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Snowflake Sisters

This activity was inspired by our kiddo’s favorite movie involving a strong sisterly bond, a talking snowman, and the journey to discovering their strengths.

Blue Snowflake
Step 1: Fold construction paper in half.
Step 2: Fold it in half, again.
Step 3: Cut small snips off the corners & edges of your folded paper.
Step 4: Unfold & enjoy your magical snowflake!
Step 5: Try a new cutting & folding pattern to see which you like best.

Purple Snowflake
Step 1: Outline the shape of a snowflake with a marker.
Step 2: Trace the outline with glue from a glue bottle.
Step 3: Sprinkle salt on the glue & discard the extra salt that landed elsewhere on the paper.
Step 4: Let dry.
Step 5: Use watercolor paint to dab the salted lines & watch the magic travel through the snowflake!

Newspaper Dance

Challenge your child’s core muscles by having them stand on a newspaper page (or paper bag, or another safe alternative you may have in your home).

This game works like Musical Chairs.

Play a song and have the child dance.

When the song stops, the child must stand on the newspaper page.

If the child does not step outside of the newspaper page boundary, fold the newspaper page in half.

Continue this until the child is unable to stand without stepping outside of the boundary.

Use painter’s tape to hold the newspaper page in place to prevent slips/falls.

You may see your child transitioning from standing with a typical stance, then standing with feet close together, then standing on one foot, then standing on tip-toes. This challenges their core!

Increase the challenge by:

Playing with an appropriate peer on the same newspaper page – be ready to catch anyone who loses balance!

Cutting Dr. Seuss’s Hat

Use the provided Dr. Seuss’s Hat shape template (download here) or draw your own on a construction paper with markers.

To work on snipping, cut long strips of red construction paper, and mark short lines for the child to snip (see image).

Provide the child with the hat template and the red paper stripes.

Instruct the child to snip on the lines.

Have the child glue the pieces that he cut into the hat template. If needed, provide the child with visual cues where to glue the pieces.

Grading Options

Work on hand strength by asking the child to tear the paper into small pieces, instead of cutting.
Use pieces of tissue paper and have the child crumble them, then glue them to the paper.
If the child is able to cut on a line, or to practice cutting on a line, draw long lines for the child to cut and match to the size of the stripes on the hat.

Make a Puzzle

Hand the child a xeroxed page of a holiday design (with multiple items to color) or draw a picture on the paper/construction paper.

Use the ruler to draw horizontal and vertical lines for the child to cut (number of pieces depends on the child’s age and skills).

You can also draw curved or wiggly lines depending on your child’s cutting abilities.

Have the child follow directions based on skill level.

Start with simple directions and progress to harder instructions if appropriate.

Once all items are colored, have the child cut across the lines.

Once cut, the child should reassemble the puzzle.

Place the pieces in a ziplock bag to take home if desired.

Stereognosis Shape Finder

Setup the Game

This activity is a game that you can play with the child, or have two children play together.

For this activity, you will need to use a shoebox with a lid.

Using scissors, cut open a circle on the side of the shoe box.

Make sure the hole you cut is wide enough for a child to put a hand through easily.

Insert different shaped blocks (i.e. triangle, circle, square, etc.) into the box, and tape down the lid to close the box.

Cut the construction paper to 8-10 squares, and draw shapes on them. The shapes should match the shapes of the blocks you put in the box. If you don’t have construction paper available, you can use any white piece of paper.

How To Play the Game

To play the game, pile the cards and place them in front of the child, facing down.

Let the child go first and flip a card. Then, instruct the child to put his hand in the box and find the block that has the shape that is shown on the card.

If the child pulls out the right block shape, he can keep the block and have another turn. If he pulls out a different shape, it’s your turn.

Grading

To grade the activity you can use a timer or a sand clock and have the child find the matching block shape in the allotted time.