Tabla de contenidos para Winter 2021 en Creative Steps

Congratulations to everyone for managing to get through another challenging year! Reading my message last winter, there was optimism and hope that the vaccines would be effective, and life could return to a semblance of ‘normal’. On the whole, I think this has proved correct, although we are not completely out of the woods just yet and I know most of you will have had to implement strict operating procedures and added measures to ensure you are still able to function. Thanks for all you do to help educate and care for young children, ensuring parents can go to work safe in the knowledge their little ones are in good hands. This issue is packed with fun projects to help get you through the coming months – including a few…

BOOKS 0-5 YRS NATIONAL TRUST: LOOK WHAT I FOUND AT THE SEASIDE Discover a world of wonder on a seaside stroll with this beautiful picture book from the National Trust. Packed full of fascinating facts alongside a gentle rhyming narrative and encouraging children to get outside and explore their surroundings, this is a nature treasure hunt series for the whole family to enjoy. “Our pre-schoolers really enjoyed this book, searching for images and discussing what they had seen on their own beach trips. Very informative and suitable for older children too.” Nosy Crow £6.99 www.nosycrow.com MAKE TRACKS: BUILDING SITE Learn vehicle vocabulary with simple first words, clear diagrams and helpful text prompts to encourage discussion. Then trace 5 types of transport around 5 different tracks with a moving counter on…

STORE CUPBOARD Coloured card Pencil PVA glue Glue brush Wooden pegs Thin paintbrush Paint - black and white Paint tray Scissors 1 Use the templates as a guide for cutting the koala pieces from coloured card. Cut out 2 x oval shapes for the head and body, 1 x arm, 1 x leg and 2 x circles for ears. 2 Dip your finger into black paint then print a nose in the middle of the head. Use another finger dipped in white paint to print in the middles of the ears then wipe your fingers. Use the end of a brush or a cotton bud to print 2 dots for eyes. Leave the paint to dry. Make fingerprints in different colours if you prefer. 3 Glue the ears onto the…

STORE CUPBOARD Cardboard tubes White, black & orange paints Paint brush Fine liner pen Thin card Scissors Wiggly eyes Strong glue 1 Paint a short cardboard tube white and leave to dry. 2 When dry, paint the tube orange, leaving the tummy white and leave to dry. 3 Cut out a head, tail and 4 legs from white card. 4 Paint these orange, leaving the feet, mane, teeth, muzzle and ear white. 5 Draw on a face and markings with black fine liner pen. 6 Colour in the markings with black paint. 7 Glue all the pieces together. 8 Glue on wiggly eyes. Thetigeristhelargest living cat species. Wild tigers live in Asia and Russia. They are considered an endangered species, with a declining population, mainly due to habitat loss…

“Decoupage,” meaning “cutting out” in French, is an art form that involves cutting and gluing paper cut outs onto almost any surface. Decoupage has a long history that has been influenced by a variety of countries. Long before decoupage made its debut in France, the art of paper cutting was being practiced and perfected all around the world. Paper cutting is an art form and can be traced back to great empires like China, where colourful cut outs were used to decorate lanterns, windows, and boxes. Before that, paper cut outs were used to decorate Eastern Siberian tombs. Decoupage was brought to Europe around the 17th century. It was here that it became popular to lacquer paper cut outs onto bookcases, cabinets, and other furniture for decoration. As an artform…

Thistle Fridge Magnet STORE CUPBOARD: Green card Purple glittery fun foam Scrap of fun green foam Magnet Pencil Scissors Glue 1 Use a pencil to sketch the outline of a thistle on the sheet of green card. A template is provided if needed. Neatly cut out the thistle shape. 2 Take the purple glittery fun foam and cut out a piece for the thistle flower head. Glue it in position. 3 Next, cut a strip of green fun foam and glue it onto the back of the thistle to strengthen the flower. 4 Finally, stick a magnet to the back of the thistle. When the glue is dry, attach the magnet to the fridge to display your artwork. Burns Night Quiz 1. Who was Robert Burns? 2. Where was Robert…

RUDOLPH TABLE DECORATION CHRISTMAS FAIRY SILVER WREATH TABLE DECORATION 1 Take a paper plate and with a pencil and ruler, divide the flat centre circle into eight equal sections. Using a pair of scissors, cut up the pencil lines until you reach the start of the ridged section of the plate. 2 Cover the whole of the paper plate with red paint and leave to dry. It is best to paint the plate after you have cut the sections as the paint will cover the pencil lines. 3 To decorate, stick three silver snowflakes onto each of the eight sections using PVA glue. Press each one down for a few seconds to make sure they stick. Take some silver tinsel and cut off eight pieces measuring approx. 2.5cm. Secure with…

STORE CUPBOARD: ▪ Coloured card – navy blue, royal blue and light blue ▪ Gold elastic cord ▪ Small blue buttons ▪ Hole punch ▪ Pencil ▪ Scissors ▪ Glue 1 Take the navy blue card and a pair of scissors. Start by cutting out the required number of dreidel shapes for your garland. Templates are provided for this project if needed. 2 Punch two small holes in the top of each dreidel cut-out. 3 Next, take the royal blue card and the light blue card. Cut out diamond shapes to decorate each dreidel. Glue in place. Stick a small button on top of each diamond to complete. 4 Now, take the royal blue card and cut out some star shapes for your garland. Cut out some slightly smaller stars…

Being outside in the open is a truly magical experience – the fresh air, the sunshine on your face, the freedom to run, roll on the grass, splash in puddles and play in the mud! Not to mention the fact that it’s a great way to spend quality time together as a family, while boosting your energy and health in both your body and mind – all the things that are so important to International Elf Service. It’s also a perfect moment to teach children all about how to keep outside areas magical, and how to respect and protect all flora, fauna and Fairy realms … Take your litter home! – rubbish doesn’t look pretty and it isn’t good for the animals and plants that live there. Leave it as…

To make the springer spaniel STORE CUPBOARD Small paper plate 2 large paper plates Brown, pink & black paints Paint brush Thin card Black felt tip pen Pencil Twine or wool Scissors Strong glue 1 Draw a dog’s face onto a small plate with a felt tip pen. 2 Paint areas of the face brown and leave to dry. 3 Cut out ears from thin card and paint them brown. Leave to dry. 4 Paint a large plate brown, leaving a few areas white and leave to dry. 5 Paint the nose pink and leave to dry. 6 Draw a spiral on the underside of the large paper plate, to create the spring. Cut around the spiral to the middle. 7 Make 4 legs by cutting the shapes from thin…

STORE CUPBOARD Cardboard tube Scissors Glue Googly eyes String Coloured paper Wooden beads 1 Roll some brown paper around the cardboard tube and glue it into place. Trim the ends to give a neat finish. 2 Draw around the tummy template onto fawn paper and cut it out. Glue it onto the cardboard tube. 3 Draw around the head template onto brown paper and the face onto fawn paper and cut them out. Glue them onto the monkey’s body. 4 Add googly eyes and draw on a smile. 5 Cut four long pieces of string. Hold one piece with an end in each hand and twist one end around and around. Fold the string in half and it will twizzle around itself! Thread a bead onto the end and tie…

STORE CUPBOARD: Felt fabric Scissors Glue Googly eyes Needle and cotton 1 Draw around the body template twice onto orange felt fabric and cut out the shapes. 2 Sew around the edge of the body, leaving the bottom edge open. 3 Draw around the head shape twice onto the felt and cut these out. Glue one onto the front and one on the back of the body, like a sandwich! 4 Cut some thin triangles from black felt fabric and glue these onto the body and head. 5 Cut a tail from orange felt and a little nose from black felt and glue these on. Add some googly eyes! FUN FACTS! Tigers are the largest of the cat family, they can weigh over 300kg, and can measure over 3 metres…

Orchard Toys are giving three Creative Steps readers the chance to win an exciting games bundle! Orchard Toys games, jigsaws and colouring books offer the perfect balance of learning and fun for children from the age of 18 months. Dizzy Donkey RRP £8.50 Collect the most pairs of cards before the donkey reaches the carrot in this high energy, action and performance game! Act out crazy combinations in this fun twist on charades that will have the whole family laughing! You could be a sneezing chicken, a cold astronaut or even a tired penguin! Suitable for ages 5+ Giraffes in Scarves RRP £8.50 Collect the most scarves in this fun counting and colour matching game, which features quirky giraffe illustrations that children will love! Designed for ages 4-7, the exciting and…

Great books for growing minds KEY: HB HARDBACK ★ PB PAPERBACK ★ BB BOARD BOOK I’m Sticking With You Too www.simonandschuster.co.uk Wherever you’re going, I’m going too. We fit together, just me and you. Bear and squirrel make the prefect pair. But when chicken wants to join the fun, will they be able to make room in their merry band? Age 3 years + We say… This comical, and yet tender rhythmical story book, celebrates the joyful harmony of true friendship and belonging! Storm In A Jar www.owletpress.com When Arlo’s Nana passes away, he keeps her special sweetie jar with him, to feel safe and close to her. As his sadness turns to anger, a storm builds up inside the jar, until eventually Arlo has enough and smashes it open!…

STORE CUPBOARD Red and light blue card Scissors Glue String Buttons White paint Paintbrush Sticky tape 1 Using the templates provided, draw and cut the shapes carefully from red and light blue card. 2 Cut a long piece of string and tape the string to the back of the card shapes. 3 Decorate the shapes with dots of white paint, buttons and small paper hearts. 4 Tie a loop at each end of the string and hang up the bunting. FUN FACTS! Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) experience the darkest time of the year during the Christmas season. Their traditions are rooted in Yule, a pre-Christian celebration which marked the winter solistice. Christmas Eve is usually more important than Christmas day. OTHER IDEAS ■ Why not add your…

Christmas Window STORE CUPBOARD: A4 blue patterned card Coloured card – green, brown, white and black Glittery fun foam stars Plastic jewels Scissors Glue 1 Take the A4 sheet of blue patterned card and fold it in half to make a greeting card. 2 Next, take the white card. Cut out a piece to fit across the bottom of the greeting card to resemble the snow-covered ground. Stick it in place. 3 Cut out two trees in green card and two trunks in brown card. Arrange the trees on the greeting card then glue everything in position. 4 Cut out some thin strips (approx. 1.5cm wide) of black card. Glue the strips around the edges of the greeting card and across the middle to make the ‘window frame’ on your…

STORE CUPBOARD: Coloured paper Scissors Pom poms Glue 1 Cut your green paper to form a square and fold in half diagonally. 2 Cut snips from the outer edge towards the fold at equal distances all the way down the paper (so that you are cutting through both sides of the paper). 3 Unfold the paper and loop each strip that you have cut, to the middle fold of the paper to create a curved effect. Glue the strips onto the central fold. 4 Fold up the bottom point and glue in place to create a straight base to your tree. 5 Glue pom poms all over the tree! OTHER IDEAS ■ Make a whole forest of trees in different sizes to create a spectacular winter display!…

STORE CUPBOARD Thick card Tissue paper Pencil Ruler PVA Glue Glue brush Thin coloured paper Scissors Ribbon 1 To make the background, draw a 22cm x 22cm heart shape onto thick card then cut it out. Card cut from a box is ideal. The heart can be made any size, the bigger it is, the more paper curls you’ll need to fill in the middle. 2 Brush glue over the heart then paste pieces of tissue paper to cover it. Brush the tissue paper over the edges of the heart. Leave to dry. 3 Cut 30-40 strips, 2cm wide, from the length of some A4 thin paper. One at a time, curl the paper strips around a pencil into spirals. To make smaller spirals, cut the strips in half before…

Great books for growing minds KEY: HB HARDBACK H PB PAPERBACK H BB BOARD BOOK Magnificent, Marvellous Minibeasts www.austinmacauley.com A series of short stories written about minibeasts for young children and self-readers. Age 6 years + We say… This collection of short stories about the wonderous mini beasts we find around us, is packed with facts, presented in a fun and engaging way! Perfect for any budding explorers. Cocoa Girl Awesome Hair www.farshore.co.uk A celebration of natural hair, this book is filled with tips and features real life girls who love their hair. Spreads include care tips for keeping your hair in tip top condition, photographic step-by-step tutorials, ranging from easy to difficult styles and positive affirmations packed with reasons to love your amazing hair. Discover the perfect corn rows,…