Preschool Valentine's Day Craft - Paper Plate Heart Wreath

It is always fun to get the house in a festive mood for a holiday.  This easy preschooler craft is perfect to spread some Valentine's Day cheer.  You only need a few simple things to make this paper plate heart wreath and it is also a great opportunity to learn about two shapes - circles and hearts.

What You Need

Large paper plate
Glue stick or white glue
White, pink, red and/or purple construction paper
Scissors

How to Assemble Your Paper Plate Heart Wreath

1.  Cut out a large hole in the middle of the paper plate.
2.  Fold a piece of construction paper over 4 times and cut half of a heart at the fold so that you will end up with 8 hearts.  Repeat this for as many colours as you would like to use.
3.  Glue the hearts on to the paper plate, covering most of the white background.
4.  Let it dry for 10 minutes and then hang it up and enjoy!

Paper Plate Heart Wreath

For more Valentine's Day craft ideas, click here.

Easy Remembrance Day Craft For Preschoolers

Remembrance Day is hard to explain to little ones but I wanted to do something with my kids if only to get them to start recognizing the poppy and eventually understand its significance.  So this morning my toddler and my preschooler set to work on making fingerprint poppy wreaths.

What you need:

-White or light coloured piece of construction paper
-Red finger paint
-Green or black finger paint
-A small plate or something to put the paint on

Ready to paint!

Use your thumb dipped in red paint to make the outside of the poppy. Use your index finger (or adults can use their baby finger) dipped in green paint to make the centre of the poppy.  Black paint works for the centre too.

My daughter's finished art work

My son's finished art work

Two years ago my husband and I visited the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.  I was inspired and haunted by the images we saw and the stories we read but also left feeling incredibly lucky that so many men and women made such sacrifice so that we could live in the fortunate country that Canada is today.

My husband is a history buff and I know when the kids are old enough he will make sure they understand the significance of our country's history and why we always need to honour and remember our soldiers.

Looking for more Remembrance Day crafts?  Hop over to our main momstown arts & crafts website.

Paper Bag Fish Craft for Kids

Our theme for the month of August at momstown Oakville has been 'On the Pond' and we've been reading books and exploring crafts that help our little ones learn more about this topic.  At our Tales for Tots program earlier this week, the kids made a paper bag fish.  It's such a cute craft that I wanted to give some more details on how to make your own paper bag fish.

What you need:

-brown paper bag
-scrap paper, torn into small pieces
-tin foil
-tissue paper
-elastic band
-glue
-marker

Take a brown paper bag with the bottom of the bag facing down.  Fold in each corner to make a triangle, this will be the fishes mouth.  Stuff the pieces of scrap paper into the bag to make the body of the fish expand. Glue a triangular piece of tin foil at the top of the fish to make a fin.  Decorate the fish with pieces of tissue paper and tin foil and then put an elastic band around the end of the bag to make the fishes tail.

This fish has been a big hit at our house and I love that I don't have to feed it or clean out its tank!

In September we'll be exploring the theme of Firetrucks!  To join in on all our great programming, purchase a momstown Oakville membership or sign up for a free 4 week trial.  As a special bonus, if you buy a one year membership in August or September, you will receive a 12 month subscription to Today's Parent magazine.  Click here for all the details!

Flowers and Dancing in Oakville!

The kids had a ball at StudioTime this week. This time, Michelle, a fabulous and engaging dance instructor (and incredibly energetic, had to have three espresso shots to keep up:) kept the kids dancing and laughing and finished off with a some parachute games.

momstown Oakville does this party with a slight variation on the theme every month. It's a great opportunity to do something a little different and tucker your little one out at the same time. Plus, if you can manage it, there's an amazing shoe sale right now across the street!