
Welcome to Danielle's Place where you will find thousands of free crafts for kids designed to make learning fun.
Many of the crafts and activities are Bible-based and are great for use in Sunday school, preschool, home school, and on special occasions.
Back-to-School Crafts And Activities for Kids
New! My Pocket Buddy
New! Horned Owl Lunch Money Change Purse Back-to-School Craft
New! Monster Tabletop Garbage Bags
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See Duck Crafts |
Milk Jug Bat |
Milk Jug Spider |
What you will need: aluminum can, piece of fun foam, Shurtape AF 912 aluminum duct tape (You can find this tape at a Lowe's or other home improvement store in the heating and air conditioning section. It costs about $7.00 for 120 yards. It is not Duck tape.), black acrylic paint, paper towels, and utensils to engrave the tape. I used a ballpoint pen, the end of a paintbrush, and the tines of a fork to make this design.
What to do:
1. Measure the circumference of your can and cut the tape just a little bit longer. I used two pieces of tape, one on the top and one on the bottom of the can.
2. Lay the tape on top of the piece of fun foam. Do not take the backing off the tape. You don't want it to stick to the fun foam. The fun foam just gives you a soft surface to work on so that the utensils can indent the tape.
3. Press your utensils into the tape to make shapes and designs. You can work from the back or the front of the tape. If you press into the back of the tape, the designs will be raised. If you press into the front of the tape, the designs will be indented.
4. When you are done with your design paint the entire surface of the tape with black acrylic paint. Let it dry for a few minutes, but not completely. Wipe the paint off the surface of the tape with a folded, damp paper towel. Press lightly so that you don't remove all the paint. You want the paint to remain in the indented areas so that the design shows up better.
5. Let the tape dry thoroughly and then remove the backing and stick it to the can.
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What you will need: Craft foam pieces, Shurtape AF 912 aluminum duct tape (You can find this tape at a Lowe's or other home improvement store in the heating and air conditioning section. It costs about $7.00 for 120 yards. It is not Duck tape.), card board, and utensils to engrave the tape such as a ballpoint pen, the end of a paintbrush, and the tines of a fork.
What to do:
1. Cut a five-inch length of the duct tape and place it on the craft foam sheet. The soft surface of the foam will make it easier to engrave the tape.
2. Write your name down the length of the tape with a ball point pen or other blunt object, and add some fun shapes around the name.
3. To make the design outline each of the shapes many times until they connect and overlap.
4. You can add color by using dry erase markers and permanent markers.
5. When you are finished with your design remove the tape backing and stick it to a piece of cardboard cut to the same size or a little smaller.
Copyright 2010, Digital by Design, Inc - See Copyright Information
What you will need: Fun foam pieces, Shurtape AF 912 aluminum duct tape (You can find this tape at a Lowe's or other home improvement store in the heating and air conditioning section. It costs about $7.00 for 120 yards. It is not Duck tape.), card board, and utensils to engrave the tape such as a ballpoint pen, the end of a paintbrush, and the tines of a fork.
What to do:
1. Cut a 6-inch length of the duct tape and place it on the craft foam sheet. The soft surface of the foam will make it easier to engrave the tape. Do not remove the back of the tape.
2. Write your name across the length of the tape using fancy letters with a ball point pen or other blunt object, and add some fun shapes around the name. You can also use rubber stamp letters with permanent ink to write the name.
3. To make the design outline each letter of the name many times until they connect with the shapes then include the shape and keep outlining until you have filled the whole surface with the pattern.
5. When you are finished with your design remove the tape backing and stick it to a piece of cardboard cut to the same size or a little smaller than the tape.
Copyright 2010, Digital by Design, Inc - See Copyright Information
What you will need: Fun foam pieces, Shurtape AF 912 aluminum duct tape (You can find this tape at a Lowe's or other home improvement store in the heating and air conditioning section. It costs about $7.00 for 120 yards. It is not Duck tape.), blank metal dog tag (found at craft stores), and utensils to engrave the tape such as a ballpoint pen, the end of a paintbrush, and the tines of a fork.
What to do:
1. Place the dog tag on the duct tape and trace around the edge of the tag. Cut out the shape a little farther out than the trace line and place it on the craft foam sheet. The soft surface of the foam will make it easier to engrave the tape. Do not remove the back of the tape.
2. Engrave the tape with a ball pointpen or other blunt object and add some fun shapes or designs. You can also use rubber stamp letters with permanent ink to write the name and then engrave the letters.
3. When you are finished with your design remove the tape backing and stick it to the dog tag.
Copyright 2010, Digital by Design, Inc - See Copyright Information
What you will need: Shrink Art Plastic paper, colored pencils, and scissors.
What to do:
1. Draw a picture of what you would like to use for you tag on a piece of paper or print out a picture. Pick a picture that is about three times bigger than you would like your tags to end up being because they will shrink a lot.
2. Tape the picture onto the back of a Shrinky Dink sheet, the shiny side.
3. Use the picture to copy the picture onto the Shrinky Dink paper (dull side) starting with your lightest colors, then outline the picture with a black colored pencil.
4. Cut the tags out and punch a hole in the tag. You will have to punch more than once to make the hole big enough if you have a regular-sized hole punch.
5. Place the tags on the shiny side of parchment paper or waxed paper and place them on a cookie sheet. Bake them for 3 minutes in a 250 degree oven or until they have shrunk to about two inches long. The directions on the Shrinky Dink web site say to use a 325 degree oven but 250 seems to work just as well. It takes a little longer to shrink them, but they don't curl up and deform as much. It probably depends on how accurate your oven temperature is.
©2007, Digital by Design, Inc. - See Copyright
What you will need: Shrink Art Plastic paper, colored pencils, and scissors.
What to do:
1. Draw a picture of what you would like to use for you tag on a piece of paper or print out a picture. Pick a picture that is about three times bigger than you would like your tags to end up being because they will shrink a lot.
2. Tape the picture onto the back of a Shrinky Dink sheet, the shiny side.
3. Use the picture to copy the picture onto the Shrinky Dink paper (dull side) starting with your lightest colors, then outline the picture with a black colored pencil.
4. Cut the tags out and punch a hole in the tag. You will have to punch more than once to make the hole big enough if you have a regular-sized hole punch.
5. Place the tags on the shiny side of parchment paper or waxed paper and place them on a cookie sheet. Bake them for 3 minutes in a 250 degree oven or until they have shrunk to about two inches long. The directions on the Shrinky Dink web site say to use a 325 degree oven but 250 seems to work just as well. It takes a little longer to shrink them, but they don't curl up and deform as much. It probably depends on how accurate your oven temperature is.
©2007, Digital by Design, Inc. - See Copyright
What you will need: Pencil, Chenille Stems (pipe cleaners) googly eyes, and hot melt glue gun.
What to do:
1. Start by rolling one end of the Chenille stem into a ball. Glue it so that it doesn't come uncurled.
2. Starting towards the middle of the pencil wind the Chenille stem around the pencil until you reach the head. Glue the Chenille stem to the pencil.
3. To finish glue on two tiny goodly eyes.
Help your child prepare for school with pretend play. As you prepare these crafts and activities talk to your child about going to school. Kindergarten children probably already know a lot about school from television, but it is a good idea to find out what your child is expecting and if he or she has any fears relating to going to school. Your child may feel better about school by play-acting the first day of school with their stuffed animals.
Teddy Bear Backpack Craft - Follow the directions below but use this smaller pattern and a smaller gift bag (8 1/2" x 4 3/4" - found at party stores and craft stores). Cut the top off the bag to make it 6" high. Cut 1" strips of paper for the straps - (Pattern). Need help printing?
©2005, Digital by Design, Inc. - See Copyright Information
Learning to Read and Write Through PlayYour child may also enjoy printing his or her ABCs in the "I Can Write My ABCs" Itty Bitty book for Teddy. (Pattern 1, Pattern 2, and Pattern 3) For printing assembly directions go to the Book Printing Page.
A fun way for your child to learn is by pretending to be a teacher and teaching his or her stuffed animals or dolls to read.
(When Danielle was learning to read, she would pretend to be a teacher. If she got stuck on a word, she would whisper to me and ask what the word was. I would then whisper the word to her, and she would continue reading to her bear like she knew the word. She thought she was teaching her bear to read, but she was really the one learning to read.)
You can find even more Itty Bitty Books on the Printable Book Page.
©2006, Digital by Design, Inc. - See Copyright Information
What you will need: Bright colors of card stock (heavy paper), brown paper lunch bags, glue, computer printer paper, crayons or colored pencils, and scissors.
What to do: 1. Print out the backpack patterns at 125% onto card stock and cut them out. (Front pattern and Back pattern). (Printing Problems?)
2. Print out the school supplies pattern at 125% on to printer paper. (Pattern 1 and Pattern 2) (Printing Problems?)
3. Cut your lunch bag so it is 7 12" high. Glue the back pattern to the back of the lunch bag and fold over the flap. Glue the rest of the patterns to the bag as shown in the picture. Glue only the sides and bottom of the front pocket to the bag so that pencil and other things can be placed in the pocket.
You can use these little backpacks and supplies for many things.
1. As a welcome back container. Write "Welcome Back on the outside of the backpack". Have the children place letters to their parents, information about their new class, etc. in their backpacks to take home with them.
2. Have your children write their new vocabulary words on the front or back of each of the school supply pictures and take them home in their mini backpacks.
3. Any review materials can be carried in the backpack. For example, addition and subtraction review cards, spelling word lists, etc.
4. The school supply pictures can be cut apart and glued onto the back of pieces of construction paper. Make two copies of each item for each child so they can play a concentration game with them.
This craft also goes along with a Bible lesson, "Back to School with a Leap". The lesson is presented using a popular children's book "Froggy Goes to School". In the story Froggy has a dream that he forgot to get dressed for school and went to school in his underwear. Most children can identify with Froggy's uneasiness about starting school; and this book will help them deal with their fears with a little humor. The Bible lesson points out that Froggy forgot to do something else very important; he forgot to pray. Through this lesson your children will learn that we need to be prepared for school so that we will be successful; not only do we need the right clothes and supplies, but we need to prepare our hearts and minds.
©2005, Digital by Design, Inc. - See Copyright Information

This activity goes with the book "Froggy Goes to School" by Jonathan London. Children color the frog and then pick the clothes outline that best matches what they are wearing on their first day of school, color the patterns, cut them out, and then glue them onto the frog picture. The pattern for this activity is available to members only on the Educational Reading Crafts and Activities Page.
©2005, Digital by Design, Inc. - See Copyright Information
The patterns for this bulletin board display are available to members only. Follow the link.
Encourage your children to read more books about Froggy by Jonathan London and have them use this frog bookmark to keep track of how many books they have read. Have them color a frog each time they read a book about frogs. You can give them a frog prize when they have colored in all three frogs.
To view pictures of the books Jonathan London has written go to his web site. You will also find a printable connect-the-dots work sheet, a hidden picture activity sheet, and which-picture-is-different activity sheet.
The pattern for this bookmark is available to members only. Just click on the link.
Oriental Trading Company has lots of inexpensive, frog-theme novelties and crafts. Just type in "frog" in the search box at the top of the page.
©2005, Digital by Design, Inc. - See Copyright Information
Ready-for-School
Crafts and ActivitiesHere are some great crafts and activities to prepare your child for his first day of school. Practice Using Glue
Use a dot, not a lot! Activity Sheet (Printing Problems?)
© 2005, Digital by Design, Inc.Children practice using just a little bit of glue and learn that a dot can hold a lot. Click on the link to print out the pattern and directions for this activity. This activity sheet is available to members only. Your children will enjoy sing this song as they work on their dots:
Dots
Written by Nancy Foss
(Sing to the tune of "Praise ye the Lord".)Use a dot, not a lot
Use a dot, not a lot
Use just a dot!©2008, Digital by Design, Inc. - See Copyright Information
Snails leave sticky, slimy trails everywhere they go. Your children can practice their gluing skills with this fun activity sheet. Click on the link to print out the pattern and directions for this activity. This activity sheet is available to members only. For more snail crafts and activity go to the Snail Craft Page. Your children will enjoy singing this song as they work on their snail trails.
Shim, Shim, Shimmy
Written by Nancy Foss
Sing to the tune of "London Bridges".Make a snail trail
Follow me
Follow me
Follow me
Make a snail trail
Follow me
Shim, Shim, Shimmy
©2008, Digital by Design, Inc. - See Copyright Information
Ready-for-School Memory and Concentration GamesGet your children ready for school with these fun memory games.
"What's Missing?" Game - In this fun game children work on their memory and concentration skills by trying to remember which school supply is missing. Click on the link to print out the pattern and directions for this game. This craft is available to members only.
Ready-for-School Concentration Game
- Here's another fun card game that will help your child develop memory and concentration skills. Click on the link to print out the pattern and directions for this game. This craft is available to members only.
School Supply Puzzle - Children practice distinguishing differences among similar objects or forms by assembling this puzzle. Click on the link to print out the pattern and directions for this puzzle. This puzzle is available to members only.
Ready-for-School Faith Rocks - This is a great craft for children who have a hard time leaving their parents on the first day of school. A week before school starts find some small, smooth, river rocks. Have your child pick one that is small enough to fit in his pocket and that he particularly likes. You can buy a small bag of these rocks at craft stores or in the craft section of Wal-Mart. Write "Phil. 4:13" on the rock and have your child memorize the verse: "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Phil. 4:13, KJV. Tell him to keep the rock in his pocket, and whenever he is feeling scared or upset, he should put his hand in his pocket and feel the rock and try to say the Bible verse. Idea sent in by Nancy Foss
More School Crafts, Activities, and Helps - You can find even more crafts, games, and other things to help your child succeed in school on this page.
Other Back to School Crafts and Activities for Kids
DLTK has an adorable school bus made from the lid of an egg carton and an apple pencil holder.
Family Fun has a cute backpack chain, useful lunch money locket, and a pipe cleaner notebook cover.
Making Friends has backpack crafts, hair accessories, and things to make for your locker

ABC, I Believe Lessons
Twenty-six Bible Lessons
for home school, each
based on a different animal.
Free Sample Lessons
from
The Resource Room
Free
Scaredy Cat
Daniel in the Lion's Den
Free
Go Fish
Sample Sunday School Lesson
Free
Fruit of the Spirit
Sunday School Lesson
Free
Watchdogs
Sunday School Lesson
Free
Consider the Ants
Sunday School Lesson
Free
Ladybug Friends
Sunday School Lesson
Free
Elijah and the Ravens
Sunday School Lesson
Free
The Big Mistake
The Story of the Prodigal Son Sunday School Lesson
Free
The Lost Sheep
Sunday School Lesson
Christian
Wallpaper
for your Computer Desktop
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