crafts for kids

Materials

• Large sheet of white construction paper for each child.
• 15 tongue depressors or frozen flavored treat sticks per child
• Black marker
• Box of colored markers or crayons

Learning Skills

• Thinking skills/classification skills
• Pre-math skills
• Eye-hand coordination
• Fine motor development

Instructions

1. Before the kids arrive, outline the sticks on the white paper using the black marker in the following way: outline one stick on the far left side, allow a little space, then outline two sticks, allow a little space and continue in the same manner until you have outlined five sticks.
2. Repeat for all the kids in the group.
3. Gather the kids at the table and give each one a sheet of paper.
4. Have them color the first outline one of six basic colors: red, orange, yellow, purple, blue or green. Make sure each child begins with a different color so the papers are different.
5. Have them color one of the sticks the same color as the outline.
6. Have the kids color the next two outlines another color, as well as two more sticks--for example, if the first outline is colored red, you might color the next two outlines blue.
7. Color two sticks to match.
8. Repeat, changing colors for each set of outlines and match them with the same number of sticks.
9. When the outlines and sticks are colored, have the kids mix up the sticks and try to match them to their colors on the paper.
10. When they're finished, have them trade papers and sticks, then try to match the new set.