Materials: craft sticks, craft glue, photograph, cardboard (cereal box)
Directions: Lay two sticks together horizontally. Place two sticks together vertically on top and glue in place. Cut a photograph to fit in the frame. Glue a piece of cardboard to the back.
RECIPE BOOK
Materials: copy paper, construction paper, crayons, stapler
Directions: Ask each child to bring a copy of a favorite family recipe from home. (You could ask parents to send in a recipe for a special dish from their culture, a healthy snack food, a “kid friendly” dish, etc.) Have each child decorate her page with a black pen. Run off copies for each child, and then put them in a construction paper cover to make a recipe book.
Adaptation: You could also let each child dictate how to make the recipe her parents have sent in. Put her version at the bottom of the page.
GOLDEN SHOE
Materials: old shoes, gallon of school glue, old paint brush, gold spray paint
Directions: Ask each child to bring in one old shoe. Pour the school glue in a disposable container, and then let them paint the glue all over their shoe. (Inside, outside, all over!) Dry for several days on wax paper. Have children paint glue all over their shoe a second time. Dry. Spray paint gold or silver.
Adaptations: Stick a sprig of holly in the shoe or add this poem:
Here is my little shoe.
I made it just for you.
When I’m grown and tall,
you can remember me small.
NOTECARDS
Materials: cardstock, children’s drawings, black crayon or marker, ribbon or yarn
Directions: Give children a 5 ½” x 4 ¼” piece of paper and ask them to draw a picture of themselves or their family. Make two copies of their design and glue to the bottom of another sheet of paper as shown. Run off 5 copies on cardstock. Cut down the middle and fold in half to make note cards. Tie together with ribbon or yarn.
Adaptations: Add envelopes to go with the cards.
Do a class design and give sets of cards to school helpers and volunteers.
PAPER BOOKMARK
Materials: wrapping paper scraps, construction paper, scissors, glue, self laminating sheets, yarn, beads
Directions: Make bookmarks by cutting the construction paper into 2” x 8” rectangles. Let children decorate with wrapping paper scraps and personal drawings. Cut self-laminating sheets into 2” x 8” rectangles and seal to the bookmarks. Punch a hole and attach a piece of yarn decorated with beads.
LUGGAGE TAG
Materials: pipe cleaners, alphabet beads, decorative beads
Directions: Let children select alphabet beads for the name they wish to put on the luggage tag. String alphabet beads along with decorative beads. Twist the ends to make a circle that can be attached to a luggage handle.
PAPER BEADS
Materials: wrapping paper, comics from the newspaper, glue, pencil, string
Directions: Cut the paper into ¾” x 7” triangles. Starting at the wide end, roll around a pencil. Glue the end and slip off. When dry, you can string the beads on yarn, ribbon, or fancy cord.
DESK NOTES
Materials: cube of sticky notes, markers, ribbon
Directions: Let children draw on the sides of sticky notes with markers. Tie on a ribbon for a useful gift.
PERSONAL CALENDARS
Hint! This seems like a lot of work, but it is a special and practical gift that parents will treasure!
Materials: 12 samples of children’s artwork on 8 ½ ” x 11” pieces of paper, 6 large sheets construction paper, yearly calendar (each month on a 8 ½” x 11” piece of paper), glue, hole punch, yarn or ribbon
Directions: Collect 12 paintings, drawings, collages, prints, etc. from each child. Glue the art to the top of one side of the construction paper. Glue the monthly calendar for January – June on the bottom of the construction paper. Now, turn the construction paper over and glue another art project to the top of the paper and the calendars for July-December on the bottom. Punch holes at the top and tie with yarn or ribbon.
Here are some examples of art projects you could use: crayon drawings, crayon rubbings, water colors, colored pencil designs, sponge prints, marble painting, shape collage, magazine collage of family members, thumb print designs, finger paintings, etc.