A Little Batty....

Although I'm 41, I'm somewhat of a newbie when it comes to Halloween. Growing up Halloween was not a holiday that we celebrated. So when I had my son and he started begging to dress up for Halloween, I reluctantly agreed and threw the Blue Power Ranger costume into the cart....I let him continue to dress up each year until he thought it was no longer "cool".  My daughter didn't like costumes until just a couple years ago so other than some church Halloween alternative events, that was the extent of my Halloween experience.

So when I started teaching in a Preschool and Halloween rolled around, I not only had an issue with having to suddenly participate in dressing up the school's costume theme for that year - but also coming up with crafts to make with the kiddos.

I have always thought bats were a cute - but creepy - creature and so they were one of my first Halloween crafts.

I created a couple of different bat crafts that the kids loved - both are easy to make.  The first craft is more for older children (or you can cut out the bat forms and let the smaller children glue on the pieces themselves) and the second is for either age group but works perfectly for babies-preschoolers ....and Mom's just love those little handprints! (the picture below was actually taken by one of my kiddo's mom's - she took it home, hung it up in her dining room and posted the picture on facebook to show it off!)

Supplies Needed:
small or large paper plate
Black construction paper
white construction paper
red glitter
scissors
hole punch
yellow or black ribbon
yellow tempra paint
Black tempra paint
Elmer's Glue
hot glue
white paint pen
Quote either printed and cut out or use a Sharpie to write on the back of the plate
Wiggly Eyes


Hole punch a small or large paper plate (hole punching prior to painting makes it easier)
Paint plate with yellow tempra paint. When finished drying, add a yellow or black ribbon for hanging.

Either print out or use a Sharpie to write out the quote:
 "I may drive you BATTY, but you can't help but LOVE me anyway!"
I used a cool Halloween font Transylvania - to type this - there's many out there....check Halloweenfonts.com to find more.


***TIP: You will need to paint both sides of the plate regardless of which craft you are making - after painting one side you can take a break and read the sweet book, Stellaluna by Janell Cannon with the children while you wait for the paint to dry to be able to paint the backside.

TO CREATE THE FIRST BAT: I actually freehanded the bat template and wings (sorry, I don't have it to post at the moment but will add as soon as I can find it!) If you aren't able to freestyle, google "bat template" and there's pages of templates available - just select one that you prefer. The trick to making this craft noticeable is the wings so make sure that the wings are well defined.

Depending on the age of the child, either let them cut out the template and glue on, or if younger, go ahead and cut out and let them glue onto the plate themselves. ***DO NOT GLUE THE WINGS DOWN TO THE PLATE!

Using the glue, make a heart on the belly of the bat and dots for the eyes and let the kids sprinkle the red glitter

For the wings, bend at each arch and then put a drop of glue at the first bend (the one closest to the body) This will keep the wings from drooping and will allow them to "flap"

TO CREATE THE SECOND BAT: Using black tempra paint, paint the palm of the child - being careful not to get paint on the fingers - make print on white construction paper. Make handprints using both hands - one on each side of the palm print - make sure it's touching the palm "head". Use the thumbprints for ears.

Using a hot glue gun, add large wiggle eyes.
Use a white paint pen to draw on the mouth/fangs (a white out pen works great too!)
Cut out the handprints leaving a little space around them and glue onto the paper plate (a large plate works best for this craft)

 

 

 

 

Fall Handprint Bunting

Supplies Needed: Construction paper in white, red, orange, green, yellow, and brown
Tempra paint in same colors, gold metallic (optional)
Twine or Raffia Ribbon
Hot glue / Elmer's Glue
Buttons in fall colors
A few straws
Scissors



The leaves changing colors is one of my favorite things about fall....and they were the inspiration for this bunting. 

We started out with making handprints on white paper. 
Rather than sticking with solid colors - we used Tempra Paint (for easy cleanup) in fall colors and added a metallic gold to give it a beautiful shimmer.

***TIP: rather than dipping hands in the paint on a plate, use a brush or finger and "paint" them on - being careful not to blend the colors too much on the hand - they will mix perfectly on the paper. Start out by doing the yellow based prints first...then use all the other color combinations. You don't need to wash hands until after all the prints are made - the colors mixing together add to the beauty of the artwork!

After drying, cut out prints leaving a little edge around them.

Glue onto Coordinating Rectangles - for added flair you can trim edges w/deco scissors.

Use raffia ribbon to make small bows...leaving the ribbon tails as long as you prefer...add a small color coordinating button to centers with hot glue.

For the back, cut pieces of straw about 1/2" and hot glue on to the back leaving about an inch or less space at the top of the paper.

Use the straws to thread twine or raffia ribbon thru to hang.

I tied the ends in a big loop knot with a decorative acorn hot glued on the knot - these will help keep your twine from falling through the straws.

***TIP: You could personalize it by adding a rectangle in the middle with a verse/quote/picture/initial or  put in extra cards with letters to spell out "Happy Fall" or the Family's last name  between the sets of  handprints.