Itsy Bitsy Spider

Everyone loves the song, The Itsy Bitsy Spider so here is a simple craft you can do with your child that also teaches shapes and colors.  Pre-cut a square, triangle, rectangle and circle.  The kids glue down the shapes to create the house.   Add rain and grass with crayon.  Then put a spider ring on a straw and tape it to the house for the "water spout".  Have fun singing the song and moving the spider up and down the water spout.

The itsy-bitsy spider
Climbed up the water spout
Down came the rain
And washed the spider out
Out came the sun
And dried up all the rain
And the itsy-bitsy spider
Climbed up the spout again.

Adorable Ghosts

This is one of my favorite Halloween crafts.  You can make cards to send to grandma or  trick or treat bags using your hands or feet.  All you need is white washable paint and a paint brush. Paint your child's hand or foot and place on your paper. (Make sure you have your handy wipes near by!)  When the paint dries you can add detail using a black permanent pen.  I have done this every year with my son.  It is fun to see how much he has grown each year!

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkins, pumpkins

It seems like everywhere you go, there are pumpkins.  We already have 3, one small, one medium and one that is two toned.  It is only the beginning of October!  I love seeing the variety of pumpkins.  I don't remember so many to choose from when I was a little girl.
We are painting and singing about pumpkins.  Today I cut out a white pumpkin shape and my son painted it using a piece of sponge clipped onto a clothes pin.  He dabbed the pumpkin with orange paint.  When he finished, we added a green stem and used some green curling ribbon for the vine.

Here are a few of our favorite pumpkin songs poems.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Faces (poem)  
Kids love making the faces. Try saying this in front of a mirror.
This is pumpkin happy.  This is pumpkin sad.
This is pumpkin sleepy.  This is pumpkin mad.
Cut them up is pieces small, in pumpkin pie they are best of all!
*extension activity:  cut out 4 pumpkins and have your child decorate the faces to match the emotion.

Five Little Pumpkins (poem)
5 little pumpkins sitting on a gate
The first one said, "Oh my, it is getting late."
The second one said, "There are witches in the air.
The third one said, "Oh pooh, I don't care."
The fourth one said, "We'd better run, run, run!"
The fifth one said, "Isn't Halloween fun!"
Then Wooooooo went the wind
And OUT (clap) went the lights
And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.

Ten Little Pumpkins
One little, two little, three little pumpkins,
Four little, five little, six little pumpkins,
Seven little, eight little, nine little pumpkins,
Ten little pumpkins all shout, BOOOOOO!
Sing again counting backwards from ten to one.  The last pumpkin will whisper, "Boo!"
*extension activity:  cut out ten pumpkins and write the numbers on them.  Have your child put them in order.