free printable Archives - JDaniel4s Mom

Cat Mask Template Based on Pete the Cat

July 12, 2020 By Deirdre

Pete the Cat is a favorite book character. He may be one of the top children’s books cats of all time. This cat mask template could be colored to look like him. The mask could be decorated to look like a number of other cats found in children’s literature. Therefore you can use this mask template over and over again as you read other cat books. However, it was created to resemble Pete.

Let’s Start with a Book

Below you will find a collection of children’s books that have a cat as the main character. Before you have your children decorate their masks, you will want to read one of the books below. You will notice that there is only one Pete the Cat book. The other books are old favorites of mine. Even if you decide to have the mask be Pete it would be great to read some of the others.

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Preparing the Mask

Before you download the Printable Cat Mask Template Based on Pete the Cat, please make sure you have a PDF reader on your computer. Acrobat Reader is the one that I use. Once you have downloaded the template, you can open it up with your PDF reader.

The mask will be sturdier if you print it out on bright white cardstock. If you buy “regular” white cardstock, it will look a little gray. (My masks were printed on white cardstock I had at home. They look a little gray.)

Finally, you will need to decide if you want to cut the mask out before or after it is colored. If you cut the mask out before it is colored, your children can wear them right away. Waiting to cut out the mask means it will have to be cut out before it can be worn.

Decorating the Mask

You can put out a variety of coloring tools for your children to use or choose just one. Below you will find a list of fun ways to color.

Magic Markers give the mask some texture. They also give you a brightly colored mask. The color doesn’t fade much.
Crayon also five a mask texture. They aren’t messy and are easy to color over if you make a mistake. They don’t create bright vividly colored masks.
Color pencils give a mask a soft and fuzzy look. They aren’t messy!
Watercolors give the mask a sheer layer of color. They are messy and colors can run from one area of the mask to another.

Wearing the Mask

There are a number of ways you can wear the mask.

First, you can punch holes on either side of the mask. Then you can attach yarn to both of the holes. You can tie the two pieces of yarn in the back.
Second, you can attach a strip of cardstock to both sides of the mask. Your children can then slip the mask over their heads.
Third, you may have children that don’t want to wear the mask on their face. You can attach a wooden craft stick to the mask. Children can hold the mask over their faces.

If you like this mask craft, here are some more masks you will love. They are all free to download.

Cute Shark Mask

There Was An Old Lady Printable Mask Template

Cow Mask Template

Free Koala Mask

There Was an Old Lady Who Printable Mask Template

June 27, 2020 By Deirdre

There Was An Old Lady Who is such a fun book series. I originally made a paper plate There Was an Old Lady mask as part of a Back to School series of crafts. The mask had several different sections that needed to be cut out and painted. This There Was An Old Lady Who mask is one single piece of cardstock. It will be easier for your children to decorate.

Decorating Your There Was An Old Lady Mask

There are so many ways that your children can decorate their masks. Below you will find a list of ways to add color to your mask.

First, you can have your children use crayons to color the mask.
Second, markers will add deeper color to the mask. You will notice that I used markers for part of the mask. Then I finished the mask with crayons.
Third, watercolor paints would be fun to use to decorate the mask.
Fourth, small pieces of construction paper in a variety of colors can be glued to the mask.

Reading One of the Books Before or AfterDecorating

This is such a fun series of books. Below you will see a list of the books I have read. There are so many more. You can click on any of the pictures below to find more There Was An Old Lady books. If you choose to read one after making the mask, you could read the book wearing the mask.

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Getting the Printable Mask

You will need to have access to a PDF reader to open this template. Acrobat Reader is the one that I use. Once you download the There Was An Old Lady Mask Template, you can print it out onto heavy copy paper or cardstock.

Wearing the Mask

There are a number of ways you can wear the mask.

- First, you can punch holes on either side of the mask. Then you can attach yarn to both of the holes. You can tie the two pieces of yarn in the back.
- Second, you can attach a strip of cardstock to both sides of the mask. Your children can then slip the mask over their heads.
- Third, you may have children that don’t want to wear the mask on their face. You can attach a wooden craft stick to the mask. Children can hold the mask over their faces.

If you like this book-based activity, here are some more you will love:

Truck Stuck in the Muck Fine Motor Activity

Three Pigs Building Activity

Harry the Dirty Dog Thaumatrope Activity

Flying Snowman Pulley Activity

Cute Shark Mask Template

June 27, 2020 By Deirdre

This cute shark mask template will be fun to decorate with your kids. The mask would be fun to work on during Shark Week or while studying the ocean. It is based on a paper plate shark mask I created several years ago. While many of you have made that mask, I thought more of you would like a mask that is easy to cut out and decorate.

Shark Themed Books

If you are having your children craft this mask while celebrating or studying ocean life, you may want to read them a book about sharks. Below you will find several wonderful shark books.

The links below are affiliate links.

Getting the Cute Shark Mask

The cute shark mask is a PDF. You will need to open the Cute Shark Mask Template with Acrobat Reader or another PDF reader. Once you have the template open, you will want to print it out on cardstock. Traditional printer paper will be way too flimsy. If you have heavy copy paper, it would work too.

Decorating the Shark Mask

There are so many ways you can decorate the shark mask. We used teal acrylic paint and painted it on with a fork. Fork painting gives some texture to the mask. Here some other ways you could decorate the mask.

First, you could color the mask with crayons or markers.
Second, you could glue small squares of blue tissue paper to the mask. It will look a little like a mosaic.
Third, the mask could be painted with cotton balls or a paintbrush.

Wearing the Mask

There are a number of ways you can wear the mask.

First, you can punch holes on either side of the mask. Then you can attach yarn to both of the holes. You can tie the two pieces of yarn in the back.
Second, you can attach a strip of cardstock to both sides of the mask. Your children can then slip the mask over their heads.
Third, you may have children that don’t want to wear the mask on their face. You can attach a wooden craft stick to the mask. Children can hold the mask over their faces.

If you are looking for some other shark-themed activities, you will find some really cool ones below.

Newspaper Shark

Shark Cootie Catcher

Shark Pool Noodle Launcher

STEM Challenge- Best Coin for a Paper Plate Spinning Top

June 16, 2020 By Deirdre

JDaniel has been working on a Coin Collecting Merit Badge for Scouts. A large bowl of coins was collected for him to sort through to find what he needed for the requirements. I thought it would be fun to do something else with the coins. After a little online searching, I came across Frugal Fun for Boys and Girl’s penny spinners. We tried making them and found that I had trouble gripping the pennies in the spinning top to spin them. We decided to try some of the other coins in the coin bowl to see if they would be easier to grip and thus easier to spin. It was so much fun. I thought you might want to try it too.

Creating the Spinning Tops

Gathering Supplies

The following supplies are needed for the spinning top STEM challenge.

Small Paper Plates
Variety of Coins (Penny, Nickel, Dime, Quarter, Half Dollar, Dollar)
Magic Markers
Scissors

Decorating the Spinning Top

The tops can be decorated any way your children would like. Here are some design ideas:

Spirals
Pie Shaped Colored Sections
Stripes
Polka Dots
Waves of Colors
If you would prefer to have your children color in a design on a pre-made spinner template, you can down this set of Templates for Coin Spinners.
They will work best printed out onto card stock.

Building the Spinning Top

The paper plate will need to be loosely folded in half. Then a small vertical slit will need to be cut into the center of the plate. (The slit can be made bigger when you test out larger coins.)

Next, place a penny in the slit. It will be the first coin you test. Coins can be placed in the spinner one at a time or they can each go in a spinner of their own.

Going Over the Spinning Top Recording Sheet

When you have downloaded the Comparing Coin Spinners Recording Sheet you can open it up with Acrobat Reader. It has several places on the data chart on the sheet to fill in. There is an area to record each type of coin you are testing. Then there is a place to record how long the spinning top was able to spin. Next, there is a place to record how easy or difficult it was to spin each version of the top. Finally, there is an area to record your conclusions and insights.

Testing the Coins in the Top

First, you need to print out a copy of the Comparing Coin Spinners Recording Sheet.

Second, you need to find a way to time the length of your spins. You can use a stopwatch, a clock with a second hand, or a timer app on your cell phone.

Third, you will spin your top with each type of coin. After each spin, you will record the length of time it has spun.

Fourth, you will record how easy or difficult it was to spin each version of the top.

Fifth, you will write down that you concluded or learned while spinning the tops. Below you will find some questions you can answer in your conclusion.

Conclusion Questions

What made one top easier to spin than another?
What helped one version of the top spin longer?
Was there something that made one coin better to use than another?

Here are some more STEM activities:

Tin Foil Penny Challenge

Leap Frog Straw Challenge

Make a Paper Horse that Walks

Valentines Day Cards with Penguins

January 23, 2020 By Deirdre

What fun it will be for your children to share these Valentine’s Day cards with their friends. The cards display cute and whimsical penguins! Each of the cards displays a positive message. Your children’s friends will enjoy finding a card that shares something nice in their decorated box or bag.

Downloading Your Valentine’s Day Cards

The links below are affiliate links.

First, you can download the Free Printable Penguin Valentine’s Day Cards
Second, there are two versions of the cards therefore you can decide which card will work best for your child. One feature areas to write who the card is from and who the card is to. The other card displays only who the card is from. Your children won’t have to think about who gets what card if they don’t have a specific child’s name on them. They can just give a card to each child in their class.
Third, you can print the cards out onto copy paper or white card stock. While copy paper is cheaper, the cards printed out on card stock will be more durable.

Getting the Cards Ready for School

While children can take the cards to school and pass them out on their own, you can attach something to the cards.

Here are some fun things you could attach to the cards:

First, you can punch a hole in the top and the bottom of the card. Then you can thread a blue lollipop through the holes.

Second, you purchase a bag of penguin erasers. Then you can tape an eraser to each card.

Third, you could buy glittery wood pencils. Then they could be attached or threaded through a card.

If you are looking for cards with a different theme, below you will find some other cards that I have made.

First, there is a card that features a heart and an electric current.

Next, there is a two-sided card that displays. This card displays a LEGO head.

Finally, there is a Despicable Me Minion card.

Pool Noodle Shark with Rubber Band Launcher

June 27, 2019 By Deirdre

A number of years ago I shared with you a shark-themed pool noodle craft. Recently my friend Caren can up with a way to use my craft idea to make a flying shark with a rubber band launcher. Your kids are just going to love it. It will be fun to make during Shark Week, an ocean-themed birthday party, or an ocean unit at school. While your children will love shooting into the air, I have listed a number of ways that your children can use their shark to explore math concepts at the end of this post.

Before your children start creating their pool noodle sharks, you may want to read them a book about sharks. It will help them gain some background information on sharks and what they look like.

Links below are affiliate links.

Creating the Pool Noodle Shark with Rubberband Launcher

Getting the Supplies Ready

You will need to gather and prepare the following supplies:

6-inch section of a pool noodle
Clothespin with a spring in the center
Thick rubber band
One whole popsicle stick
One half of a popsicle stick
3 fins cut out of a blue foam sheet
2 rows of teeth cut out of a white foam sheet
Black Sharpie marker
Serrated knife
Exacto knife

Getting the Pool Noodle Ready

1. You will need to cut a mouth section out of one end of the pool noodle.
2. Then you will need to cut slits on either side of the pool noodle. The slits need to be right across from each other. You will want them to be about 3 inches from the front of the pool noodle.
3. Next, you will need to place a slit on the top of the pool noodle about 3 inches from the front of the pool noodle.

Finally, you will need to create slits to place the teeth in inside the mouth. You will need a slit at the top and one at the bottom.

Putting the Shark Together

1. You will need to place the rubber band long ways around the clothespin.
2. Place the clothespin in the mouth of the shark. You will want it just barely stick out of the shark’s mouth.

1. Then you will place the whole popsicle stick through the side slots in the shark. A section of the popsicle should stick out on both sides of the shark. (This popsicle stick will hold the rubber band in place too.)
2. A fin will then be glued onto each end of the popsicle stick.
3. Next, you will place the half section of the popsicle stick into the top slot.
4. The final fin will need to be glued onto the half section of the popsicle stick.

Next, you will need to draw eyes on the shark.
The teeth will need to be slipped into the mouth slits.
Finally, you will remove the clothespin from the rubber band.

Playing with the Pool Noodle Shark

Children will need to hold the shark in one hand. Then they will place the pointer finger on the other hand into the rubber band end that is sticking out of the shark. They will need to pull the rubber band forward and the shark back. When they feel the tension on the rubber band, they will let it go and it will fly off their finger.

Math Concepts You Can Explore

Your children can try launching the shark at various angles.
Children can measure how far the shark flies with a measuring tape.
Your children can skip count or count up to a specific number before launching their shark.