Young children are often excited by the changes they see in the world. This makes springtime especially interesting for preschoolers and early elementary age children. Spring is a perfect time to engage your Montessori preschool age child in craft activities that engage their senses and growing awareness of the changes that come with the seasons.
Spending time with your preschool age and elementary age child making simple and colorful crafts is not only fun, it can be an easy way to increase your child’s learning. You can choose crafts that encourage your child’s interest in things that they are learning in their Montessori preschool.
Pom Pom Chicks and Nest
Many Montessori elementary and preschool programs have chickens. This means that your Montessori preschool or elementary age child will likely be interested in learning more about chicks and how chicken’s live. A simple craft for your preschool child is to make a pom pom chick.
Making your Chick
To make a small chick you will need:
- A small pom pom
- A medium sized pom pom
- A small piece of orange felt. You will cut small triangular pieces to be added to your chick’s face. This will be your chick’s beak.
- A pair of small beads or googly eyes
- Glue
- scissors
- A large needle and yarn to match your pom pom color if you want to sew the chick’s body and head together.
It is always advisable that you use a tray for your art projects. This is in line with how your child works in the Montessori classroom. Allow your child to choose the pom poms, felt, and eyes and place them along with the glue or needle and yarn on their work tray. You may wish to model the project with your child by adding each item needed onto a tray of your own.
You may wish to have a completed chick for your child to explore to better understand what the project will look like when completed. Help your child understand each step of the project. You may wish to discuss each step prior to taking it and then modeling each step. Once you have modeled the step, you may wish to allow your child to try working independently.
To make a pom pom chick all you will need one small and one medium sized pom pom for your chick’s body. Depending on your patience and your child’s skill you can either help your child sew together the two pom pom. You may however prefer to glue the smaller pom pom on top of the medium sized pom pom. The smaller pom pom will be your chick’s head.
Making your Own Pom Poms
If you are working with an older child, a child with good fine motor skills, or wish to make your own pom poms, you can make your own pom poms by winding yarn around a cardboard template or around a fork. You will probably want to wind the yarn around your template 100 times. You can use this time to practice counting with your child.
What will you need to make pom poms:
- Forks
- Yarn
- A cardboard template
- Scissors
If you want to make a template you will want to use thin cardboard.
Tape one end of yarn on your template or along the back of your fork.
Wind the yarn around your template or fork approximately 100 times.
Take a seperate piece of yarn several inches long and slide it under the yarn on the template or between tines of the fork.
Tie the smaller piece of yarn tightly.
Slide the looped yarn off of the template or fork.
Cut the looped ends of the wound yarn. This will form your pom pom.
Trim the pom pom to the desired size and shape.
Making your Chick’s Nest
What you will need to make a nest for your pom pom chick:
- A cardboard egg carton
- Scissors
- Paints
- Paint brushes
- Markers
- Easter grass, shredded paper, tissue paper, or felt scraps may be used for the nesting material
Take a cardboard egg carton. Cut off the lid. Use your scissors to cut apart the egg cups. Trim the edges of the egg cup. Use the paint, stickers, and markers to decorate your chick’s nest.
Use tissue paper, felt scraps, Easter grass, or shredded paper to make a nest for you baby chick.