough for small children and creative enough to offer your older kids a chance to create and explore new materials.  Which is a win/win! My favorite art supply to introduce to children is Kwik Stix, tempura paint sticks. You can get these through my affiliate link.

Hopefully, we will get the best of both worlds this winter; a chance to whoop it up in the snow and make a ton of snowmen, then come in and warm up with a painting project or two!

If you have a favorite snowman painting project for kids, please leave a comment to share it with us!

You might also like this Paper Cookie Preschool Craft.

Letter B Worksheet for Preschoolers

Print this free letter B worksheet for preschoolers or pin it or later.

My daughter is starting kindergarten this fall, so we are working hard on our letters and numbers!

I have been making letter recognition worksheets for Harper to practice her letter finding skills.

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You can have your child circle the letters with a crayon or marker, or if you have a bingo marker, that is fun too! You can print as many of these as you need. Share them with a friend, or keep a few on hand for future reference.

Below you will find more preschool resources. Keep checking back as I will be sharing worksheets for the entire alphabet over the coming weeks.

Print the Letter B Worksheet

Find more preschool resources here

Letter A Coloring Page

Letter A Recognition Worksheet

Apple Dot a Dot Printable

Letter B Coloring Page

Print the I is for Igloo Coloring Page

School is out but we are still working on our letters! When the temps reached 92 last week, all Harper and Rolf could think of was popsicles, ice cream and playing with the hose. It seemed fitting to make an igloo for the letter I!

This printable combines handwriting practice and coloring for the win.

This post contains affiliate or compensated links.

To keep the fun of igloos going, we got some fun Toob toys from Safari LTD. We went with the Arctic Toob series because it had so many fun options including a seal, a fox, a whale, an igloo and more! Harper loved adding these fun toys to a bin of ice for a fun sensory experience.

We followed it up with a great book, Curious George Builds an Igloo. An afternoon playing in ice, learning about the letter Ii, and reading a great story in the cool comforts of our house made for an experience that even Rolfie, who is too cool on his own, couldn't resist getting involved in!

Print the I is for Igloo Coloring Page

Pin this page for later, or share it with a preschool parent!

You can find more FREE preschool printables here

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

Letter A Preschool Worksheet

Print this easy letter A worksheet for your preschooler. It is simple, free and a good resource to add to your printable files.

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase I will earn a small commission.

There are so many ways to work on letter recognition with your preschooler. From easy worksheets like these ones, to handing over an old word search or newspaper and asking your preschooler to find certain letters.Harper also love to practice tracing the letters with a highlighter. 

This worksheet is so easy! We prefer to use bingo markers on these, but if you don't have one, circling with crayons is fine too!

Print the Letter A Worksheet

More Letter A Resources for Preschoolers

Letter A Coloring Page

Apple Do a Dot Worksheet

Print as many of these as you need for your classroom, or add them to your homeschool files. I would LOVE it if you pin this worksheet to your preschool board or share it with a friend.

Apple Dot a Dot Printable

I have been busy making so many fun things to keep Harper busy with her letters and hopefully avoid the dreaded summer slump. To go with our letter recognition sheet and coloring page for the letter A, I made a super simple and cute dot a dot.

This post contains affiliate links, if you make a purchase I will earn a commission.

These are perfect for little hands! You will need bingo markers for this easy activity. If this is your first time with do a dot worksheets, the idea is simple. Have your child place a "dot" with the bingo marker in the circles.  Allow to dry, and display!

While this is such a simple activity, kids LOVE it. When I help at preschool and we work on a do a dots, all of the kids are totally enthralled the entire time.

More Preschool Resources for the Letter A

Letter A Coloring Page

Letter A Recognition Worksheet

Letter C Preschool Worksheets

Letter Recognition worksheets are a great way for preschoolers to practice their abc,just as crossword puzzles and Scrabble are great for older kids building their vocabularies.

As my youngest is eager to learn and excited for kindergarten in the fall I started making her these letter worksheets. I wanted to share them all with you as a free resource. Print as many as you like;  you can use them in a classroom setting, share with a friend, or just print one to use with your little one at home.

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase I will earn a small advertising fee at no extra cost to you.

You can have your little learner circle with a crayon or marker, or use a bingo marker for a little extra fun.  

Keep checking back as I have so many of these fun alphabet worksheets to share with you. Below you can find more resources for preschoolers.

Print the Letter C Worksheet

Find more preschool resources here

Letter A Coloring Page

Letter A Recognition Worksheet

Apple Dot a Dot Printable

Letter B Coloring Page

Letter B  Recognition Worksheet

Letter C Coloring Page

Best Gifts for Preschoolers

If you need a great gift for a preschooler in your life, you are going to appreciate this list! It is filled with fun ways to engage preschoolers while encouraging them to learn via play. From games to building kits, these are some of my favorite gift ideas for the 2019 gifting season.

Samples were provided for original photography. Affiliate links may  be used.

Challenge preschoolers with this engaging brain train. Kids will be sorting shapes and practicing their sequencing skills with this train learning tool by Smart Games. Find it from Fat Brain Toys and retailers like Walmart for about $30.

Toddlers will love adding a realistic element to dramatic play with this recycling truck by Green Toys. This is so much fun for kids and it introduces the idea of recycling as a part of daily life. The truck is super durable for curious hands. Get one online or at select retailers for about $30.

This Sizzling Smart BBQ from Leapfrog gives kids a chance to cook out anytime they want! Including 8 play foods to keep the fun sizzling, this interactive toy keeps toddlers learning colors, shapes and more. Add one to the Christmas list and cook up a smile with your favorite toddler. Retailing at $40, get it from select nationwide retailers or online.

Send your favorite preschoolers on high seas learning adventure with some engaging Vtech friends. The Treasure Seekers Pirate Ship gives toddlers a chance to develop and improve fine and gross motor skills while having an adventure fit for any thrill seeking pirate! Find it from select retailers like Target, Walmart and Amazon for under $35.

If you want to find the perfect gift for a preschooler that loves unicorns, Myla the Magical Unicorn by Vtech is the perfect option. She lights up, changes colors and sings to the delight of preschool girls. Find Myla at select retailers like Walmart, Kohl's and Buy Buy Baby for under $60.

Give your preschooler a chance to enjoy their tablet time and favorite music at a kid safe volume with Buddy Phones. These are comfortable, wireless, and ideal for the long car trips that often occur during the holidays. Starting at $50, these are a gift the entire family will appreciate and that can be used in daily life, including at school.

The PBS Kids VR Viewer makes for a fun way to make more out of time with mom or dads phone. This VR viewer holds the average smartphone to give preschoolers a virtual reality viewing experience. This retails for about $10 and can be found at Walmart.

Give kids a really friendly introduction to a classic game with Story Time Chess. With large friendly pieces, this revolutionary approach to chess makes it simple to teach kids as young as three the art of the game. Find this must get game online for $50 for fun that keeps going well past the holidays.

Send your preschooler on a learning voyage without ever leaving the house with this World Village Ireland Play Set Kids will love exploring a new culture in a hands on method with this play set. Retailing at under $60 this is a perfect option for curious kids this holiday season. Order from the Whole Wide World website.

Give curious kids a chance to explore the whole wide world with this Happy World interactive map. It gives kids a chance to dive into geography with a map they can write on or stick some reusable stickers on. Buy it online at the Whole Wide World website for under $20 this holiday season for a learning experience that they will keep coming back to.

Give kids who love to build a chance to imagine and design their own creations with Brackitz.
This is a building kit for kids that combines math, science and hands on fun to create a recipe for fun that kids 3 and up won't be able to get enough of. This is my favorite STEM option for preschoolers this year. Order it online from the Brackitz site for about  $60. Come back to visit again once our holiday giveaways kick off for your chance to win one.

Find all of my gift guides here.

Santa Coloring Page

I have a really cute free printable to share with you today; both of my kids loved coloring this one! We can't help but get a little excited as we count down the days til the big holiday! So, I made them a Santa coloring page to inspire some of their sweet dreams!

Santa Coloring Page

This free coloring page is perfect for kids of all ages! Print one, or as many as you need. This is great for sharing at school, as an offering at the kids table to keep them entertained, or to share with a friend. Pin this for later, because it will come in handy year after year!

If you are looking for more free coloring pages check out some of these reader favorites.

G is for Girl

J is for Jam

A is for Alligator
 

Letter C preschool worksheets

H is for Hot Air Balloon

Top Gifts for Girls

This year there are so many awesome gift options that the hardest part of making Christmas wishes come true is deciding on what to buy! I have been busy as one of Santa's elves testing out some of the hottest toys and I have found some super fun ones! I am so excited to present these fun toys to you in my top picks for girls gift guide!

This post contains partner and affiliate links. Products and or payment was received for promotional considerations.

1) LeapFrog Epic Academy Edition Kids Tablet
This was my top pick for Harper this year because she really wants to use my ipad all of the time, but I worry about some of the things she wants to watch and play. The ads that pop up on so many of the games. This tablet is completely perfect for her, right out of the box. It has 20 learning games installed for family friendly entertainment, it also has a free trial of Leapfrog academy included. This offers kids a great chance to learn a variety of subjects anywhere they may go. The search feature is super safe, which I love. I no longer have to worry about my 4 year old landing on inappropriate youtube videos!

Retailing for under $120, this is a tablet that will grow with Harper. Ideal for ages 3 to 9, this is a colorful and durable tablet for kids that helps them learn and play all in one. A great feature is that as your child is ready to explore new android apps, you can add them to this tablet. That was a deciding factor for me as it will allow her to use the tablet with some of the other toys she will receive on Christmas morning!

2) Dance Code Belle
This is such a fun way to introduce your daughters to coding! They can create dances for Belle, and she will show them her moves! Control her from the app, press her necklace, or hold her hand for different ways to play with Dance Code Belle.

Coding seems like it would be hard, but girls as young as 5 can get in on the action by drawing the steps out, or a simple dot to dot style of coding. This is a great way to introduce a concept that may play a big role in her later life through an irresistible option!

Retailing for under $100 you can find this gorgeous Belle doll exclusively on Amazon this holiday season.

3) Baby Alive Sweet Tears Baby Doll
If your little girl loves babies this is the ultimate doll for her! Not only is it really adorable, but it also gives kids hands on tasks to make baby happy and smiling again! Your little one can play caregiver to a very interactive doll that smiles, giggles and even cries real tears!

The Sweet Tears Baby Alive comes with so much more than just a doll! She comes with everything you need to nurse her back to health when she is ill, feed her a snack, or brush her hair. One of my favorite features is that this doll isn't just for little girls. With a simple flip of a switch you can take your interactive doll from mommy to daddy mode for fun for little boys. Sweet Tears Baby Alive can make 35 phrases and sounds as an added bonus!

Retailing for under $50 this is a super fun gift option for little ones that love dolls!

4)  Play Doh Letters and Language Set
This is such a fun way to combine play and learning! The set has 26 letter stamps, 6 cans of play doh, a stylus, a roller, a mat  and a guide book for a complete letter learning experience.

One of the reasons we love play doh is it is such a wonderful tool for fine motor skill development. Harp has been playing with the classic dough since she was about a year old, and has developed so many crucial skills for life with the squishy dough in her hands, including using scissors. As we are learning all about the alphabet and making a lot effort on letter recognition in her preschool years this is a set that will bring her so much more than fun on Christmas day. It will help her build on a solid foundation of early learning with a favorite play time staple.

Retailing for under $20 this is a gift I recommend to anyone shopping for an early learner!

5) Go Go Smart Friends Shimmering Seashell Castle
This fun playset is perfect for little ones that like mermaids! The sandcastle features 3 points that when Pearl the mermaid is placed will produce fun sounds and phrases. The set includes friends for Pearl the mermaid to make playtime an epic underwater adventure.

Retailing at under $40 this is a great V tech toy for dramatic play and discovery. I love dramatic play tools for Harp so this was a natural choice. She will play with this in so many ways and I know she will introduce Pearl and the underwater friends to a lot of other toys.

This set features so much more than just a cute house. There is a vanity, a slide, a carrousel and so many more fun features to make this an exciting choice for little ones!

6) Hape Toys City Cafe Play Kitchen
This is a seriously adorable little kitchen. I love that it is wooden, because it looks so much more realistic than the heavy plastic varieties. It is compact enough for small space play, but in that tiny space it packs a lot of fun!

Featuring everything your little one needs to cook up a great time, the City Cafe Play Kitchen is one of my favorite gift ideas this year. As I mentioned above, I love to encourage dramatic play in my preschooler. With something as simple as a cute little kitchen, she can learn in so many ways!

This was a great option to pair with our Hape toys play food that we have been collecting over the years. Retailing for under $100, this is a gift that will bring years of learning through play.

7) Hape Toys Mighty Echo Microphone
This was another great choice for dramatic play. My kids have always wanted to get their hands on a microphone and with this choice it is possible without damaging eardrums or sanity levels.

This microphone has amazingly good sound quality for a battery free toy! I think it is a fun way to encourage kids to sing and again, engage in dramatic play. This makes a great gift for kids 12 months and up.

This would make a great stocking stuffer or gift exchange option as well.

8) Voice Activated BB8 
If your little girl looks up to Rey, then the natural choice is the Voice Activated BB8 from Hammacher Schlemmer. This is such a fun toy! Standing at about 19" tall this cute little robot is ready for adventure! The Star Wars character can be controlled using an included 40' range remote or set to an interactive mode that responds to voice commands such as “Come here”, “Where’s Rey?”, and “Stand guard!” Complete with lights and sounds from the BB8 we all know and love, this is a one of a kind toy that will make Christmas dreams come true as she sets out on an adventure with her new interactive friend. Retailing at under $230 this is the perfect gift for Star Wars fan girls of all ages. Not only is the BB8 droid adorable but he is so interactive! his moods are funtastic and the sounds are completely realistic. Also, check out kids advent calendars on Kidsco for more inspiration for various toys.

I would love to hear what your favorite gift options for girls are this year!

Making Traffic Lights Preschool Craft

My son and I have a routine. In the morning he has free time, he can play as he like or watch cartoons. He can color or grab a stack of books to look at. While he has free time I work. At 10 a.m. He gets his notice that we will clean the living room together when am finished cleaning the kitchen. 

Roo takes advantage of that notice and plays as hard as he can while I work in the kitchen. If it appears that he is having a especially good time I might dash in to make beds and start a load of laundry so that he can extend his fun.

When the chores have been taken care of Roo and I pick up all of the evidence of his morning fun. 

When the blankets, pillows, toys and books have been put away and the carpet has been vacuumed it is craft time. Harper likes this part of the morning because it is her chance to get on the floor and roll around.

Each week I have 2 planned crafts and I offer Roo the chance to choose the other 3 activities for the week. Last week he told me he wanted to make a "red light". 

Hmmm. That is easy peasy! Even I can manage this one without incident!

To begin the craft we got out the disposable plates I keep in our craft supplies for projects like this one, and 4 sheets of construction paper in red, yellow, green and black. I grabbed a tube of glue and we sat down to create.

I had Roo help me tear the paper into small pieces. I thought this was a good way to work on fine motor skills and develop his pencil grip.

 

Next I tore the black paper into 2 strips.

I made 3 circles of glue on each paper.

I demonstrated what I wanted Roo to do. Place the little bits of paper onto the glue. At first he wasn't sure why I wanted to keep the colors separate. 

But then he saw what we were doing! How cool! We had 2 "red lights" and he was ready to play. There was no waiting for the glue to dry!

And yes, that is a spider riding a motorcycle on the tracks!

2 "red lights" were not enough. With big blue eyes Roo begged "More Red Lights Please!" So we made another one with bits of paper on one of the plates we had used earlier.

I had a happy little boy who was very interested in daily craft time and who found inspiration in our craft to jump into a serious session of imaginative play. I felt accomplished that we had a smooth craft session, we worked on fine motor skills with a high interest creation. 

I am thinking of a better option for red lights for Roo. Maybe painting them on clothes pins so he could set them up by the train tracks. What do you think? What would you try?

A is for Alligator Craft

Now that Harper is in preschool, our projects have become intentional. I want to make sure she is getting the support she needs to put all that she is learning to good use! We have been taking our time exploring the alphabet and having a lot of fun doing it too!

Today, I want to share a fun letter A craft with you that comes together in a matter of moments and takes a bite out of craft time and makes letter recognition a lot of fun for preschoolers!

This post includes partner links.

To make the A is for Alligator Craft you will need:

2 x 4" strips of green paper
1 x 2" strip of green paper
2 x 2" strips of white paper
1 googly eye
glue stick
scissors

Directions:

1. With the 2x 4" strips  and 1 x 2" strip of green paper form your letter A and glue it in place.
2. Cut teeth shapes in the 2 x 2" strips of white paper. 
3. Glue the teeth on the legs of the A.
4. Glue the googly eye on to the top of the letter A.

If you have a fun craft idea for the letter A I would love to hear about it in a comment!

H is for Hot Air Balloon

This free printable is perfect for your letter of the week studies! It incorporates tracing, coloring and letter recognition, and best of all, it is FREE to print!

Harper and I have been working on one letter each week to help her build on what she is learning at preschool. I am a firm believer that education continues at home, and I LOVE to tackle fun projects with my mini. We make coloring time at least 3 times a week, so I knew that creating letter themed coloring pages would be a lot of fun for the two of us!

H is naturally her favorite letter. It is H like for Harper! I have a love of hot air balloons so I added that in, in hopes that she will find them interesting too. I want to do a hot air balloon ride with the kids when she gets a little older.

I would love it if you pin this coloring page for later, share it with a friend or print as many as you could need! If you work on these printable pages with your early learners I would love it if you share a pic on my facebook page.

Print the H is for Hot Air Balloon Coloring Page

You can find our other letter printables here:

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

Cupcake Liner Sun Craft

Preschoolers will love this easy sun craft. It is perfect for spring days! All you need is a few supplies and a little imagination.

Harp is my crafty girl.She loves to make makeup, is a renowned perfume mixer, and is always drawing something! We had made these lovely perfumes to share that smelled like spring days so we thought we needed to make a few pictures to go with them. 

Samples were provided for inclusion in this post.

The perfume kit, you will want to check out independently! This is aimed at older kids, but with close supervision and assistance it was something Harper was well suited for. We got the STMT DIY Signature Scent Kit from the Horizon Group and LOVED it!

I gathered some easy supplies that you will probably already have at home.

Supplies

Yellow cupcake liners

White cupcake liners

Markers

Glue

Blue Construction Paper

Directions

Glue one yellow cupcake liner on a sheet of blue paper.

Using an orange marker give the yellow cupcake liner rays like the sun.

Using a white cupcake liner, cut out several puffy cloud shapes.

Have your preschooler do all of these steps independently. The cutting is good practice!

 Finally give the sun a happy face to welcome spring!

You can find all of our spring crafts here.
3D Paper TulipsBird Activities

Birthday Cake Sensory Bin

This easy birthday cake sensory bin is perfect for any little aspiring chef! Made with homemade playdough and complete with loads of sprinkles and fake candles, this bin keeps preschoolers happily baking up something good!

After many years of mothering, I have learned that it is a good idea to have an activity planned for the afternoon. I usually have something set up for Harp like a paper craft or something she can get creative with, but lately we have been LOVING sensory bins. 

Harper loves to bake, so the idea for this birthday cake sensory bin came around. I thought she would love the chance to play with sprinkles, and I was right. When she came home from preschool, she was ready to get her hands into this bin! I have a feeling your little one will want to do the same should you recreate this project.

This was easy to assemble and super economical. You likely have all of the supplies on hand!

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase I will earn a small commission at no cost to you.

Supplies:

1/2 cup of shampoo (any kind will do, including something from the dollar store!)

 2 tablespoons of water

1 cup of flour

Sprinkles

Silicone cupcake molds, small cake pans, small dishes for forming cakes. Your childs play food collection is a great place to find materials to use in this bin.

Washi Tape

Small Craft Sticks

A battery operated votive candle

Tissue Paper in orange, yellow or red

A baking dish or a bin with a lid

To make the birthday cake dough:

Add one cup of flour, 2 tablespoons of water and 1/2 cup of shampoo together in a medium bowl. 

Begin to stir, as the ingredients start to bind together, finishing mixing with your hands.

 If the dough feels sticky, you will add a little more flour, no more than 1/4 cup.

Test for stickiness. If the dough is still sticky, add a little more flour and continue to mix until it doesn't stick to your hands.

To make fake candles:

You will need a length of washi tape that can cover a craft stick on both sides.

Allow the tape to slightly overlap the craft stick and place small squares of tissue paper on the top of the stick. I layered orange and yellow tissue paper to resemble a flame.

Fold the tape up to cover the other side of the craft stick.

Trim the edges of the tape on the sides of the craft stick.

Trim your tissue paper to resemble a flame.

To assemble the birthday cake activity bin:

Pour a bottle of sprinkles in the bottom of the dish or storage container you plan to use.

Add the dough.

Add small dishes like play food dishes, silicone cupcake molds, small baking dishes.

Add the fake candles and a battery operated votive candle, if you have one.

Invite your child to explore the activity. They will form cakes, decorate with sprinkles and add candles to serve birthday cake!

Find more hands on play ideas here

In the Sky Bin

Sushi Bin

Play Doh Ideas