Make this easy Halloween chalk art craft with your kids!

Happy Halloween!

Almost.

I was looking through some of the crafts and things my kids have and what did I find? An easy Halloween craft that is also an easy arts and craft activity for other times of the year–those are always the best.

Chalk Art for Kids

What you’ll need for this craft:

A bat shape–whether you make it out of cardstock or have one of those plastic tracers (can be another animal! In fact, this would be an easy, fun craft for farm animal units and is an easy preschool craft as well.). Basically, you will need a distinguishable shape that you can colour with chalk.

Black construction paper.

Lots of different coloured chalk.

Tissues (This craft is so easy and beautiful you’re gonna cry! Actually, it is for the craft, but you are welcome to cry at this craft’s simple beauty.)

Hair spray (optional–the non-sticky kind is best)

Hey, joke time! What do which use to style their hair? Scare spray! Ha, ha, ha!

Here’s what you do to make this bat craft:

1. Colour the tracer with chalk. Lots of colour! Use different colours and go crazy!

2. Hold the tracer in place on top of the black construction paper.

3. Gently wipe (with the tissue) from the middle of the tracer outwards off the edge of the tracer onto the paper. Continue brushing/wiping outwards in different directions until you have wiped all the colour off the tracer and have a complete outline of your bat (or whatever tracer you have or have created). Don’t over-wipe. One gentle wipe in each direction should be enough.

4. Spray the paper lightly with hair spray to bond the chalk to the page–that way it won’t smear and wipe off.

There you go. An easy Halloween craft and easy chalk art for your kids.

Do you have any favourite chalk art masterpieces you’d like to share?

An easy Thanksgiving Craft for Kids–they’ll love it!

Happy Thanksgiving (weekend) my Canadian friends! And for my American friends, tuck this Thanksgiving centerpiece craft for kids in your back pocket for next month.

Kids love to be involved in big family celebrations and, in particular, feel pride when they can create something that is shared and enjoyed by everyone. An easy centerpiece craft is great way for kids to do just that!

This turkey-lurky is a craft Mary made with the kids at the local library and all the turkeys looked completely different even though the kids used the same supplies. I love how kids always add their own flair to their crafts. It’s unique and creative and also a form of self-expression. Who knew, eh?

How to Make a Turkey/Thanksgiving Centerpiece Craft

You’ll need the following supplies:

• terracotta pot* (small)
• feathers
• craft foam sheets (brown, orange, red) — if you don’t have foam sheets, you can easily use construction paper
• white glue (or a hot glue gun along with adult assistance)
• googly eyes
• fuzzy pompom balls
• scissors
• pen (you may want to sketch out the pieces before cutting and pen works a bit better than pencil on foam sheets–although pencil can work as well)

Using a brown sheet of crafting foam cut it into a long keyhole shape (see photo above). Cut a beak out of orange foam, and a mouth out of red foam. Then cut out that funny wattle shape turkeys have. (Also red–although if your kids are partial to purple or green, go with the flow.)

Glue the face parts, including googly eyes, on to the keyhole-shaped piece. (The fat part is the face, and the longer part is the neck which will be partly hidden from view when it is glued into the pot.

Glue the head onto the pot at the base of the neck. (Tuck it inside the pot.) Glue feathers–standing up–on the other side of the pot’s inside.

Along the last of the exposed rim, add the fuzzy pompoms. Why? ‘Cause they look cool.

Voila! A Thanksgiving Centerpiece. (Or, if you are teaching a unit on farm animals or birds, you now have an easy turkey craft for your classroom of little turkeys.

What are your plans for Thanksgiving? Do you usually have a centerpiece? Have your kids ever made one for you?

*No terracotta pot? Try using a small yogurt container and either painting it brown with thick paint or even better–no flaking worries(and easier)–try covering it with construction paper.