Innholdsfortegnelse for Spring 2021 i Creative Steps

Spring always seems to bring new hope, with plants springing to life after their winter hibernation and this year, perhaps more than most, this new hope seems to be more pertinent to all of us. On my daily dog walk, I have been watching as the bluebells miraculously start to emerge where there was a carpet of snow just a week ago and I can’t wait until their scent fills the woods once again… then I’ll know spring is really here! Having endured a challenging year, let us hope that this spring there truly is a new start and life can return to a semblance of ‘normal’. With the promise of warmer days ahead, this is a great opportunity to get out and about with the kids in your care…

Orchard Toys are giving 3 Creative Steps readers the chance to win an exciting games and jigsaws bundle! There’s fun for all the family with a prehistoric board game and a charades-style action and performance game, as well as a magical Mini Game and two first puzzles! Orchard Toys games, jigsaws and colouring books offer the perfect balance of learning and fun for children from the age of 18 months. Dino-Snore-Us Who will collect the most uncracked eggs from the sleeping T-Rex in Dino-Snore-Us? If the T-rex wakes up everyone lets out a big ‘ROAR’ and that player has to return to the start. If he is asleep, that player can steal an egg back! This pre-historic themed game is fun for all the family and is a great way…

STORE CUPBOARD: Card - pale yellow & lilac Paper - cerise and white Computer and printer or fine liner black pen 7 small pom-poms 1 large pom-pom Flower stamp (see above) White paint Saucer Strong glue Glue stick Scissors TO MAKE THE YELLOW CARD 1 Make a yellow card 15cm by 30cm. Fold in half and then open out flat. 2 Take a saucer and spread white paint onto it. Dip in a large pom-pom, then stamp onto the yellow card. Leave to dry. 3 Cut out 2 eggs; one pink, one lilac. 4 Stamp a flower into the middle of the pink egg. Try to lift it up without wiggling it and leave to dry. 5 Either write "Happy Easter" onto white paper or print-out a font you like…

STORE CUPBOARD: Coloured wool, string or cord Coloured pens, pencils, paints, crayons or chalk White paper Scissors Glue or tape You can either get the children to follow a pre-formed template or free flow! 1 Choose your material – pens, paint, crayons, finger paints 2 Match the colour to the wavy line 3 Follow the lines to make your mark 4 If you want to use wool, the children can lay the wool over the line or stick it down for a more permanent rainbow To make this re-usable, create the template and laminate it. Get the children to use white board markers when they write on the laminated template. These can then be wiped off and re-used! This also allows children to correct any mistakes and have another go!…

Painted Stone Photo Holders STORE CUPBOARD: Large stone Acrylic paints (white, light pink & dark pink) Paint brushes Gloss varnish Craft wire Pencil Newspaper Glue gun 1 Wash and dry your stone to remove any dirt. Place it on a sheet of newspaper ready for painting. 2 Paint the stone with a solid base colour. Remember to paint just the top half of the stone otherwise the painted surface will stick to the newspaper. When completely dry, turn over the stone and paint the bottom half. Allow to dry. Apply a second coat of paint if needed. 3 When the base coat is dry, use a paintbrush and a selection of coloured acrylics to further decorate the stone. Leave to dry. 4 Spray (or paint) your stone using gloss varnish…

STORE CUPBOARD: Scissors Pencil Ruler Thin coloured card Jar lid Elastic band Paperclip Ribbon or string PVA glue Felt pens Sticky tape Feathers Paint or felt pens 1 Cut an 8cm x 25cm strip of coloured card for the basket. For the bunny, cut out 2 matching ears and face then glue them onto the card strip. Add details for the face and feet with small cut out card pieces or felt pens. For the chick, add a beak and eyes. Paint coloured dots or a pattern onto the card. Leave to dry. 2 Use a jar lid for making the basket base. Glue around the edge of the lid and along one edge of the card strip. Leave the glue for a couple of minutes to become tacky then…

1 Take your sheet of plain paper and screw up into a tight ball. 2 Open out your sheet and gently tear the edges all the way around to give an uneven edge. 3 You could make small tears into the paper as well. 4 Make a cup of black coffee! Once the coffee is cool, screw up your paper again and place into the cup. 5 Leave for 15 minutes, checking occassionally to see how well your paper has stained. 6 Once you are happy with the colour of the paper, remove from the cup and flatten out (you may want to lay it on a tray). Leave to dry. STORE CUPBOARD Sheet of paper (white or cream) Cup or tray Coffee or tea Hairdryer (optional) Hints & Tips…

Rubbing the balloon on your hair makes a special kind of energy called static electricity. This makes your hair stick to the balloon. It's electric! I'm powered by electricity Hair - raising electricity Rub the balloon on your hair. Then lift the balloon above your head. What happens to your hair? Balloon rocket Make a hovercraft When you let go, air rushes out of the balloon and pushes it forwards. How fast will it go? Stick a pop-up bottle cap onto an old CD or DVD. Pull a blown-up balloon on top. Then open the cap. Push your hovercraft and watch it glide along the table! These fun projects have been taken from the Science Activity Book - Perfect for kids, this children's pack will excite young kids by revealing the…

STORE CUPBOARD: Coloured paper Scissors Card Ruler Pencil Glue 1 Cut strips of coloured paper 1cm wide. 2 Glue the strips of paper, in rainbow order, onto a piece of card until the card is full. 3 Draw around the butterfly shape onto card and cut it out. Lay it onto the rainbow backing card in the place that you want it to go. 4 Notice where the left wing tip will sit, and choose a contrasting coloured strip. With the butterfly still resting in place, glue a strip onto the butterfly so that the strips line up. 5 Remove the butterfly and add more coloured strips to it, again in rainbow order. Once the strips are firmly fixed in place, you can cut around the butterfly shape. Glue it…

STORE CUPBOARD: Scissors A5 card, plain & coloured Pencil Poster paints Paintbrushes Cotton buds Ribbon or string Hole punch 1 Fold a piece of card in half, draw half an egg shape then cut it out for a template. 2 Open out the egg template then draw around it onto coloured card. Cut out the coloured egg. The template can be used to make more matching egg shapes. 3 Lightly draw a pencil outline shape in the middle of the egg. It could be a flower, bunny, hen or another Easter design. The outline is a guide for painting, so there’s no need to add any detail. 4 Paint over in the shape in the middle then start adding more painted patterns on the egg. Painting a pattern around the…

Recycling with Children Our planet needs us to recycle, to take care of our waste. This is a valuable lesson we can teach our children, by creating fun projects this will encourage children to really make a difference to our planet. Here are four easy steps we can take to explain recycling to them and get them on board to help the Earth: EXPLAIN WHAT RECYCLING MEANS Recycling is the action of taking old trash and turning it into something new. EXPLAIN WHY RECYCLING IS IMPORTANT FOR THE PLANET It is important to explain the benefits of recycling to the children; once they realize that they can make a real difference in saving our planet, they will want to be involved. We can start by telling them that through recycling,…

CATCHERS PLANTER VASE PEN TIDY VASE 1 Take an empty one litre juice carton and rinse it out thoroughly. Cut off the top part of the carton leaving the depth you want your vase to be. Give your cut edge a wavy line. 2 From a magazine or gardening supplement, cut out a selection of flower and plant pictures in varying sizes. 3 Start brushing some PVA glue on one side of the carton near the bottom and begin pressing down your flower pictures. Choose contrasting coloured pictures, overlapping them with each other as you work your way up the vase. When you have completely covered the carton, cover with a thick layer of PVA glue and leave in a warm place to dry. The glue will dry completely clear,…

To help you select activities to suit your learning environment, each project in Creative Steps includes guidelines to the skills and subjects which will be enhanced by doing that activity. To assist with the aims of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), projects and activities in the first section of the magazine for 0-5 year-olds will support the Early Learning Goals (ELGs): Communication and Language Development Physical Development Personal, Social and Emotional Development Literacy Development Mathematics Understanding the World Expressive Arts and Design In the following sections for 5-7 and 7-11 year-olds, projects and activities will be linked to the following KS1 and KS2 National Curriculum subjects: Art & Design Design Technology Drama Geography History Home Economics ICT Literacy Maths Music Physical Development PSHE Religious Education Science Projects suitable for…

STORE CUPBOARD: Cardboard tube White paint Medium paint brush Paper straws White card Pencil Scissors Pipe cleaner Yellow and orange glitter foam Strong glue Ruler Shredded paper Mini eggs 1 Cut a 4cm length from a cardboard tube, paint both the inside and out with white paint and leave to dry. 2 Cut 4 cm lengths from green paper straws. You will need about 23 pieces. 3 Glue the straws around the kitchen roll to create a basket. 4 Push a pipe cleaner through one of the straws and bend the end to secure. Push the other end of the pipe cleaner through the opposite straw and bend the end to create a handle. 5 Cut out a piece of card to create the base for your basket and glue…

Health Check List STORE CUPBOARD: A4 sheet of white card Red card Black pen Scissors Glue Laminator (optional) 1 Take the sheet of white card and a black pen. Write the title ‘Health Check List’ at the top of the sheet. 2 Underneath the title, write ‘Patient’s Name’ with an underlined space. 3 List down the following options: Heart rate, Temperature, Blood pressure, Eyes, Ears, Nose, Mouth. Include a check box next to each option. 4 Below the list with check boxes, add an underlined ‘Notes’ section. 5 You may wish to laminate the sheet to make it more durable. This way, you can use a dry wipe pen to complete the sheet then erase it ready for the next patient. Children can enjoy using the list for hospital role…

KEY: HB HARDBACK ★ PB PAPERBACK ★ BB Board Book Supertato Super Squad Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet RRP £8.99 (BB) www.simonandschuster.co.uk From the best selling Supertato series, Supertato has enlisted the help from his super squad of vegetables to teach the Evil Pea a lesson, but what will it be? Join Supertato and his friends to find out! Age 1 year + We say… Packed with bold illustrations this laugh-out-loud mini adventure, has an important message about kindness. How Can You Lose an Elephant? Jan Fearnley RRP £6.99 (PB) www.simonandschuster.co.uk Meet Oscar, a boy who loses everything – his football boots, his scooter and even his clothes. Now meet Hugo, an elephant who never forgets anything! So, when they find each other in the park, they become inseparable. Until,…

STORE CUPBOARD: A4 piece of foam Scraps of coloured foam 50 cm of plastic string 19 different coloured pony beads Velcro hook and loop sticky pad Gel glue Scissors 1 Cut out the front panel plus a matching back panel with handle from foam, large enough to hold your small bottle of sanitiser. (Ours is 9.5cm x 9.5cm, with a handle 12.5cm long) Using the template, mark the holes for stitching on both pieces and carefully make the holes using the tip of your scissors or similar. 2 Put the two pieces of foam together ensuring the handle is at the top. Tie a knot in one end of the plastic string and, starting from the inside top corner, push the string through the holes, doing an over-stitch. After each…

STORE CUPBOARD: A4 pink corrugated card Scraps of red, orange, green & blue card Scraps of green corrugated card Different coloured pom poms x 18 (approx 1cm diameter) Yellow button (approx 2cm diameter) Three large green lollipop sticks Large yellow pom pom (approx 3cm diameter) One empty cardboard crisp or hot chocolate pot Yellow shredded tissue paper Black pen. Scissors Ruler Glue stick Pencil 1 Trim down the pink corrugated card to fit around the empty cardboard pot and then glue into place. 2 Next stick the different coloured pom poms around the top rim of the pot and glue one green lollipop stick to the top inside the pot to make the flower stem. Glue the other two lollipop sticks either side of the centre one but much lower…

1 You need to use a large feather with a thick stem. Cut the stem at a shallow angle to give a long aperture in the back of the stem. Adult help may be required. 2 Next cut the end to create a blunt tip. 3 Cut a slit from the blunted end up the front of the stem. 4 Finally cut the sides at a slight curve to create a nib shape. STORE CUPBOARD Large feather Scissors Ballpoint pen refill Water based paint or ink DID YOU KNOW? ■ Quills were in use from the sixth century until the mid-nineteenth century. ■ Most quills came from the flight feathers of large birds like geese. ■ A special knife was used to sharpen a quill - which is where we…

AquaPlay Three lucky readers will each receive an AquaPlay Lockbox. Set off on waterway adventures with the AquaPlay LockBox. This feature-packed water playset comes with lots of accessories for canal-inspired fun. Help the hippo guide his boat through the waterways to get that cargo to the dock – or splash in the canals to make some waves! With the AquaPlay LockBox, you can use the working pump to change the water levels in the lock, just like in a real canal. Spin the watermill, race through the waterways and use the working crane to load and unload cargo. There are three of these super sets, worth £39.99, for you to win! www.smythstoys.com KAPLA One Plank to Build Everything Unleash creativity, build imagination and encourage cooperation with KAPLA! KAPLA® is an…

These activities have been taken from one of the Activity Sheets, available to download free at www.twinkl.co.uk/Yolanda Objective and musical focus: Exploring sounds and discovering how our bodies can be used to make music. Focusing on careful listening, body percussion, dynamics and rhythm. Can you make an instrument? Guitar STORE CUPBOARD Paper box Cardboard or paper Scissors Sticky tape 1 Draw a circle in the middle of one side of a box. 2 Cut the circle out carefully. 3 Take a small rectangle of card and fold it in half lengthways and then in half lengthways again. Push to make a triangle shape and stick sides down at one end of the circle. 4 Stick the strings from one side to the other. My Body Percussion Song! Cut and stick…

Rain Cloud Name STORE CUPBOARD: A4 sheet of dark blue card Card - white and bright blue Gold cord Black pen Sticky tape Pencil Scissors Glue stick 1 Take the sheet of white card and a pencil. Draw the outline of a cloud on the sheet. Neatly cut it out with scissors. Next, take the black pen and write the child’s name (in large letters) on the white cloud. Set it aside for later. 2 Now, take the bright blue card. Cut out a raindrop shape for each letter in the child’s name. Use the black pen to write the letters on the raindrops. Use sticky tape to attach a length of gold cord to each raindrop. 3 Now that all the elements of the rain cloud have been prepared,…

Red Nose Day is back on Friday 19th March and although it may look slightly different this year, it’s still a brilliant starting point for some fun, creative activities. Let’s face it, we all need a laugh right now… Whether you’re at home, in an early years setting or in school, here are just a few ideas for making and baking your way to a day to remember. FANCY DRESS FUN Getting dressed up is a fantastic way to create a buzz around Red Nose Day and bring everyone together – whether in the same space or virtually. This Red Nose Day is all about showing the world that funny is power. Talk with children about their secret superpower. Maybe by day they’re a brilliant baker and by night they’re…

STORE CUPBOARD: Coloured card – various colours Scissors Pencil Glue 1 Draw around the vase shape onto card and cut it out. Fold it in half neatly so that it opens like a card. 2 Cut a curved strip and glue it around the top of the vase. Cut out the bow and add this too. 3 Cut strips of green card and glue them onto the inside of the card to make tulip stems. Cut pointed strips to make leaves and glue these on too. 4 Cut out the tulips shape from card and glue them onto the stems. FUN FACTS! ▪ During the 17th century, tulips were the most expensive flower that you could buy and were worth more than many people’s homes! OTHER IDEAS ▪ Draw around…

What is Art Therapy? In art therapy sessions children and young people can express themselves through art, helping them to release thoughts, feelings, and experiences. The artwork produced allows children to communicate issues that they may find confusing, challenging, and hard to put into words. Art Therapy and Special Education Needs Art Therapy is designed to work with your child’s unique strengths on their own terms. Practising any form of art has been shown to lead to increased motor skills, improved focus, and a better mood, especially if practised in an environment that allows your child to relax and feel safe. The point of art therapy is to facilitate positive changes in a child’s behaviours, thoughts, and feelings and can be accomplished in several ways. Primarily, art therapy relies on…

STORE CUPBOARD: Old fashioned wooden clothes pegs Embroidery thread Paint and paintbrush Felt fabric Scissors Black pen Glue 1 Paint the top of the peg with grey paint and leave it to dry. 2 Glue the end of a piece of dark grey embroidery thread to one of the ends of the peg. Wrap it around to form a foot, gluing as you go. Repeat on the other side of the peg. 3 Wrap light grey thread up the legs of the peg and glue into place. 4 Cut two dress shapes, two slim rectangles (for arms) from pink felt fabric. Cut two ears and two paws from grey felt fabric. 5 Glue the ears and dress into place. Glue the paws onto the arm shapes and glue them onto…

STORE CUPBOARD: A4 green paper Assorted coloured card Scissors Glue stick Stapler Pencil 1 Fold the green paper in half along the longer side. 2 To create the stems, cut some narrow strips about 2 cm wide, cutting from the folded edge about 6 cm long. 3 Roll up your paper and fix it with a stapler. 4 Use a pencil to curl the stems. 5 Get inspired by the picture and have fun by creating flowers with the coloured card. 6 Stick the flowers onto the stems and if you like, add a butterfly and a ladybird made from coloured card. 7 Decorate your centrepiece base by adding more green leaves. HINTS & TIPS ▪ To create the flowers, first draw and cut out a flower shape template to…

STORE CUPBOARD: Sheet of green A4 card Scraps of red, pink, orange, blue and yellow paper or card Scrap of patterned scrapbook paper Scrap of pink corrugated card One googly eye (1cm diameter) Daisy paper punch (3cm diameter) Three blue pony beads (5mm dia) Two double sided sticky pads Black pen Scissors Ruler Glue stick Pencil 1 Fold the piece of A4 green card in half neatly and, using the templates, cut out each of the shapes from coloured paper. 2 Cut a strip of pink corrugated card approx. 4cm wide. Glue onto the left hand side, with the ridges running vertically and glue the yellow chick body into place. 3 Glue into place the chick’s red beak, feet and the googly eye. 4 Cut a wing from patterned scrapbook…

STORE CUPBOARD: 2 jar lids, ideally the same size White, pink, cerise paints Paintbrush Thin cardboard Eye stickers Black marker pen Chopstick Pale pink, dark pink, yellow foam 2 small wooden beads Twine or wool Scissors Ruler Strong glue Flower (optional) 1 Wash and dry 2 jar lids. (Ours are 8.5cm across, but you can make yours any size!) 2 Cut a strip of thin cardboard 24cm by 3cm, to fit inside your lids and cut slots in the cardboard 5cm from each end. 3 Thread wooden beads onto a piece of twine or wool, (about 20cm long). Tie a knot in each end to secure the beads. 4 Paint all the pieces white and when dry, paint the lids and strip of cardboard pink and paint the chopstick cerise.…

KEY: HB HARDBACK ⋆ PB PAPERBACK ⋆ BB BOARD BOOK Mona Lisa in new york Yevgenia Nayberg RRP £11.99 (HB) www.prestel.com Mona Lisa is taking a trip to New York from the Louvre. Yes, that Mona Lisa. The one with the knowing smile. After hanging in the museum for a while she decides to explore the city. She slips out of her painting and meets Tag, a street art figure. He takes her on an adventure from the Bronx to the Brooklyn Bridge and it turns out Mona Lisa doesn't know as much as she thought. Age 4 years + We say… a charming insight to the delights of New York through the eyes of Mona Lisa and her guide. Another Twist in the Tale Catherine Bruton RRP £7.99 (PB)…