Bubble wrap bee hives

Try this to make bee hives: paint bubble wrap with yellow paint.  Draw a picture of a hive on white paper and push the bubble wrap onto the hive to paint it.  Next, put an index finger into black paint and push it onto the yellow hive to make bees.  So easy and cute and great for finger isolation (index finger only in black paint) and sensory. For an added challenge, once the hive is dry, have the child cut it out.

Home Made Fine Motor Activity

Here's an easy fine motor activity you can make at home.  All you need is a clear, plastic jar and cotton balls.  Have the kids use tongs to pick up the cotton balls and put them into the container.  To increase the difficulty of the task, leave the lid on and have them put the balls through the pour hole.  Once the jar is filled, they have made a cute snowman.

milk jug igloo

Kids love to play in forts. tents and other confined places.  So, for winter we decided to try an "igloo" fort. Collect any size jug to make your igloo.  We found it is easier to tape 3-4 together first, then tape these rows together.  Make it as high and wide as you like.  Have a snow ball battle from the fort.

Puffy paint painting

Here's a way to make finger painting different- add some bath foam or even shaving cream.  The paint feels thicker and smoother and seems "puffy".  Try a divided tray to hold different color paints. Remember- don't be afraid to let the kids get messy!

Looking for something to do with all that bubble wrap?  Paint with it.   Simply apply paint to the bubble wrap and push a piece of paper on top of it, pushing down all over the paper to get the paint on it.  You can use one color, or many different colors to make a picture.  Give it a try!

String art

Have fun painting- use string to make stripes on a zebra.  Just dip the end into paint and swish it across a picture of a zebra.  Looks cool, and kids love to paint using string.

Koosh ball painting

Try this for something different.  We used less squishy koosh ball rings.  Dip them in paint and go up and down on the paper for a cool design.  Great sensory idea for kids, too, due to the texture of the ball, and the feeling of paint on their hands.