I'm a huge fan of simple yet flexible crafts and activities for young children! Cotton balls, glue, and paper are three things that I find endless use for in my home, especially in combination with one another. This cotton ball craft is super easy to modify and use for a variety of ages. Here are some ways to do the activity in your home!

You'll want to either trace a sheep shape, or download one of my templates (they are free and available for immediate download... no strings attached!). You can use these as coloring pages as well as for the cotton ball sheep crafts described below. 

Toddlers are just developing fine motor abilities, and this activity is a great way to help build them! Allow your child to paint glue onto the stencil, pick up cotton balls and place them within the lines of the sheep.

Have your child color the sheep's face, then use glue to apply the cotton balls. Once done, help you child cut out the sheep. 

Start by decorating the sheep's face; color, paint, or use another medium to give it some color.

Then, laminate the entire paper.

Once the paper has set, heat up a hot glue gun. If your child is super cautious, you may choose to have them help with the glue, but you will probably want to be the one using the glue to help avoid burns. Apply small dots of glue onto the sheep's body, then add cotton balls (they can be pulled a bit to make a more woolen texture, or applied as is).

Have your child cut out the sheep once dry/cool.

​Using the hot glue again, apply two popsicle sticks in a cross shape to the back of the sheep. Then, glue two more popsicle sticks together, one on top of the other. Apply those to the bottom back of the sheep, sticking out towards the bottom. Now you have a sheep puppet or planter decoration! 

Want to dress up the sheep more? You can use food coloring or water colors to dye to cotton balls for a rainbow sheep, apply glitter using regular craft clue, add googley eyes, and more! Your imagination is the only limit!

Want to build on this craft with other educational activities? Here are a few ideas!

Old McDonald (Had a Farm): Perfect for toddlers, Old McDonald is a great way to work on animal sounds and vocabulary! We love pairing it with farm puppets or my child's farm yard play set!

Take a trip to the local community farm/farm museum: In our area, we have tons of community farms and farm museums, and growing up, we had plenty near us as well. A quick Google search can help you identify the resources available near you. ​If you are in the Metro New York area, here are a few options you'll love:

And in the Boston Metro area, be sure to check out Drumlin Farm!

Use this activity along with these great printables to create a spring thematic unit!!

Check out these other great crafts, which pair perfectly with the cotton ball sheep craft, books, and printables for a spring thematic unit!

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How exciting is it that spring is here? With Easter around the corner, I've been working hard on some great Easter content, including this adorable Easter themed iSpy activity. And they are all free, but only to members of my Mindfully Scientific Caregivers group on Facebook. Not in my group? Be sure to sign up here. I'll be adding more group exclusives as time goes on. Connect with other caregivers, plus find great tips and tricks for raising kids from a place of evidence, mindfulness, and love. The group is 100% FREE, and comes with the added benefit of being run by a seasoned educator and cognitive scientist specializing in education. 

I also have three great Easter printables available for immediate download, no strings attached! These include a cute coloring page, and two themed biggest to smallest activities. Also be sure to check out my other great Easter and spring content! ​

• Tips for Food Allergy Friendly Easter, plus Candy Free Easter Egg/Basket Options
• Footprint flower art
• Plastic Easter Egg Crafts

This activity is super simple, and can easily be used on your favorite device for an eco friendly solution. Just have your child count the number of each item in the array. I've provided an answer sheet to help you with scoring. You can also print and either laminate, or add to your child's seasonal busy book. This printable fits with however they play!

Also up on the group is an Easter Basket printable activity, bunny ears printable activity, hanging easter eggs printable, and a crossword puzzle. 

Binder books are easy to put together. Simply print 2 copies of all pages, other than the cover. Insert the cover in the front of a binder, and one copy of each page into plastic page protectors. Laminate the second copy, and use velcro on both the plastic page protectors and the backs of the laminated pictures. Cut out each of the laminated pictures, and apply to page protectors. Insert into the binder, and you are all done! You can find an example of a fall themed binder book and detailed instructions here. 

These great printables are available for immediate download! For the small to big activities, I recommend cutting and laminating the cards. This will allow your child to play over and over! You can also laminate the coloring page and use dry erase markers, which is an eco friendly solution enabling your child to color again and again!

Plastic Easter eggs are great for more than just Easter egg hunts! These fun Easter egg crafts use materials you probably already have in home, and are perfect for family members of all ages. 

This is a great sensory and art activity for children ages toddler and up!

This activity is simple. Just dip the Easter eggs into paint, coat, and then place on a paper lined cookie sheet (you may want to use tape to make sure the paper stays in place). Lift the cookie sheet and move so the eggs roll from side to side. 

​You an also use the eggs as stamps, or roll them yourself.

This activity is great for kids of all ages. Older children can help you create the stamps before using them, while younger children will love using the stamps once they are done!

1. Open the Easter Eggs
2. Create stamps using stencils. Apply the paper to cardboard using tape (or just hold it in place). Cut the cardboard in out along the edges of the stencil.
3. Apply cardboard to each half of the plastic egg using tape or hot glue.
4. ​Dip in paint, then stamp on paper.

You can also skup steps 2-4, and just use the Easter egg halves as circle stamps to create art like the piece below!

Take it a step further! Using twine or ribbon and a hot glue gun, you can create garland out of the eggs by apply a dot of hot glue to the back, and affixing the eggs to the string. Or, if you have a cute basket, glass vase, or centerpiece bowl, place the eggs into that container as a decorative element you can use year after year!