Alphabet Activities & FREE Worksheets for Kids: Letters P-T

Hello and welcome to the ALPHABET ACTIVITIES post for letters P through T!

Like all of our previous alphabet activity pages, you’ll find letter-themed meal ideas, letter-shaped construction paper crafts, letter sorting activities, free printable worksheets, and so much more!

If you haven’t been to the ALPHABET ACTIVITIES PAGE yet, be sure to check that out in order to see our past alphabet activities and worksheets.

Welcome to LETTER P DAY!

First off, let’s start with a few suggestions of fun food you can make or incorporate into meals:

Here are a few activities you may want to try:

  • Letter Shape Construction Paper Craft: Make a puppy, penguin, panda, or pig out of pieces of paper scraps in the shape of a P. (See past alphabet activities for inspiration and examples, such as D is for Dragon.)
  • Letter Sorting Craft: Cut out 2 pelicans (a pair of them) and sort onto them capital and lowercase letter Ps that have been cut out in the shape of tiny fish. You could also cut out 2 pencils out of construction paper and sort letters onto them. (You can print capital and lowercase letters in a simple font like Arial, or you can draw them neatly. See this example for D is for Dolphins.)
  • Draw a parrot or peacock and have your Little glue feathers to it.
  • Create a phantom (ghost) out of white chalk on black construction paper. (Which will look kind of like these Valentine Chalkboard Hearts.)
  • Walk a pirate plank by drawing one in chalk on the sidewalk that leads to some grass the Little can jump into, or by shaping one out of painter’s tape that leads to a small ball pit or mini trampoline.
  • Do some finger painting by painting with your palms.

Now for the free worksheets! To get them, simply click on the links listed below this preview:

Welcome to LETTER Q DAY!

Here are a few suggestions of fun food you can make or incorporate into meals:

  • Quiche
  • Quaker Oats (oatmeal)
  • Quinoa
  • Queso Fresco
  • Quark (type of cheese that’s easier to find in Europe than the US)
  • Quarter Pounder (or make your own burger and give it the McD name)
  • Quesadillas
  • Quail
  • Quick Bread
  • Quince Tart

Here are a few activities you may want to try:

  • Letter Shape Construction Paper Craft: Create a queen, quokka, or quilt out of paper pieces and assemble into the shape of a Q.
  • Letter Sorting Craft: draw or cut out 2 quails or quartz crystals, and sort cut-out capital and lowercase Qs onto them.
  • Play a game of going from one room to another in your house quietly and quickly.
  • Create a quiz out of some of the letters you’ve already learned by holding up letters (possibly puzzle pieces) and have your Little call them out.
  • Make a quilt out of construction paper. Cut pieces of different colored paper into 4 squares or rectangles and punch holes around the outside of the shape. Use yarn to “sew” them together into a quilt.
  • Go on a quest. Perhaps make a scavenger hunt for items in your own kitchen or yard. You can make a map ahead of time to help with the quest.

Now for the free worksheets! To get them, simply click on the links listed below this preview:

Welcome to LETTER R DAY!

Here are a few suggestions of fun food you can make or incorporate into meals:

  • Raspberries
  • Raisins
  • Red Peppers
  • Romaine Lettuce
  • Ranch Dressing
  • Ravioli
  • Ratatouille
  • Risotto
  • Rice
  • Ramen
  • Rigatoni
  • Red Potatoes
  • Red Cabbage
  • Reuben Sandwich
  • Ribs
  • Rice Pudding
  • Red Velvet Cake
  • Root Beer Float
  • Rice Krispie Treats
  • anything Raw or Roasted

Here are a few activities you may want to try:

  • Letter Shape Construction Paper Craft: Make a raccoon, red panda, rattlesnake, or reindeer out of pieces of paper into the shape of a big R.
  • Letter Sorting Craft: Make 2 robots, rockets, rhinos, rays (stingrays or manta rays), rabbits, or rats and sort out some cut-out capital and lowercase Rs onto them.
  • Hold a race where you run, preferably outdoors.
  • Rotate the R. Put out a capital and lowercase R, whether printed on paper or from a puzzle, and when you call out the word “rotate,” your Little can rotate them. Like: “Rotate BIG R,” then “Rotate LITTLE R!”
  • Read your favorite books. Try to find a rhyming book to read.
  • Create a recipe with your favorite foods. Or follow one of your favorite recipes from a cookbook.
  • Use a ruler to measure different objects around your house, especially if you can find objects that start with the letter R (like a rubber ball or rope) or are red.

Now for the free worksheets! To get them, simply click on the links listed below this preview:

Welcome to LETTER S DAY!

Here are a few suggestions of fun food you can make or incorporate into meals:

Here are a few activities you may want to try:

  • Letter Shape Construction Paper Craft: Make a snake, squirrel, or swan out of paper pieces into the shape of a letter S.
  • Letter Sorting Craft: Draw or cut out two swords, sharks, snails, or stegosaurus and sort onto them capital and lowercase letter S’s that you’ve printed or drawn.
  • Play Simon Says.
  • Sing your favorite songs.
  • Learn to skip stones.
  • Maybe skip while you sing.
  • Make Speckled Shell Stegosaurus hard-boiled eggs, like these Frozen Cracked Ice Eggs.
  • Slither like a snake on the ground. You could trace out a path with painter’s tape in the shape of a letter S if you like. This will be easier on a wood or tile floor. Beware of rug burns on carpet!
  • Make Snail Slime, kind of like the Green Goo and Green Glitter Goo from Letter G Day.
  • Play with a Slinky, and shape it into a letter S.
  • Play soccer, perhaps by trying to kick the soccer ball into an area marked by a letter S sign.
  • Search for shells at the beach.

Now for the free worksheets! To get them, simply click on the links listed below this preview:

Welcome to LETTER T DAY!

Here are a few suggestions of fun food you can make or incorporate into meals:

  • Tomatoes
  • Tamarillos
  • Tangerines
  • Tangelos
  • Toast (perhaps this Tropical French Toast or this Teddy Bear Toast)
  • Tortilla
  • Tacos
  • Teriyaki
  • Tempura
  • Tofu
  • Tabbouleh
  • Turkey (roasted, sure, but what about turkey cookies?)
  • Trout or Tuna
  • Tagliatelle (a type of pasta)
  • Texas Toast (my kid’s favorite garlic bread)
  • Tatar tots
  • Tabasco sauce
  • Tarts
  • Truffles (one of my favorites is this Ginger Cookie Truffle)
  • Tiramisu
  • Taffy
  • Toffee

Here are a few activities you may want to try:

  • Letter Shape Construction Paper Craft: make a tyrannosaurus rex, tiger, turtle, or train out of paper pieces into the shape of a letter T.
  • Letter Sorting Craft: print, draw, or cut out two trees, teapots, tomatoes, or tacos and sort onto them capital and lowercase letter Ts.
  • Put on some temporary tattoos.
  • Play toss with a tennis ball.
  • Do some of your alphabet activities inside of a blanket tent in your living room, or a camping tent outside.
  • Set out some letters, such as from a puzzle, and have your Little touch them as you call them out. Like, “touch the T! Now touch the G!”
  • Teach each other how to do something new, like signing the letter T in ASL or BSL, or how to do the yoga pose for turtle.
  • Tap out a thunder tune by mimicking the sound of thunder on a drum or upside down pots and bowls.
  • Have a tea party along with some alphabet cookies, especially cookies shaped like the letter T.
  • Tear up some paper to create a letter T by gluing the pieces onto some construction paper.
  • Create a tower out of cardboard boxes or blocks. Make pathways to drive toy trucks between the towers. Or make the tower in the shape of a T and drive the toy trucks around it.

Now for the free worksheets! To get them, simply click on the links listed below this preview:

That’s it for today!

Be sure to subscribe so you get a notification of my next post.

Don’t forget to Pin the images on this page to Pinterest to help you find it again!

Check out the ALPHABET ACTIVITIES PAGE to find a list of all of the letters.

And please share with me on Facebook if you have any photos of you and your Littles enjoying your alphabet days!

Have fun!

Alphabet Activities & FREE Worksheets for Kids: Letters K-O

Hello and welcome to the ALPHABET ACTIVITIES post for letters K through O!

If you haven’t been to the ALPHABET ACTIVITIES PAGE yet, be sure to check that out.

Our “Alphabet Day” suggestions include food and meal ideas to incorporate, crafts, physical activities, and the free printable worksheets that I created. Each letter has its own section!

Like all of our previous alphabet activity pages, you’ll find letter-themed meal ideas, letter-shaped construction paper crafts, letter sorting activities, free printable worksheets, and so much more!

And while I said in my announcement email that I lost most of my photos, I do have a few, so I’ll include them here.

Welcome to LETTER K DAY!

First off, let’s start with a few suggestions of fun food you can make or incorporate into meals:

  • Kalamata Olives
  • Ketchup
  • Kale
  • Kefir
  • Kimchi
  • Kabobs
  • Kiwi
  • KitKats
  • Key Lime Pie

And here are a few activities you may want to try:

  • Letter Shape Construction Paper Craft: make a kitten or koala or king out of paper pieces glued together to make a giant K shape. (See past alphabet activities for inspiration and examples, such as D is for Dragon.)
  • Letter Sorting Craft: draw or cut out 2 kites or keys and cut out capital and lowercase Ks to sort onto the kites. (You can print capital and lowercase letters in a simple font like Arial, or you can draw them neatly. See this example for D is for Dolphins.)
  • Knit: make K shapes with yarn or knitting needles. Possibly teach the child how to knit.
  • Knock: draw a capital and lowercase K and have them knock on the “big” or “little” K, or you can write out a few words that start with K instead for older kids to knock on when you say them out loud, like know, keep, kind, kitty.
  • Kick or Keep: put out a line of balls or other objects, have the child stand behind each one and announce “kick” or “keep,” so that they kick the object away or leave it alone. This is probably best done outside. You could also just Kick the balls. Taping a cut out K onto them gives the Littles somewhere to aim.
  • Knight: dress up as a knight in shining armor.
  • Tell Knock, Knock jokes.

(Forgive any blurriness in the photos – these were taken waaaay back when on one of my first digital cameras, and the previews looked pretty good on those one-inch screens!)

Now for the free worksheets!

To get them, simply click on the links listed below this preview:

Most of the K worksheets are about fine motor control, but the Kangaroo and Kin one includes pictures you can cut out so that they can be sorted by size.

Welcome to LETTER L DAY!

Here are a few suggestions of fun food you can make or incorporate into meals:

  • Lemons (possibly these easy lemon cookies)
  • Lemonade
  • Limes
  • Leeks
  • Lettuce
  • Lasange
  • Lamb
  • Linguine
  • Lentils (possibly in soup)
  • Lavender (possibly in tea or shortbread cookies)
  • Lychee
  • Ladyfingers
  • Leaf-shaped cookies

Here are a few activities you may want to try:

  • Letter Shape Construction Paper Craft: make a lemur, lobster, lizard, lion, or leopard out of paper pieces glued together into a giant L shape.
  • Letter Sorting Craft: Ladybugs on Leaves or water drops on Lighthouses– cut out small red bugs (or just red circles) and put a big “L” or small “l” on each. Cut out 2 leaves and label each with a big “L” or small “l” so they can sort the ladybugs (or ladybirds, depending on your location). Or cut out or draw some lighthouses and use letters on blue paper to sort the “water drops” onto the correct lighthouse. Or both. Really, you can do as many of these as you have time to make.
  • Make Lemon-scented homemade play dough
  • Leap like a lemur or a lion, possibly from L to L after drawing out Ls with chalk on the ground
  • Lick a lollipop
  • Make lemonade.
  • Laugh at each other’s jokes
  • Do a Leaf Rubbing. Place some leaves on a hard surface, cover them with paper, and rub over them with an unwrapped crayon.
  • Launch game: set up a line of toy cars and “launch” them on command (3,2,1 … launch!) at a target, possibly an “L” cut out of paper.
  • Any type of lace craft. I let my Littles just paint on the lace as a sensory activity and to explore the patterns it would make.

Now for the free worksheets!

To get them, simply click on the links listed below this preview:

For the Lace worksheet, I found some cheap lace at the dollar store to let them cut up and play with as well as glue down on the paper. And for the Lush Llamas, they pulled apart some cotton balls to glue down. These were great for sensory play.

Welcome to LETTER M DAY!

Here are a few suggestions of fun food you can make or incorporate into meals:

  • Mango
  • Molasses
  • Maple Syrup (great with pancakes – or maybe mango french toast!)
  • Milk
  • Mozzarella cheese (possibly in some Manicotti)
  • Macaroni
  • Meatloaf
  • Moussaka
  • Mushrooms
  • Mustard
  • Mackerel or Mahi-Mahi
  • Meringue
  • Macaroons
  • Mints
  • M&Ms (see the printables below)

Here are a few activities you may want to try:

  • Letter Shape Construction Paper Craft: make a monkey, moose, mouse or macaw out of paper pieces in the shape of a giant M.
  • Letter Sorting Craft: Mud! Cut out two uneven circles of brown paper to represent mud puddles, and cut out capital “M” and lowercase “m” pieces for your child to sort into the two puddles. Or cut out 2 of the above-mentioned animals and sort the letters onto those. Sooo many options!
  • Macaroni craft: make something out of gluing dried pasta (macaroni) to paper in the shapes of a giant “M,” or make a necklace out of stringing dried pasta onto yarn. Consider coloring the macaroni with markers.
  • Map Making: make a map of your house or backyard or bedroom. Any type of map will do – simple squares and squiggles are great. For some more examples, see this “mystery map” we made.
  • Practice Mindfulness with Meditation.
  • Go on a Merry March! Create a giant “M” out of painters tape if indoors or out of chalk if outdoors, and march back and forth over that. (Kind of like our Footprint activity.)
  • M is for Music and Mountains under the Moon.” Okay, sometimes I just picked a lot of words that start with the letter (especially if they’re relatively easy to cut out) and let my Littles make their own … wait for it … mural. (See photo below.)

Now for the free worksheets!

To get them, simply click on the links listed below this preview:

Two of these worksheets require M&M or very similar candy. And for the Marshmallow activity, I did provide a bag of mini marshmallows. You could substitute dot markers for marshmallows, I suppose, but there are plenty of worksheets without any candy if you prefer to avoid it.

Welcome to LETTER N DAY!

Here are a few suggestions of fun food you can make or incorporate into meals:

Here are a few activities you may want to try:

  • Letter Shape Construction Paper Craft: make a newt or narwhal out of paper pieces in the shape of an N.
  • Letter Sorting Craft: cut out 2 pieces of paper in the shapes of nachos or novels or bird nests, and cut out capital “N” and lowercase “n” pieces to sort onto them.
  • Take a nap.
  • Navigate Nature by taking a hike. Perhaps in your neighborhood.
  • Make your name out of dried noodles. You can glue them to a piece of construction paper, or just sculpt it for fun.
  • You can also make a Noodle Necklace out of dried pasta and yarn. (There’s a repeating theme here with the macaroni and pasta and noodles, but what can I say? I’m Italian. I always have it in the house.)
  • If it happens to be winter, you could sing Noel.

Now for the free worksheets!

To get them, simply click on the links listed below this preview:

These N worksheets include one that has the child place nickles on the circle, to help with motor control, but you could also fill those in with dot markers, of course. For the Newspaper one, we ripped up tiny pieces to then glue into the N shape. Always fun to make a mess. For the Numbers worksheet, I happened to find number-shape stickers at my dollar store – don’t forget to check the mail and office supply section!

Welcome to LETTER O DAY!

Here are a few suggestions of fun food you can make or incorporate into meals:

  • Oatmeal
  • Oat Milk
  • Oranges
  • Omelet
  • Onigiri
  • Okra
  • Orzo
  • Onions
  • Onion Rings
  • Orange Chicken
  • Octopus-shaped Hot Dogs or Biscuits
  • Olive Oil Cake
  • Oatmeal Cookies (like these Lemon Oatmeal Cookies)
  • Oreos

Here are a few activities you may want to try:

  • Letter Shape Construction Paper Craft: make an octopus, owl, orangutan, ostrich, or otter out of paper pieces into the shape of an O.
  • Letter Sorting Craft: cut out 2 paper orchids, overcoats, oysters, or oak trees and cut out capital “O” and lowercase “o” pieces to sort onto them.
  • If you live by a beach, visit the ocean.
  • Observe what happens when you drip olive oil into a bowl of water with a dropper.
  • Make some more of the Green Goo from Letter G Day and let is Ooze through your fingers.
  • Learn outdoors by moving your “officeoutside.
  • Make a flower out of onion paper peels.
  • Do an Ocean sensory play bath. This is one of my all-time favorite activities, and the Littles loooved it. If you don’t have a tub, you could always make a sensory bin inside a bucket or container.

Now for the free worksheets!

To get them, simply click on the links listed below this preview:

For the Olympics worksheets, you can cut out the rings from the 2nd worksheet and let your Little match them with the 1st worksheet. For the Ocean worksheet, I happened to find animal-shaped stickers of ocean dwellers. Your Little, as always, could draw their own animals instead, or perhaps cut some photos out of an old magazine.

That’s it for today!

Be sure to subscribe so you get a notification of my next post.

And thank you SO MUCH for your patience as I took (ahem) a while to finish posting these worksheets.

Don’t forget to Pin the images on this page to Pinterest to help you find it again!

Check out the ALPHABET ACTIVITIES PAGE to find a list of all of the letters.

Please share with me on Facebook if you have any photos of you and your Littles enjoying your alphabet days!

Have fun!

Alphabet Activities UPDATE (and more free worksheets!)

Well, hello there! It’s been a while, huh?

Yeah, sorry about that.

Here’s the thing: many years ago I was having a lot of fun making these Alphabet Activities to share with everyone while doing all of these fun activities with my own Littles:

Then, my computer crashed.

And we all know to back up our stuff, right? Of course we do. But do we always remember to?

Sigh…

So I lost a LOT of photos that I’d transferred to my computer. It wasn’t just Alphabet Activity photos I lost either – it included other recent photos of my kids and other projects I’d been working on. And I was also smack in the middle of a really messy divorce. It was a rough time.

Then … life took over. Things got busy. The kids got older.

And I kinda gave up.

But I am OBSESSED with the alphabet (is that a librarian thing?), and this was always one of my favorite projects. I even managed to find most of the worksheets that I actually HAD backed up.

I decided to reopen this project. Why not, right? It’s never too late.

Okay, my kids are admittedly too old to photograph doing toddler and preschool crafts, BUT I can still post the worksheets. I can even offer some ideas and make suggestions similar to what you’ll find on my original posts.

What I did decide to do was combine the rest of the letters. I used to make 2 posts per letter – one of just activities and one of the worksheets – but there isn’t a good reason to do that now.

I’ve planned out 3 final posts to wrap up this project: Letters K-O, Letters P-T, and Letters U-Z.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be releasing all the free worksheets – and I’m kind of excited about it!

Be sure to subscribe to my emails so you’ll be notified, and to follow me on Facebook and Pinterest so you get the updates.

It’s been a long road, but it feels good to know I’m still on my way.

A Collection of Christmas Crafts!

Welcome to my blog!

Here is a list of different crafts my kids and I have done during the winter holidays. Some are just for fun, and some make great homemade gifts!

Plus I snuck in a couple of edible ones…

This Life-sized Cardboard Gingerbread House will always be one of my favorites!

This Felt Fashion Christmas Tree was surprising easy to make and had such a big impact!

These Birdseed Christmas Ornaments are bird-friendly and look so lovely in the yard.

These Glitter Dinosaur Ornaments are flexible (pick any animal you like!) and add pizazz to the tree.

We make a new batch of these Cinnamon Christmas Ornaments every few years. They last quite a while, but I love the way the house smells when they’re baking! Plus, we try out new shapes each time.

These Paper Cone Christmas Trees are perfect for little hands to keep busy with something you can proudly display!

You could also make snowflakes instead of Crystal Snowmen – or sparkly circular ornaments.

For littles who love paint, these Toilet Paper Roll Christmas Ornaments are about the easiest craft to set up. Hand them markers for

Strictly speaking, this is something that I do for my kids as a surprise, but if you prefer, you could involve your littles in making their own Snowy Reindeer Feet.

The great thing about Rice Krispies treats are that they are so malleable. Which makes them perfect for these Decorated Rice Kirspies Treats Christmas Trees!

Add some sparkle to your winter baking with these Elf-Sized Chocolate Chip Confetti Cookies!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this list! Let me know in the comments if you’ve tried any of them – or share with me on my Facebook page.

Happy crafting!

Glitter Dinosaur Ornaments

Glitter Dinosaur Ornaments 1

This has always been one of my favorite Christmas crafts.

I mean, who doesn’t love dinosaurs covered in glitter??

Seriously, though, hanging these Glitter Dinosaur Ornaments on my tree each year is always a joy!

Glitter Dinosaur Ornaments

Of course, I didn’t realize until afterwards that most of my photos were blurry, but you get the idea.

Essentially I picked up a tube of dinosaurs, my kids painted them, and we dumped glitter on top.

It was so much fun to do with them.

Mostly here, you’ll see the photos of the ones we painted all white – that was my preference for ultimate sparkle. But my kids did decide to paint a couple blue as well. You can really do whatever suits you.

Glitter Dinosaur Ornaments 3

Before you decorate them, you’ll want to attach tiny hooks.

I used eye hooks like these. The screw right into the toys with just a little elbow grease.

Then paint them with acrylic paint and sprinkle on glitter before the paint dries.

Last, attach any type of thin ribbon or string and you’re done!

Glitter Dinosaur Ornaments 4

I even decorated the lid of the tube.

It’s like a T-rex bust. Pretty fancy, if you ask me.

Glitter Dinosaur Ornaments

Let me know if you try it out! Or even if you grab a tube of unicorns or something else instead.

Happy Crafting :)

Roaming Rosie Signature

Mystery Map & Backyard Treasure Hunt

Mystery Map Treasure Hunt 1

Our Mystery Map and Backyard Treasure Hunt was so much fun!

This is a great outdoor activity, and while it’s still quite hot outside as I write this, fall is coming. (Please hurry!!)

When I did this with my girls, I actually drew the map. I love maps, and I love floor plans, so for me it was astounding fun to create a layout of the backyard. Another option, however, is letting your kids make the map. Or make it a collaborate effort. It really depend on the ages of your children.

My main goal here, however, was the treasure hunt, as opposed to the map making. The latter, of course, is a great activity too, but instead of making the map, I had my kids navigate the one I made. With the goal of finding treasure!

I got some new small toys (in this case, Tsum Tsums mini plush) and hid them inside some large-sized Easter eggs. Then I hid the eggs outside, handed the kids the map, and let them loose.

Mystery Map Treasure Hunt 2

The instructions I had given them were to search the yard and make marks on the map to assist in the search.

Essentially, their mission was to mark off on the map each time they found an egg, and to cross off sections they searched which did not contain eggs.

Mystery Map Treasure Hunt 3

As you can see below, I included everything from a bird bath to the tree swing on my map, but it doesn’t have to be that detailed. Unless you’re obsessive like me – then go all out!

My kids decided to use the two colors of markers for different purposes. They chose purple to circle the places where they found eggs, and pink to cross off the places they looked that were egg-less. I’d let them know there were four eggs, so they also knew when to stop.

Then they got to open their treasure eggs. So the hunt was fun, the treasure was exciting, and I was happy because they were outside in the fresh air. Wins all around.

Mystery Map Treasure Hunt 4

No backyard? No worries! This can also be done inside (drawing couches and tables instead of trees), or you can head to your local park. If you’re planning a treasure hunt in a public place, however, you may want to hide vouchers of a sort that they can trade in for eggs, so that your kid can still find something but you don’t have to worry about someone else walking off with the treasure.

And, of course, y’all know I’m gonna talk about books if I get the change, right??

This was a project we did awhile ago (what can I say – it’s been a weird few years *shrugs*), but I got excited when I found a recent picture book that goes along with nicely with this type of activity. 

Publisher: Anne Schwartz Books (2022)

The Boy Who Loved Maps by Kari Allen and G. Brian Karas is such a fun exploration of map making!  It follows two children through the process of making a map of their neighborhood – and also exploring different places around the neighborhood – so if you’re already making a map of your backyard like we did here, this book makes a great visual for kids. 

It has some educational backmatter to help you describe map making to kids, and it can give them ideas for drawing their own. Plus, it’s also an adorable story! The language used to describe their environment is nothing short of magical. I definitely recommend reading it.

You can get it at your local library or here:

The Boy Who Loved Maps on Amazon

The Boy Who Loved Maps on IndieBound

I’d love to hear about any similar activities that your family has done!

Happy Treasure Hunting!

Roaming Rosie Signature

Nature Art

Nature Art

I suppose it’s a bit of a swing to go from Halloween projects to something completely different … or is it?

Today I wanted to highlight the glory of Nature Art.  Or, in general, making art with things found in nature.

These pictures are from a couple years ago but we have done this project many times.

Basic supplies you’ll need:

  • paper
  • pencil
  • glue
  • leaves, flowers, sticks, grass, feathers, tiny stones, etc.

Nature Art 2

I like doing this project on plain white printer paper because the things we collect really pop against the bright background, but it can easily be done on any color construction paper.

We don’t have the giant colorful leaves that you find up north, but this craft is really about exploring your own space and using what you have where you are.

Though I may point out a few suggestions, I let my kids pick whatever they find inspiring.

We also use it as a learning experience to look up a plant when we’re not sure what it is.

Nature Art 3

You can draw something very specific, like a house or tree, and recreate those items with the things you’ve collected, or you can go more abstract.

This particular day, my daughter was making random patterns.

This was her favorite finished piece:

Nature Art

And, like I said, what’s so great about this is allowing kids the creative space to explore their local environment and then utilize simple supplies to create anything they can imagine, all while experimenting on how things fit together.

It’s a great way to spend an afternoon, especially since we’re finally heading into autumn, and we’re still not able to socialize like we used to.  This year has had us doing a lot of stuff at home – so we try to add in art where ever we can!

More outdoor ideas to try:

Birdseed Christmas Ornaments 1

Birdseed Ornaments 

Power Word Hopscotch

Sight Word Hopscotch

How to Make Pom Pom Acrons 1

Pom Pom Acorns

Painting with Chalk 1

Painting with Chalk

Happy Crafting and Creating :)

Roaming Rosie Signature

Painting with Crayons & Water Colors

Painting with Crayons and Water Colors 1

This was one of those super-simple craft projects that’s nearly free.  You may already have all of the supplies on hand, but this changes things up from a normal painting or coloring project because it mixes the mediums.

It’s also a lot of fun.

What we did was create a drawing with crayons, and then color it in with watercolor paints.  We did some regular pictures (butterflies and flowers) and some that were patterns of lines and shapes.

And don’t mind the ancient crayon box full of mixed crayon types…. this is a “rediscovered” conglomerate of art supplies from my own youth. We use what we can here… it’s part of what makes this craft free, or nearly-free (the water colors are new).   We keep a craft drawer of leftover supplies from other projects, too, and sometimes we have a free-for-all craft with whatever we can find.

The kids love it.

Painting with Crayons and Water Colors 2

We discovered that the crayon looks much better if you draw thicker lines to help it stand out against the paint.  It also creates a neat, smooth texture.

And we experimented with the paint as well.

My older daughter tried painting with her fingers, instead of the brush, and she also would tilt the paper in different directions to see what happened when the excess paint dripped across her picture.

Painting with Crayons and Water Colors 3

My youngest daughter tried different things, like using multiple paintbrushes at one time.  This project gave them both the freedom to be creative in their own ways.

This project was cheap (free if you already have the crayons, paint, and paper) and easy to set up.  It gave them a creative outlet, and it kept them busy for a long time.  It had a lot of benefits on top of the fun-factor.

Plus, I had some beautiful fridge-worthy artwork at the end of it.

Here are a few of the finished products, including one of mine:

Painting with Crayons and Water Colors 4

Happy Crafting!

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Nutella Chocolate Birds Nests

Nutella Chocolate Birds Nests Recipe

We’ve made Chocolate Birds Nests in the past, but this year we changed it up…. by adding Nutella!

These Nutella Chocolate Birds Nests were a lot of fun to make with my girls.  It gets them in the kitchen with a combination of cooking and crafting.

And we also picked up a little Edible Grass this time around.  It’s easy to snip into bite-sized pieces with kitchen shears and adds a nice visual touch, but it isn’t necessary if you’re having a tough time finding it.  (And I picked mine up for half off after Easter – since these can be a fun treat all season long.)

Nutella Chocolate Birds Nests 2

All our ingredients gathered and ready to go….

Since there is no actually baking involved, it’s mostly mixing and shaping and decorating, once the chocolate chips are melted.

Nutella Chocolate Birds Nests 3

Melt the chocolate at half power, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth.

Then stir in the Nutella.

(And, yes, my kids are wearing superhero costumes while we cook.  That’s how we roll at our place.)

Nutella Chocolate Birds Nests 4

I slowly poured in the noodles while they stirred.

Make sure all the noodles get covered in the chocolate mixture, because that is the glue that holds everything together.

Nutella Chocolate Birds Nests 5

Spray some nonstick baking spray in the muffin tins and scoop in some of the chocolate noodles.

You want to be able to shape them into nests with your fingers, so with a small indention in the center, or at least flat as opposed to hill-shaped.  If it’s too bumpy and you’re having trouble flattening it, just take some out.

Nutella Chocolate Birds Nests 6

Put three eggs in the center of the nest and sprinkle a little edible grass over top, if you like.

You can see that my kids also added a few of the confetti-like bunnies that came with the edible grass.

This recipe makes 24 nests, but if that’s just too much for you, you could half the recipe.  Or share with all the neighbors.

When you first make them, the nests will be gooey and will fall apart if you try to pick them up.  They are still okay to eat, especially for anxious kids who want to try their creations, but they’re much easier to eat if you let the chocolate set first.

Put the pans in the fridge for an hour or so to help the chocolate set (because if you live in a humid place like me, that would take forever at room temperature), and then scoop them out with a spoon.  Preferably a plastic spoon so you don’t scratch the metal.

Store them in covered containers, using waxed paper to separate stacked layers.

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Chocolate Nutella Birds Nests

Ingredients:

1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup Nutella
12 oz. chow mein noodles
72 candy-coated malted milk chocolate eggs (I used Whoppers Robin Eggs)
Edible Grass, cut into 1-inch pieces (optional)

Melt the chocolate chips in a large microwave-safe bowl at half power, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth.  Stir in the Nutella.

Pour the noodles into the chocolate mixture and stir gently until they are all fully coated.

Spray 24 muffin tins with nonstick baking spray and scoop a spoonful of the noodle mix into each tin.  Move the noodles with a spoon or your fingers so that they are shaped like a nest.

Place 3 chocolate eggs in the center of your nest while the chocolate is still slightly melted.  Sprinkle a little edible grass over the top, if desired.

Put the nests in the refrigerator for at least an hour to allow the chocolate to set.  Remove from the muffin tins with the help of a spoon.

Store in a closed container in the fridge, using waxed or parchment paper to separate stacked layers.

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And here’s the free printable PDF of the recipe:

Nutella Chocolate Birds Nests

Happy Eating!

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July 4th Fireworks Painting and Cookies

July 4th Fireworks Painting Activity and Iced Cookies with Roaming Rosie

Happy Fourth of July!

This year, my kids and I did a painting activity and a cookie project that mimicked fireworks.  First, we stamped fireworks with toilet paper rolls, and then we baked some chocolate cookies and iced them in patterns to represent bursts of color.

Both of these things were done on dark backgrounds to make it look like our paint and sugar fireworks were exploding against a nighttime sky.

Even threw in some glitter (edible and not-so-much) for a little extra spark!

Fireworks Painting with Toilet Paper Rolls and Glitter 1

First up:  the painting project.

We reused some toilet paper rolls by transforming them into stamps.

To make the firework-shaped stamps, cut slits around one side of the cardboard roll, making the incisions about a quarter-inch wide (my kids made a few slivers; don’t aim for uniformity here), and then bend back the strips against the palm of your hand to make the pieces stick out.

I put some red, white, and blue (washable) paint into three small paper plates, and we dipped the stamps into the plates and then pressed them into the paper to make our fireworks.

To get a neat effect, overlap your stamps.

Fireworks Painting with Toilet Paper Rolls and Glitter 2

After you’ve covered your paper in fireworks, sprinkle with glitter for a fun sparkly touch!

Allow the paint to dry before shaking off the excess glitter and displaying your art.

Fireworks Chocolate Iced Cookies from Roaming Rosie 1

These cookies were not only fun to make – they were delicious too!

Just like the painting activity, we used the red, white, and blue colors against a dark background (in this case chocolate) to represent the fireworks bursting against a night sky.

We used the recipe that I made for my Chocolate Almond Mummy Cookies, but I made double the batch of icing.

You don’t actually NEED to double the icing – the recipe already makes plenty – but I wanted to make extra, double, totally sure that we’d still have enough icing if my girls ended up squirting most of it onto the counter instead of the cookies.

It turned out, one batch probably would have been more than enough . . . except that one of my containers burst and half of the blue icing spilled out onto a couple of cookies.

But that’s an anomaly.  (Hopefully.)

Fireworks Chocolate Iced Cookies from Roaming Rosie 2

When you make the icing, be sure to stir it well until there are no lumps and it drips easily from the fork or spoon in thin ribbons.

Not watery – just thin.  If it’s too thick or clumpy it will clog your spout.

I used my Wilton Candy Making Decorating Bottles.  Mine are quite old but they usually work fine only sometimes explode.  (But seriously, this is the first time I’ve had a problem.)  I’ve been meaning to pick up some new ones anyway.  They’re pretty easy to clean and my girls just love using them.

But if you don’t have bottles like these, you could just as easily put the icing into three separate plastic baggies and snip off the ends to squeeze out the patterns.

If you’re using the bottles, I poured the white icing into them and then mixed in the food coloring with a wooden skewer, the kind used for making shish kabobs.  You could do the same with the baggies, or, if you’re not lazy like me, you could put the icing into three bowls and add the red and blue food coloring to two of them, and mix them before pouring them into the containers.

I made the icing while the cookies were in the oven.  You could make it much earlier in the day, but the longer it sits, the more likely to thicken and then you’ll have to worry about mixing in more water or stirring it to thin it again.

Fireworks Chocolate Iced Cookies from Roaming Rosie 3

As you can see, we took the easy way out with these “cut out” cookies:  no cookie cutters.  We just sliced them up with a pizza cutter.  Easy Peasy.  Re-roll and slice again.

(If you’re wondering, that’s cocoa powder sprinkled over the counter to keep the dough from sticking, which you can use instead of flour when making chocolate cookies.)

We made the cookies into rectangles or large squares, all slightly different.  Once baked and fully cooled, I spread some waxed paper to catch the drippings and we all drizzled the icing onto the cookies, overlapping the colors, in a bit of a star burst pattern so that they would kind of look like fireworks exploding.

And, before the icing could harden, we added some white sparkling sugar to add a little extra spark to our cookies and to match the glitter on our paintings.

Again, you can find the cookie recipe on my post for Chocolate Almond Mummy Cookies.

Happy Fourth!

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