KIDS HOPE AUS

THEMED MENTOR HOUR

WINTER ACTIVITIES AND

PUZZLES

Internet Sites With Online activities

http://www.dltk-holidays.com/winter/games.htm

http://www.primarygames.com/seasons/winter/games.php

http://akidsheart.com/holidays/winter/winter.htm

http://pbskids.org/holidays/

http://www.squiglysplayhouse.com/Games/Holidays/Winter.php

Break Out The Board Games!

Board games are great for cold, wet days. Find out which ones your child enjoys

and also introduce some new ones.

Suggestions may include old favourites like -

Jenga

Uno

Trouble

Snakes and Ladders

Dominos

Thinkfun Logic Games

http://www.teaching.com.au/catalogue?catalogue=MTA&category=MTA-

THINKFUN-BRAIN-GAMES

Your school may have some of the games on this website.

Winter Word Puzzles

Answers: snow, scarf, mittens, evergreen, frost, skates, sleigh, penguin,

cold, crisp

Paste picture onto cardboard and cut out.

Winter Art and Craft

Penguin Egg Carton Craft

Two egg carton cups, some paint and a few scraps of

construction paper are all you need to make this cute little penguin craft.

Materials:

2 egg carton cups

black tempra paint or acrylic paint

orange and black construction paper scraps

Optional: two small wiggly eyes.

glue,

scissors,

tape paintbrush,

Instructions:

Cut two cups from an egg carton and trim to

smooth out the tops.

paint the cups black on the outside... You can paint the inside too or leave

it unpainted -- then let dry

tape the two cups together, using one piece of tape on the inside of the

cups to make a "ball shape" from the egg cartons that opens and shuts .

This step may require adult supervision.

Cut out a couple of triangle shapes and tape them to

the openings to make a beak

use wiggly eyes or a black marker to add eyes.

Add black construction paper wings and orange

construction paper feet (glue them on)

you can put a little treasure inside the penguin (jellybeans or chocolate eggs work well).

Polish Gwiazdy

They look a lot like paper snowflakes (but notice they have

8 sides, not 6!). If you try this craft with children under

age 8, you'll likely end up doing most of the work! (age 6

to 8 can likely do a simplistic version with fewer cuts).

Gwiazdy means "stars" in Polish. This paper cutting craft

typically has geometric designs and is from the Kurpie and Lowicz regions of Poland.

Materials:

paper,

pencil,

scissors

Instructions:

Turn your rectangle into a square: Fold your paper all the way across to make a triangle with a bit hanging over. Cut off the bit that's hanging over

Fold your square in half (to make a rectangle)

Then in half again to make a square. Now fold in half one last time (corner to corner this time) to make a triangle.

Draw a curved line and cut off the top of the triangle.

Draw a symmetrical design (same on both sides). Don't

draw any cuts all the way through or you'll end up with

confetti instead of a star.

And cut out along the lines you drew.

Unfold and admire your beautiful creation.

You can make it out of construction paper instead of plain white paper for a bit of variety.

Salt Crystal Snowflake

Create your own sparkly snowflake! Make an eight sided snowflake.

Materials:

Hot water (preferably boiled beforehand)

A cup or mug

Salt (table salt is fine)

thick black paper (It should be very heavy paper or cardboard. Plain

construction paper will not work. This is VERY important)

Paintbrush

Instructions:

Boil water and pour it into a cup that can withstand hot water.

Add a couple of teaspoons of salt and stir with the paintbrush until it

dissolves.

Continue to add salt a teaspoon at a time until it no longer dissolves and

there are salt crystals at the bottom of the cup even after stirring for a

while.

Paint your snowflake.

Tip: Every time you go to dip your brush in the salt water be sure you to

stir the solution so that your salt crystals don't all sink to the bottom of the

cup.

Leave your art to dry overnight

Craft Templates:

There aren't "templates" for this project -- it's more of an art project than a

craft and the children are expected to design their own snowflake using the

salt water.

You can provide the children with a few pictures of snowflakes to provide

them with some inspiration (an idea of how to draw a snowflake).