craft ideas for preschoolers

hi, this is joelle meijer. today, i am proposing a traditional projectthat will help young children to exercise their fine motor skills. the projectis a christmas stocking. you will find the patterns for the stockingitself and the fur trimming in the printable document. start by printing the stocking on red constructionpaper. take two sheets of red construction paperand cut along the outline of the stocking through the two layers of construction paper. using a one hole punch, punch holes all alongthe edge of the stocking,

do not make holes in the top of the stocking. cut a piece of knitting yarn about three feetor a meter long. wrap one end of the yarn with tape. when theend is wrapped in tape, it becomes much easier to pass the yarn throughthe holes. pass the tip of the knitting yarn throughthe first hole and pull the thread until only a small piece of the yarn is lefton the back of the stocking. paste this small piece of yarn on the backof the stocking with tape. a first possibility is to thread the yarnup and down all along the edge of the stocking. this is a simple pattern that gives a niceresult.

when you are finished with the yarn, pastethe end on the back of the stocking. a second possibility is to always pass theyarn upwards in a spiral movement. in this case, you will need a longer pieceof yarn. as in the first case, start by passing theyarn through the first hole and paste the end on the back of the stocking. then, pass through the second hole from belowand bring the yarn up again. continue this spiral movement all along thestocking and paste the end of the yarn on the backof the stocking. a third possibility is to start as in thesecond example,

and then go back in the opposite direction.this gives an effect of crossing threads. i chose to use only one colour but you couldvery well use two different colours. when you have threaded the yarn all alongthe stocking, glue a cut-out that represents the fur ontop of the stocking. there are three different patterns in theprintable document. print it directly onto white constructionpaper and cut out two layers. glue them on either side of the top edge ofthe stocking. be careful not to close the opening of thestocking with glue! you can keep the pieces together in placefor a few minutes with clothespins.

if you want to add a loop for hanging thestocking, take a piece of ribbon. fold the ribbon in half and tie a knot. slide the knot inside the opening of the stocking and glue it either with a glue gun for a quickresult or with white glue and let dry. you can add this loop even after you placedthe white trim on top of the stocking. to personalize each stocking, take your bestpen and write the child's name on the trim. feel free to decorate the stocking with illustrations,buttons, sequins, beads, feathers...

it's up to you to make your stocking unique!

the stocking is now ready to be filled withlittle gifts. to print the illustrated instructions witha list of materials and the patterns, click on the link below the video.