St. Patrick's Day Treat and Craft!

 Does your family celebrate St. Patrick's Day? Here is a really cute idea for a simple treat to give to your kids in honor of 

St. Patrick's Day. 

Simply fill pretzel cellophane bags (found at Michael's) with some rainbow twizzlers and gold foil-covered chocolate coins, add a custom 3" tag, and call it done!

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Here is a great craft you can do with your kids. It will help them to refine their hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills by using scissors, hole puncher, and lacing the shamrock with the yarn. Motor Development releases energy, reduces stress, increases strength and coordination, uses body in individual and group activities, learns new skills, improves self-esteem, encourages leadership/follower-ship, and management of one's own body. During the years of 2-7, children are somewhat self-centered and still oriented toward learning through the senses and body skills. Their best learning is done through hands-on experiences. They need opportunities to explore through the five senses. Children learn best when language is used to increase vocabulary and ideas, when opportunities to practice problem solving are provided, when activities are appropriate for their level of development, and when they have interactions with other children and adults. 

Here are the directions so you can help your child develop their fine motor skills:

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• All you need is green fun foam, plastic craft string, and stickers. I actually got a whole package of shamrock shaped fun foam from the Dollar Tree- 8 of them for $1, and half of them were already glittery! (Although the stickers won’t stick to the glittery ones). 
• The plastic string is also available at most Dollar Trees, and certainly at craft stores. If you can’t get shamrock shaped foam ready to go, you can cut them out yourself- just do a Google search for a shamrock template.
• Once you have your shamrock, punch holes around it with a regular hole puncher
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• Give your kids some plastic string and let them lace their shamrock. You could also use yarn if you put some tape on the end or have a plastic needle for them to use. 
• Once the shamrocks are laced, add stickers or any embellishments you have!

Have a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Information about Motor Development: A Child Goes Forth 8th Edition A Curriculum Guide for Preschool Children by Barbara Taylor

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