Activity:
Christmas Stencils
Christmas stencils let your preschooler make his mark on the holiday. Recycle old Christmas cards by using a craft knife to cut out basic Christmas shapes—candy canes, holly, and trees—to make festive Christmas stencils. Let your preschooler use the card as a Christmas stencil to create her own festive thank you notes made just for the holiday season! Crafting these Christmas stencils is a fun way to reuse old materials, work on important fine motor skills, and teach your child to say “thank you!"
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What You Need:
- Christmas cards
- Craft knife
- Blank greeting cards or card stock
- Crayons
What You Do:
- Have your child choose one or more Christmas cards with simple designs that will be recognizable in the silhouette.
- Ask her to help you draw some recognizable holiday shapes on each card.
- Place a cutting board or thick section of newspaper on your table to use as a cutting surface. Make cuts around the outline of each shape by drawing the knife toward you—this will make for a steadier, straighter, cut. Stop and turn the work surface and card as needed to cut out the appropriate shape.
- Give the stencil(s) to your child. If your child has never used a stencil before, show her how to hold the stencil steady with her non-dominant hand while tracing the shape with a crayon held in her dominant hand. If necessary, practice on scrap paper first!
- Encourage your child to decorate the cards in a variety of ways, tracing just the outline or coloring the shape in entirely.
- Help your child write her “thank you,” and the card is ready to send to a lucky friend or relative!
