Calendar

Use a blank square template to add the numbers for each month. Write the days of the week along the top. Then add an appropriate design for each month.

Winter penguins

Alternative number lines

Rather than make number lines laid out in a square the children stick the blocks of ten to make a long line and colour in every ten. They can then hang these up.

Story books

The children work on their own books either drafting and then typing (cut out the writing and stick on the appropriate page) or writing directly into the book. They illustrate each page and put on a bright cover. The front cover can also be laminated once the illustration, title and author's name has been added. Patterned paper can also be used to make a different cover.

Birthday graph

Each child draws a birthday picture on a piece of paper and then use to produce a picture graph.

Self portraits

Using oil pastels to draw the outline and poster paint to colour. Alternatively use crayons to draw and shade the picture.

Chinese lanterns

Fold an A4 piece of coloured paper in half and make cuts halfway down the paper (do not cut right through). Unfold the paper and then stick the short sides together. Decorate the lantern and add tissue paper streamers round the bottom.

Clay hungry caterpillars

Using air dry clay make a base and then layer squashed sausages to make the caterpillar's body. Paint the caterpillar in different colours (these were done with metallic paint). Use tools to make a different pattern on each body part.

Views of Paris

Using an oil pastel to draw the outline of the buildings the children then used watercolours to paint over and complete the city pictures.

Rain and umbrella ideas

I found this wonderful site step by step which has lots of simple ideas for art to do in spring (rain and umbrellas). It also has songs, cooking, maths and science ideas.

Dangling fish

Cut a fish shape from a piece of card and decorate with pens or paint. Use strips of tissue paper in various colours to make the tail.

Bubblewrap octopus

Taken from Mister Maker

You will need:
A coloured paper plate
Some PVA glue
A glue stick
A black pen
A paintbrush
Red paint
Some sticky tape

Draw two circles - you could draw around the sticky tape to make it easier to get a circle shape. These will be the octopus's eyes so you now need to add two dots with the black pen. Take the yellow paper and draw some circles for the octopus's spots. Now cut these circles out but be careful as scissors are sharp.

Take the coloured paper plate and stick your eyes and spots to it. Using the black pen draw a little mouth for the octopus.

You now need to make a painty mixture to paint on the bubble wrap. Take the red paint and PVA glue, using half and half. Now mix them together. Paint the mixture over the bubbly side of the bubble wrap and leave it to dry.

Now cut eight wiggly sausage shapes out of the bubble wrap. Be careful as scissors are sharp. Attach the wiggly saussage shapes to the back of the plate with some sticky tape making, sure the bubble wrap is bubbly side down. Stick the octopus to a piece of coloured card. You can also make an elephant picture too.

Reflection landscapes

Taken from Mister Maker.

You will need:
White paper
Red paint
A paintbrush
A spoon
Black and yellow oil pastels
Water

Gather together all the things that you need to make the Reflection Wax Picture. Fold your piece of paper in half. Unfold the piece of paper and above the folded line draw your picture, using the oil pastels. Draw the ground with a black oil pastel and then add a tree. Then draw two giraffes and finally draw the sun with a yellow oil pastel.

Fold the paper in half and then scrape along the back with a spoon. Unfold the paper to reveal a reflection of your drawing.

Now choose a sunset coloured paint like red and add water to it to make a watery mixture. Cover your picture with the mixture, making the top half slightly darker than the bottom half.

Clown mirror image pictures

Using a piece of white paper and a sheet of coloured paper these fabulous pictures can be created.

Bee headbands

The headbands are made of black card and then a head made from a semi-circle of yellow card with a face drawn on it. Wings are made from yellow card and stapled to the sides.

Buzzy bees

Using corrugated yellow card painted with black stripes and rolled into a tube to make the body. The head is yellow tissue paper stuffed with cotton wool and googly eyes added with pipe cleaner antennas. The wings are made out of yellow card.

Daffodil windmill

Taken from this website.

Great idea for a simple and beautiful craft acivity.

Speckled frogs and rainbow fish

Speckled frogs - the children were given a printed outline of the frog and they used their fingers to paint the frog in green and yellow.

Rainbow fish - in a shallow dish pour out stripes of different colours. The children then put their hand in, across the colours and then make a hand print. Once this is dry cut it out and draw on eyes, mouth etc.

Forest alphabet

During a class visit to the forest the children collected lots of leaves, small twigs, pine cones etc and once back in class they made their first initial. On pieces of card they drew the letter first in pencil and then selected suitable items from everything collected and glued them on with PVA glue.

Bunny

Another playgroup activity.

This is a toilet roll tube with a bunny face and feet made out of card (it did start out with two feet!). Decorate the body as you want and add a cotton wool tail behind.

Easter chick

This was done at playgroup and while it is very cute it is also very unchild friendly activity!

It is made from a section of egg box, folded card for the beak, the eyes are drawn on with felt pen and then the feathers were stuck on with a glue gun (although they could be stuck on with sticky tape.