1) Sweet Baby

Materials: flannel or soft material (1/2 yard), fiberfill (3 handfuls), ribbon (1/2 yard), buttons, yarn, marker

Directions: Cut an 18” square out of the fabrc. Make a round ball out of the fiberfill about the size of your fist and put it in the middle. Wrap the fabric around the ball to make a head for your baby and secure with a ribbon. Take one corner of the fabric and knot it to make a hand. Take another corner and knot it to make the other hand.

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Hint! Sew on button eyes, yarn hair, and draw on a mouth if you wish.

2) Sock Puppet

Materials: old socks yarn, buttons, fabric pens, felt scraps, pom poms, craft glue, scissors

Directions: Stick your hand in the sock and wiggle it around. What could it be? A boy or girl? A dog or cat? Maybe an elephant or monster? Use the yarn and felt to make hair, ears, noses, and other features.

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Hint! Encourage children to think of a name for their sock puppet. Can they use their puppet to sing a song or tell a story?

3) Flannel Board

Materials: file folder, 9” x 12” piece of felt, craft glue, stapler, felt scraps

Directions: Staple the two sides of the file folder together. Glue the piece of felt to the front. Cut geometric shapes, animals, and other figures from the felt scraps. Place inside the file folder pocket. Children can remove the felt pieces to create pictures and tell stories.

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Hint! You can also attach Velcro to the back of photos and use them on the flannel board.

4) Art Easel

Materials: corrugated cardboard, contact paper, duct tape, string, spring clothespins

Directions: Cut two rectangles 20” x 14” from the corrugated cardboard. Cover with contact paper and attach at the top with duct tape. Punch holes in the sides and tie on string. Stand up on a table and use clothespins to hold paper. Let children paint with water colors, paints, markers, etc.

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Hint! Place on a picnic table for outdoor fun.