This process art aquarium was so fun to make! It uses a paper plate for its base and some other items we already had on hand - including the recycled plastic cover!

Start with:

• Paper Plates
• Paint
• Paintbrushes
• Scissors
• Glue
• Cardstock
• Tulle
• Recycled Plastic Top
• Plastic Cover (we recycled ours from a graham cracker pie crust)

Create it!

Step 1: Paint a paper plate blue and allow it to dry.

Step 2: Dip the rim of the plastic top in lighter or darker paint and print "bubbles" on the plate.

Step 3: Cut circles and triangles from cardstock.

Step 4: Glue the cardstock pieces together to make fish. Add eyes cut from cardstock (or plastic eyes would be fun too).

Step 5:Glue the fish to the top 2/3 of the paper plate.

Step 6: Glue some green tulle to the bottom 1/3 of the plate for seaweed.

Step 7: Glue the plastic cover to the outer edge of the paper plate to create the aquarium.

Looking for more fishy fun? Click here for Giant Stuffed Fish or here for Paper Plate Fish!

It's warming up and feeling like summer but we thought it would be fun to make an arctic small world - for a yeti! Made with lots of loose parts, this yeti small world is simple to set up for indoor play.

Start with:

• Blocks
• Shredded Paper
• Plastic Lid
• Toy Figure

Step 1: Using different shapes and shades of blue blocks or loose parts, create a small area on one edge of the small world.

Step 2: We added a blue plastic lid with some white blocks for ice floating on water. If you don't have a lid, a piece of blue paper or cloth would work well too!

Step 3: We added some additional blue blocks on the ice for a little more color.

Step 4: Add shredded paper for snow to the space between the blue block boundary and the "water" area with floating icebergs. 

Although we decided to make this a small world for a yeti, it would be perfectly fun for penguins, polar bears or any other animals that make their homes in the cold!

This rainbow colored xylophone is made from recycled cardboard and an egg carton - perfect for pretend play or use for preschool color matching (read below for our favorite way)!

Start with:

• Egg Carton
• Cardboard
• Paper Fasteners
• Scissors
• Paint 
• Paint Brushes
• Glue
• Straws
• Pom Poms
• Single Hole Paper Punch

Create It!

Step 1: Cut strips of cardboard for the xylophone keys.

Step 2: Paint the keys and allow them to dry.

Step 3: Punch two holes into each key with the single hole punch.

Step 4: Place paper fasteners into each of the holes.

Step 5: Glue the keys to the overturned bottom of an egg carton.

Step 6: Glue a large pom pom to a paper straw, repeat to create two mallets.

For color matching, set out a pattern of pom poms and have your little one follow the color pattern by tapping the same color pattern on the xylophone!

This cardboard weather wheel is a fun preschool craft for learning about the weather, tracking and reporting! So fun for part of a weather unit!

Start with:

• Cardboard
• Paint
• Paintbrushes
• Scissors
• Paper Fastener 

Create it!

Step 1: Cut a circle from cardboard. (We used a dinner plate to trace.) Paint the circle and set it aside to dry.

Step 2:Cut shapes - circles for sunny, cloud shapes, etc. from cardboard.

Step 3: Paint the cardboard shapes and allow them to dry.

Step 4:Glue together any parts like sun beams, lightning or raindrops.

Step 5: Glue the weather shapes around the outside perimeter of the wheel.

Step 6: Cut two small squares from cardboard. Glue them, stacked on top of each other, to the center of the wheel. This will be the platform for the arrow.

Step 7: Cut an arrow from cardboard (we used cardboard that was already printed with color) and carefully put the paper fastener at the end. Glue the paper fastener to the cardboard squares so the arrow can freely turn around the wheel.

Look outside the window, take a walk with your little one around the block and discuss the weather. Then have him or her move the arrow to the weather you've observed. Such a fun way to learn!