Teaching Kids to Deal with Stress can be as Easy as Coloring

Michelle from lifeismylemonade.blogspot.com is guest posting again today. The stress of school and work is getting to me! This is only our second year of homeschooling a gifted fourth grader and a dyslexic, hyper, frustrated second grader. (I resemble all of those remarks) I just started a new online venture. So, it makes me laugh when Michelle asks, 

Are you overworked and stressed out? 

De-stress with a little coloring session with the kids.

That's a big fat Y-E-S! Thankfully she has some reminders for me about how truly simple it can be to chill out. Unless you are like Jake... 

Since school has started, all we seem to do now is run, but it only takes a few minutes to treat yourself to a stress break. When my daughter needs a stress reliever, I often suggest drawing as a way for her to relieve her tension. How simple is that? The eco-friendly, Green Rainbow Revolution has several great products to help you along the path of de-stressing. Surf through the eco-friendly items and treat yourself to a much deserved break. My favorite-hmm that’s hard to decide between the colored pencils and the pastels.

What is your favorite medium?

This is one of the happier chores we have to squeeze into our busy schedule

My daughter and her friends choose colored pencils as their medium of choice. It’s a great way for them to relax from the drama of school and be creative. If you sit down to color with your younger kids they are more likely to share things about their day. Ask them to draw a picture of their favorite and least favorite parts of the day. When you join in the fun with them it is a great way to open the lines of communication and bond over a good creative session.  

Let your inner child loose. There's nothing more important than play.

How about a pink flamingo pencil drawing like this one from Lexi Murphy.

Have fun chatting with your children while you draw, color, and let the conversation flow. You never know what you might find out while creating your works of art. During one of the creativity gatherings the girls opened up, and I found out about their favorite teachers and least favorite. I also found out that they like to create characters. So, no matter what age you are, art supplies will come in handy on a stressful day.  

No kids-not a problem! Host an arty party for your friends. Even if you have a moment where the creativity is not flowing; there are fun kits to help you de-stress. You can play art class instead of painting nails or selling catalog products! Bring some whimsy back into your life and laugh, just like you did when you were a kid. Anyway, I’m off to see what doodles the girls created today. Will it be a caricature of the crush of the week doodled on their school sketchbook? Or maybe it will be their latest fashion designs done with those pastels to create the correct shading. And, who doesn't have fun getting messy while blending? Okay, well, maybe not everyone, but this girl at heart loves to get messy while doing a little pastel blending.

Happy Creating and De-stressing!
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Activities for Toddlers: Sensory Messy Play with Foil, Shaving Cream, and Food Coloring

Toddlers Sight Word Sensory Activity

Whether your toddler loves to get messy or hates it, sensory play activities are essential to learning. When more than one sense is involved in learning, learning becomes easier. This Sight Word Sensory Activity with Shaving Cream and Foil is Messy, noisy, and fun for preschoolers. It also makes a great high chair activity for toddlers. Enjoy!

Shaving cream, aluminum foil, food coloring, and paper confetti for 
Sight Word sensory play.

The little explorers love the sensation of feeling a new substance. They learn hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and the ability to deal with being messy through sensory play. This activity is great for young children two to six years old.

So, what senses are used?

• Hearing: The aluminum foil is noisy. Cream makes a swoosh when it comes out of the can.  Shake the sprinkles to the beat of your favorite song.
• Sight: Add lots of colors for eye candy or combine different colors of food coloring, and watch as they change into a new color.
• Taste: Use canned cream and sprinkles (see below).
• Touch: Aluminum is smooth and crinkly.  Shaving cream is cold and wet.  Dots are difficult to pick up.  Squish a little shaving cream on your fingers to make picking them up easier and more fun. 
• Smell: Shaving cream comes in lots of scents like spearmint, peppermint, or perfumes. Add scented oils or extract for more scentsations :)

One of my favorite things to use for sensory play is shaving cream. It comes in varying scents, it always feels cold, it is light, fluffy, and super fun!  For our last messy play class, we gave each child a large piece of aluminum foil, wrote the first initial of their name, squirted a few drops of food coloring in a blob of cream, and recycled paper from hole punches. 

Fun activity for toddler shaving cream on aluminum foil.  Messy, sensory play is a great tool to use to aid in sensory processing disorders. Starting a sensory play regimen early gives children the best chance for improvement.

What do you think happened?  It was quite surprising. No one messed up their letter.  They played and mixed the blob with food coloring, they picked up the dots and moved them around, but not one preschooler smooshed their letter!  

I demonstrated by decorating my letter with the pieces of paper and mixing in the colored shaving cream.  After this, they were still reluctant to ruin their letters, but eventually one or two began to decorate their letters.  Finally, everyone joined in making faces with the paper and swirling the cold cream around.

This is a great way to teach your toddler the alphabet.  Gently, take their finger and trace the letters.  Focus on a new letter each day.  Add an alphabet coloring sheet.

Tip:  For an EDIBLE option, use refrigerated, canned whip cream, food coloring, and candy sprinkles or colored sugar. 


Recommended Reading:


Learning Sight Words with Scrabble Tiles

Letter B Printable Coloring Page 

100 Write-and-Learn Sight Word Practice Pages: Reproducible Activity Pages*

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ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Child Development Psychology: Sensory Play Aids in the Learning Process

Early Childhood Development: Learn with Sensory Play

The psychology behind a child's ability to focus academically or follow rules can be positively influenced by the environment. Parents and caregivers can help children with sensory processing disorders or developmental issues ease into everyday activities with simple games and activities.

What is Sensory Play Based Learning? Looking for activity for kids or child games? Join the Linky Party

So, what is Sensory Play Based Learning? Linky Party

Find out more at PBS Parents. Here at Kids Creative Chaos the definition is simple: Play to learn! Find a fun activity for kids and lots of child games as you peruse our pages. 

What is Sensory Play? Join the Linky Party!

Please join the linky party and link up your ideas for messy crafts, games, and even art activities for preschoolers. The best early child development activities begin at birth. Some children suffer from sensory processing disorders and need more play based learning games throughout their childhood.

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.spectrumpsychological.net/1/post/2013/03/play-to-learn-march-blog-hop.html" title="Play to Learn Blog Hop"><img src="http://www.spectrumpsychological.net/uploads/1/4/9/5/1495826/3711599.jpg?1358187461" alt="Play to Learn Blog Hop" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

If you want, grab the linky button for your blog! 
Link up to 3 posts. Visit as many as you can.

You've come to the right place! 

We've worked with autistic, adhd, add, and more in our "Let's Play" and "Messy Play" classes with great success. Now, we are sharing our ideas through our team of play based learning enthusiasts.  Nikki at Spectrum Psychological specializes in Attention Deficit and Autism Spectrum Disorders.  She's created this "play to learn" blog hop to help spread the word. 

MaryAnne at Mamasmiles.com co-hosts. Her blog is filled with awesome ideas for joyful parenting. I especially like her focus on activities around the world. She recently wrote this post about how to make a weighted blanket (great for children with sensory issues).

We can't wait to see your ideas! Great ideas will be chosen and featured on this blog and pinned on Pinterest. Want to chat about your children or class? Drop us a comment or email.

Thanks for stopping by~ If you like this linky, why not sign up for our email in the sidebar, so you won't miss any great activity ideas for kids. For more ideas click on the keywords in the green bar below this post.

Recommended Reading:

Activities to Engage Your Toddler in Small Motor and Gross Motor Activities, Crafts, Language Development and Sensory Play*

Sensory Play for Baby with Music







ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

How to make homemade Play Dough Recipe Ideas (Edible) and Pistachio Experiment

Ever wonder how to make play dough at home? 

We love to play with squishy dough. It is great for sensory play, especially when it has a scent. This recipe for how to make homemade play dough (Play-doh) is scented and edible, but not very tasty. Enjoy?

Scented Play Dough for a true Sensory experience.

Preschool Sensory Play Activities: How it all got started!

Sensory Messy Play and Preschool Activities

We've had many great years teaching messy play and preschool classes for The Play Connection and hope the future will send even more blessings our way. Here are our top sensory and messy play preschool activities from 2013. What a blast from the past!

This post contains affiliate links.

Here is a listing of our top posts of 2013. Many offer great ideas for fun, preschool activities, clip art, and lots of fun for kids! Enjoy!

1. Christmas Eye Candy: Photos of Christmas Trees in Snow Clipart
2. Angie's Homemade Artisan Bread Recipe
3. New Year Preschool Party Ideas and Activities for Kids
4. Lots of Snowmen and Marshmallows Christmas Crafts and Activities for Kids
5. Fun for Kids with Phineas and Ferb Printables
6. Lots of photos of Bread Clipart
7. Cute Valentine Clipart and Free Printables for Kids Classroom Valentines
8. 9 New Year Activities for Kids with games for kids too
9. Marshmallows: Fun for kids SENSORY game great for preschoolers
10. The Tooth Fairy Sagas: Free Toothfairy clipart and true Mommy Drama
11. Activities for Kids: Make your own snow for Sensory play fun for kids
12. Birthday Party games for Kids and Moms on a budget
13. Our new Series Made the cut! Creative Country Sayings and Inspirational Quotes

Memories from 2008 - 2012.

Here's my favorite Homeschool Lesson from 2013.

Primary and Complementary Color Homeschool Art and Science Lesson.

Jake's Journey in Homeschool Art Lessons and Projects for Kids

(Pre K to Elementary)

There are many Homeschool Lessons in this series, so make sure you click the labels under each post. (Still Life, Water Coloring for Kids, Weaving, Self-Portrait activities, Building Models for Science, Christmas Gingerbread House how to diy, Color Theory Lessons, Primary Colors, and even some History  along the way - it's art to me how we've designed our lives throughout the years. I hope you will follow along on the journey.)

We published a Kitchen Kids Cookbook with mix and make recipes for kids. We helped fund raise for Santa's Elves of Indy, we started Homeschooling through INCA (Indiana Connections Academy,) and we moved to a house in the country. 

2013 holds many dreams as we look forward to gardening, raising chickens, goats, and hopefully bunnies and alpacas, get that YA novel published, and share a few of the many stage plays and skits for kids I've written over the years. Bring it! I am excited to get started :-) 

What does your future hold? Leave a comment and let us know.

Follow us on Pinterest (Kids Creative Chaos and Pin it! Online Scavenger Hunt for Pre school Curriculum) and Google +  Can't find us on Twitter? Check the right sidebar for a link we're @playconnection. 


Recommended Reading:

Fun with Messy Play: Ideas and Activities for Children with Special Needs

Play Out: How to develop your outside space for learning and play

How to Make Salt Dough Recipe: Self-Portrait Ornaments

How to make Salt Dough Self-portraits as Ornaments

Did you ever wonder how to make salt dough? We made self portraits for a homeschool art project. I included how to make homemade clay and a few salt dough recipes. These mini-mes are a great companion project for a preschool or kindergarten learning body parts lesson. You can also make Christmas Tree Ornaments from Salt Dough. We played around with a variety of themes during our homeschool art lesson. Enjoy!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.*

Salt Dough Holiday Ornament Recipe.

Make a Halloween Tree with Homemade Dough Ornaments.

Self portraits from homemade clay and salt dough.

Make Christmas and Holiday ornaments by inserting straw to form a hole.

This recipe is for  how to make clay without cream of tar tar.

Salt Dough Recipe:

1 C. flour

1 C. salt

1/2 C. water

Mix together and knead.

When ready to cook, put on a baking sheet in 

oven at 100 degrees C/ 200 F for 2-3 hours.


Cooking is not necessary, leave your creations 

in a safe place to dry. We left these in a table drawer

and forgot about them.


When cool, paint or decorate with beads or candy.

Salt dough cookie faces.

You might also like how to make Homemade Clay with cream of tar tar.

Info on the History of Clay

We made these self-portraits about four years ago and forgot about them. They've sat in the end drawer of our dining room table ever since. They were never cooked nor painted.

Jake was about four years old and he hadn't met his elementary art teacher yet, but he still had an aversion to art. It was a sensory issue. He didn't like getting his hands dirty. He also worried about getting things on his clothes. If either of these happened, he would get very upset. I suppose this is where my love  of messy crafts was born.

I liked to be tidy as a small child too. I didn't play like the other kids on the playground, because I didn't want to ruin my leotards (today we call them tights) or get grass stains on my clothes. These things troubled me a great deal. So, I'd walk around the perimeter of the playground until the teacher blew the whistle. Little did I know, it was OCD. I've recovered, but some people don't appreciate it. The only way for me to stay sane is to embrace messy things. 

Yep, I didn't want Jake to struggle with the same wacky demons, so I encouraged sensory play.

Even now, he wants to hurry and complete the project so he can wash his hands. If we are mixing dough, he can't let it dry. You know, that crumbly, crackly feeling  on your hands? Mayhem and I like it. It's fun to let the dough dry and then scrape it off similar to letting school glue dry on your hands. I like seeing the fingerprints in the glue peelings. 

Jake? No way. I think this has a lot to do with his hatred of art, and then the teacher came along and made art a boring chore. 

He strives for self-inflicted perfection. He doesn't like the learning curve. He knows a lot. He is a gifted child. When he has to learn something new he is disappointed he didn't already know it. You can see the shame and the disappointment in his face. 

Recently, he had to take a Scantron test online, the test was smart. The more correct answers, the harder the questions. We told him to guess, but he refused. He labored over each question and made a very educated guess. In the end, he scored above average, but the test was torture. He cried with each question  for the first time aware he didn't have all the answers. 

Jake beginning his journey in art.

If only he could realize art works the same way, but it's better because there are no real answers in art. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I am the beholder here. I like his salt dough self-portrait the wavy hair and round face remind me so much of my happy, bouncy, little four year old.

Next week's journey, Animal Printmaking, proved very difficult for a neat freak. Smudges are a perfectionist's nemesis. Start here for Jake's Journey in Art 


Recommended Reading:

Air Dry Clay Projects

Minecraft Creeper Wood Carving Project

Christmas Dough Crafts

Salt Dough: More than 100 Projects! (American Girl Library)

How to make your own DIY Edible Face paint Ideas & Recipes & Build Self-Esteem: The Thing About Monsters is

How to make edible face paint and recipes for Toddlers and Kids of all Ages

Remember, You Can do it with Creative Play and a Can-do Attitude. Recently, we did a post about Monster Trouble (Our first KCC Kids Video) check out the fun here. SCROLL DOWN to see DIY Face Paint Recipes for face paint/makeup, lip gloss, sensory play and Witchy Me.

Monster Trouble?

Face Paint Kit by Alex Toys.

In the video in the post, a sneaky monster is made with items from our costume trunk/creative play stash and Alex Toys Face Paint Studio. Not once, have we posted pictures or recipes of our homemade and edible face paints. During our creative play and messy classes playing with face paint has been a staple. So, read on to discover many ways to create self-esteem, a fun day of creative play, how to make less of a mess, and enjoy the little time you have with your littles and not so little ones.

Sneaky Monster peeks out of the brush.

I see you and your Monster Face paint.

It's hard to see, but he was modeled after the Connect a giant Monster kits above from Alex Toys. The Monster has a purple and green nose and red and orange eyes. This is a great kit for your older kids. Give them a mirror and a book of silly face ideas and let them go wild! Creative Play is a great self-esteem builder. Let them try out different faces, remove the paint with a little water or vaseline on a cotton ball, and be sure to tell them how great it looks. No buts or maybe ifs allowed.

Homemade face paint.

What's that you say? You don't want to have to clean up the mess? Put them in an empty tub the mess will clean itself, but make sure your little Max Factor helps. They might complain, but cleaning up after themselves teaches responsibility and independence. I can do it! Yes, you might have to tidy up- just don't complain about it.  You don't want your child thinking they can't do anything. If they can't even clean up after themselves they'll stop trying! So, count to 10, take a deep breath, and then say, I love how you are learning to clean up after yourself; it makes me so proud!

Do you want to be remembered as the Mom with the spotless house or the Mom who was so fun and positive? Your choice, you decide.

Crazy Blue Face Paint Fairy.

How to Make your own Face Paint (Recipe):

Cold cream, Food coloring, Cornstarch, Egg Carton.

Start with 1 C. of cold cream (Noxzema type)

Slowly mix in 1/2 to 1 C. cornstarch until it is a smooth, creamy consistency.

Divide into an egg carton or muffin tin.

Add 1-2 drops of food coloring. Experiment with more or less and color combinations.

Use cotton balls or paint brushes to paint a masterpiece on your face.

Most colors will wear off quickly or wipe off easily with water due to the cold cream. Sometimes, yellow requires a little petroleum jelly to remove all the residue. 

With experimentation you can get professional results with these ingredients. It does dry and get crackly. Some kids don't like this sensation others think it's cool.

Homemade Face paint and makeup recipes.

Make your own Edible Face Paint for Preschoolers and Toddlers:

Caregivers, do you need 20 minutes of me time? This is AMAZING. If you don't want to leave the little alone in the bathroom spread an old, white sheet or vinyl tablecloth on the floor. Cornstarch, food coloring or colored drink mix, water, white flour, big spoons, and mixing bowls.

Start with 1/4 C. of flour

Mix in 1/2 C. of cornstarch or powdered sugar (think icing)

1/2 to 1 C. Cool Whip (Readiwhip doesn't work.)

Sift with fingers to mix and enjoy the sensory aspects.

Slowly add 1/4 to 1/2 C. water stir with spatula

Water and cornstarch make an interesting science experiment so make sure to add the flour and Cool Whip first. Mix to a creamy icing consistency ~ Spreadable.

Divide into egg carton and add food coloring or Drink Mix powder (Kool-Aid) works best.

The little will have a blast studying their face and admiring their handiwork  Let them remove their shirt and paint tattoos on their belly or  bugs on their hands. This is a fun way to teach babies eyes, nose, mouth, etc.

The ingredient measurements are guidelines. Warm water vs. cold, warm house vs. cool all of these can affect the makeup- experimentation is key.

Mixing paint is great for fine motor skills and sensory learning.

Make your own EASY FACEPAINT / MAKEUP

Kid’s Yummy Lipstick Recipe:

Petroleum jelly, honey, maple syrup, or non-imitation vanilla, unsweetened drink powder for color and flavor.

Put Petroleum jelly into microwave safe dish

Microwave the petroleum jelly for 30 seconds to one minute until 

warm, remove and stir.

Add Kool Aid and Honey

Mix well
Spoon into gift containers, refrigerate.

Changing Hair Color:

Experiment with Conditioner or Petroleum Jelly and unsweetened drink powder, & Baby Powder. Spray Aqua Net to set the color. May take several washings to wash out. We found a YouTube Video here.

Happy Halloween and Haunting  or Go break a leg!

Recommended Reading:

Fun Face Painting Ideas for Kids

Farm Craft Fun with The Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown

Make a Papercraft Barn for "The Big Red Barn" by Margaret Wise Brown 

This is a fun way to teach children about farm animals. Here is a simple craft for Preschool Curriculum: Make your own Big Red Barn and Silo with a paper envelope and cardboard toilet roll tube. Enjoy!

Farm Craft Fun with The Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown.

We made this project in our Messy Class. What better way to make a mess than red paint?

Here's a Cute Farm Cow and Barn Coloring Page

Big Red Barn Preschool Papercraft.

How to Make a Big Red Barn Paper Craft

You will need:

Greeting Card Envelope
Cardboard Toilet Paper Tube
Paint (Make your own Edible Recipe Here or Water Color Paints)
Cardboard Egg Cartoon
Markers
Construction Paper or Magazine
Glue (Make Edible Paste Recipe Here)
Margaret Wise Brown's The Big Red Barn Book

Perfect preschool Farm Book: The Big Red Barn.

Step one: SENSORY SKILLS

Open the flap on your envelope so it points to the ceiling when standing as pictured.

Step two: SENSORY SKILLS

Paint your envelope red or your favorite barn color. (Remember it is important to let little ones make choices.) Paint your Cardboard tube to match.

Cut out and Paint one egg carton cup with a contrasting color.

Step three: FINE MOTOR SKILLS: CUTTING 

While the paint is drying use construction paper or pictures from magazines to cut out animal shapes. You can trace the animals in the story on white paper and use them as shape templates for your littles to trace. Also, cut out barn doors.

Step four: SENSORY SKILLS

If you make your own edible glue this is a super fun, sensory experience. Paste doors onto barn as pictured. Attach Egg Cup to Cardboard Tube (SILO) and attach silo to envelope. You might want to add a piece of folded tape to secure the silo.

Step five: CREATIVE PLAY SKILLS 
This is my favorite part! Place your animal shapes in the envelope, read the story, and remove the animals making animal sounds as they appear in the story. 

Find a fun Snack for Goodnight Moon.


Recommended Reading:

Books about Farms for Kids: Little Blue Truck Board Book*

Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown*

Margaret Wise Brown Ideas from Mommy and Me Book Club.*


Tip: Our Favorite Edible Paint Recipe is MILK PAINT.








ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Cute Monster Paperbag Puppets: Video, Monster Trouble: First in our KCC Kid's Creative Play Series for Kids

Make your own paper bag monster puppets for Halloween

In honor of my favorite holiday (Halloween) we explore Monsters. Special thanks to Alex Toys for providing the crafts and toys in this post. These Paper Bag Monster Puppets came in a kit but you could make your own with construction paper shapes and lunch or colorful party bags. Play a Monster Game too.

 Paper Bag Monster Puppets are fun for a 
Preschool or Toddler Birthday Party.

More Paperbag Puppets for Teaching (Presidents)

Creative Play allows children to forget about stress and school work and let their imaginations run wild. 

I'm a huge fan! The Play Connection, Inc. offers many opportunities through our Sensory Messy Classes, Costumes/Puppets and Kiddie Play Productions.

First, we made Paper Bag Monster Puppets. The kits includes 5 colorful paper bags but with the leftover supplies you can make even more with white or brown paper lunch sacks.

Paperbag Monster Puppets.

After monster making, we went on a CREATIVE PLAY adventure and filmed it for you! The monster in the video is wearing the Face Paint Kit by Alex Toys and his weapons of choice are the Connect a Giant Monster discs. 

We hope you'll join us over the next few weeks as I find my inner videographer and the kiddos explore their improvisational skills in our first video production, The KCC Kids Creative Play Series Videos. 

The KCC Detective Agency presents MONSTER TROUBLE.



Find the Undercover Spy Gear here. After tracking monsters, you can get some much needed target practice when you clean up in the bath with this Screaming Monster Tub Target.

Monster Bath Tub Toys.

Each month, we'll go on a fun adventure and share it with you. Stay tuned next month for our tribute to Thanksgiving and the Wampanoag Indians.

We'd love to hear from you! Do you have ideas for future KCC adventures? Do you want to join in the fun? Leave a comment below or subscribe to our posts.

Recommended Reading:

Monster Toilet Paper Roll Cardboard Tubes

Birthday Party Game Kids Love

Monster Birthday Book by Boynton

Storytime ~ Teach Kids to Weave a Web of Wonder with Storytelling Curriculum Ideas

Storytime Woes?

Have you ever tried it with a room full of little people under the age of two?  What a fun experience, it takes a roomful of parents to keep everyone on target.  And, a room full of early elementary age children isn't much easier, if you're lucky they might stay on their squares, but keeping everyone silent at the same time is nearly a feat of wizardry.

Make a Monkey Mask, Treat, and Read Companion Story Preschool Activity

Do Monkey Around... with this monkey theme Preschool Activity

We made a mask, yummy treat, and had fun with preschoolers pretending to be monkeys. Pretend play is a great way to incorporate many elements of sensory play. Enjoy!

Our Messy Preschool Class had a blast making 
paper monkey masks and you can too.

One Tricky Monkey up on top.

                      Knives and Spoons make great sticks for the mask,

                            just tape it to the back and use as a handle.

Monkey Sight Word Game for Kindergarten/First Grade

How to make healthy monkey treat snacks for kids.

Banana Treats, cover in vanilla yogurt or p.b. and dip in your favorite  toppings.

How to make a paper monkey mask.

Recommended Reading:

Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed*

Bananas and Chocolate Chips on a Stick Recipe for Kids

One Tricky Monkey Up On Top *
ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products. *We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)