On restless rainy afternoons, don't wish the clouds away—invite them to stay! Embrace springtime showers by making a sparkly Razzle Dazzle Raindrop. Break out the art supplies and inspire your kindergartener to get crafting. It's sure to keep the boredom at bay, and with all the cutting and constructing, it's great for her fine motor skills too.
What You Need:
- Pencil
- Cardboard
- Scissors
- Light blue construction paper
- Glue
- Small cups
- Paint brushes
- Silver glitter
- Dark blue washable paint
- Plastic wrap
- Masking tape
- Yarn and paper clips (optional)
What You Do:
- Help your child trace or draw a raindrop on the cardboard and cut it out.
- Trace a raindrop onto the light blue construction paper using your cardboard raindrop and cut it out a little outside the line to make it slightly larger than the cardboard piece.
- Mix some glue with a little bit of water in one of the cups.
- Encourage your child to paint a thin layer of the glue mixture onto her paper raindrop to give it a nice sheen. Quickly sprinkle glitter onto the raindrop while the glue is still wet.
- Let the glue dry, then shake off the excess glitter.
- Ask her to paint the cardboard raindrop with the dark blue paint on one side and let it dry.
- Once the paint is dry, help her wrap the raindrop tightly in plastic wrap, securing in the back with masking tape. The plastic on the blue side should be smooth and even, and the plastic on the back side should be bunched in spots, with each bunched spot taped down.
- Ask her to use glue to make dots over the surface of the blue side. Sprinkle on glitter, let it dry or get firm, and shake off the excess.
- If you plan to hang up the raindrop, tape the end of a strand of yarn to the back of the cardboard raindrop at the pointed tip. If not, simply continue to step 10.
- Have her glue the cardboard raindrop and the construction paper raindrop together back to back with the glitter sides facing out. Your Razzle Dazzle Raindrop is complete!
For a little extra learning, talk about the importance of rain and water with your kindergartener. What does she think the saying "April showers bring May flowers" means?
By Stacy Edwards
Adapted with permission from "The GIANT Encyclopedia of Kindergarten Activities." Copyright 2004 by Kathy Charner (Editor), Maureen Murphy (Editor), and Jennifer Ford (Editor). Used by Permission of Gryphon House, Inc., Maryland. All Rights Reserved.
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