Crafts Inspired By Our Favorite Stories

At Primary Beginnings, a 5 star child care center in Raleigh, we work hard to foster a love of books and reading from an early age, so we read a lot of stories and books with the children. When a book is especially popular with toddlers and preschoolers, we have an exciting opportunity to expand on the story or tie it into a lesson, such as doing a craft or activity based on the book. If you love reading with your little one and are looking for some activity ideas, we're sharing some fun, toddler-friendly crafts that tie into our favorite children's books!

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

With bright colors and fun illustrations paired with silly tongue-twisters and a rhythmic flow, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is so much fun for toddlers. After just a few readings, children love to join in with the story with the "chicka chicka BOOM BOOM" or clapping along with the rhythm. We love using this book at our Raleigh childcare center as a simple way to learn letters!

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Felt Board

You'll need:

• Felt Board (Make your own by gluing a large piece of felt to a piece of cardboard or buy one at a craft store)
• Brown felt 
• Green felt 
• Felt letters (purchased at any craft store) OR cut white squares of felt and write the letters in bright colored marker

Cut the brown felt into a rectangle to represent a tree trunk, and cut the green felt into triangles to make the tree leaves. You and your child can build the tree together, and using the felt letters, as you read the story, see if your child can pick out the letters and place them up the tree! They'll have a blast while learning their letters! 

Rainbow Fish

Rainbow Fish is a beautifully illustrated story about a fish who was so proud of his shimmery rainbow scales that he drove people away. This classic tale teaches a message about sharing, giving to others, and being a friend. If this is a favorite around your home, try this fun activity:

3-D Rainbow Fish for Preschoolers

You'll need: 

• Multi-colored cupcake wrappers
• Glue or glue stick
• Construction paper or heavy white paper
• Markers or crayons
• Glitter (optional)

On plain white paper or construction paper, draw an outline of the Rainbow Fish or cut out an outline. You and your child can fold the cupcake wrappers in half and glue them to the fish to create 3-D "scales." Using glue and glitter, you can even make some of the scales sparkly just like in the book (if you're feeling brave with glitter, that is)! Then, let your child draw a face on the fish, and hang up their work! This is not only fun, it's a good way to teach colors or you can even use it to take turns by making it a collaborative project! 

See a picture of the finished result at Love, Laughter, and Learning in Prep.

The Tiny Seed

Not only is this story a fun way to teach preschoolers about how flowers grow, the story itself shares a powerful message about not giving up and being strong. Eric Carle's books are known for their charming story and kid-friendly illustrations, and The Tiny Seed is no different. This story is good for any time of the year, but especially fun in spring because you can teach preschool aged kids about how seeds grow and incorporate this fun gardening activity!

Grow a Tiny Seed

You'll need: 

• A plastic or clay flower pot
• Acrylic paint or outdoor craft paint
• Sponges or brushes
• Soil
• Flower seeds

Let your toddler pick out a packet of flower seeds (sunflowers, zinnias, daisies, and cone flowers are all easy to grow from seeds!) and choose a flower pot for planting the new seeds. Your child can use the paint to decorate the flower pot to make it his or her own, and together, plant the seeds. Your child will love watching them grow and even using them for bouquets!

Contact Our Raleigh Child Care Center

At our Raleigh preschool and child care center, we focus on using The Creative Curriculum that blends teacher-planned and child-guided learning. This means we use all types of activities and encourage creativity to inspire learning. If you're interested in enrolling your child in a 5 star child care center in Raleigh, contact us today at our North Hills Drive location at 919-785-0303 or our Spring Forest Location at 919-790-6888 or schedule a tour!