DIY Thankful Craft!

Patria Lincoln Posted On Nov 13, 2018 | Social-Emotional Learning

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to recognize all the people in our life that we're grateful for. Getting crafty and reflecting on the people we're thankful for was the perfect combination for this year's Thanksgiving activity. In addition to a fun activity, children will tap into their emotional intelligence. Giving children opportunities to express the way they feel and think about others is extremely important for children's growing minds and emotional awareness.

What You'll Need:

Unfinished wood picture frame

Construction paper (fall colors)

Scissors

Pen or pencil

Photos of special people

Tape

Yarn

Glue

Plastic plate or container

Paintbrush

Hole Puncher

Decorate the frame:

First, cut the colored construction paper into small strips. Have your child draw small leaf shapes on the first strip of paper.

If your child has had a lot of practice with cutting, stack 2 or 3 strips of paper on top of one another and then cut out a few leaves at a time. Otherwise, cut one leaf at a time. Once you have a pile of fall colored leaves it's time to begin gluing.

Squirt some glue onto a plastic plate or other container. Use the paintbrush to add glue to the picture frame and paste the leaves to the frame. We happened to use a heart shaped frame, but a rectangle opening would look great too! Cover the whole frame with fall leaves.

Once all the leaves are on the frame, paint over the leaves with glue once more and let it dry. Thanksgiving DIY Craft

Find a photo of your child and cut out a speech bubble related to giving thanks. Tape the speech bubble onto the photo. I wrote, "This year I have a lot to be thankful for..." which seemed fitting. Place the photo inside the frame.

Prepare the hanging items:

Next, use the remainder of construction paper to draw four large leaves to a page. Have your child cut the big leaves out.

Begin to have the conversation with your child of people in their life they are thankful for. Be patient, this could take some prompting and some examples. This year was unique and exciting because my son had an easier time expressing who he was thankful for and why, on his own. As your child grows and practices this exercise and other thankful activities it will become easier for your child too.

Now use the large leaves to write down your child's words of who he is thankful for and why. Also, print photos of these special people. Hole punch a hole in the top and bottom of each photo and leaf. Thankful Craft DIY

Cut long pieces of yarn and tape the yarn to the bottom back of the frame. Use one piece of yarn to string on a photo of a person your child is thankful for and the leaf (the reason they are thankful for him/her). Use a seperate piece of yarn for each person (photo and leaf). When you string on a photo or leaf, make a knot below each item so they will stay in place.

Now, your Thankful Mobile is complete! After completing this activity with my son, I too, felt thankful that he has really begun to understand the meaning of being grateful.

Wishing everyone a happy and fulfilling Thanksgiving!

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Celebrate Astronomy Day with Kids

Each year Astronomy Day is celebrated worldwide. The stars have fascinated humanity for literally centuries, and even to this day captures the imagination of kids of all ages. Celebrate this event with them this year and don't worry if you don't own any expensive telescopes. These DIY activities use real life discoveries to inspire your little astronomers!

Track the Phases of the Moon

Bone sticks from across Europe and Africa dating back as long ago as 35,000 BCE that tracked the moon’s phases. Use a simple number line with your kids to track the phases of the moon over the course of a month, from full moon and back again. Do it for several months and see what patterns they begin to observe.

Depict a Celestial Phenomenon

A celestial phenomenon is a astrological event that involves one or more objects. The earliest example depicted was discovered in Germany in 1999. The Nebra Sky Disc dates back to 2000 BC and it depicted a star cluster, phases of the moon and the rising sun.

Use a black paper plate, or even just black paper, and encourage your children to depict their own star formations. If they can’t stay up to observe them at night, project some indoors with this Shining Stars Projector.

Astronomy to Keep Time

The Chinese astronomers kept detailed observations beginning about 600 BC, for the primary purpose of timekeeping. Their records allowed them to predict eclipses, and include the first record of events such as supernovas and comets.

On the other side of the world, the Mayans developed their own astronomical tables for predicting the phases of the moon, eclipses, and the appearance of the other planets. They used these and the cycles of the Sun, the Moon, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars and constellations to establish the Mayan calendar.

All of the above astronomy was without a telescope, and you can still observe these astronomical events with your kids today. Check out this astronomy calendar and pick a full moon, eclipse, planetary event, or meteor shower to observe as a family.

Try this simple astronomy experiment to help kids as young as preschoolers understand what makes night.

Just because ancient astronomers did all of this without a telescope doesn't mean your little ones have to! All of the above activities can be done with the naked eye but if you feel like shooting for the stars check out Learning Resources Big View Telescope. How will you celebrate Astronomy Day?