Try it with the Kids: Finger Knitting

With summer coming on fast, parents who read this may have kids home from school more soon, or teachers who have a class in the summer may be looking for more crafty things to do with some of their time over the summer. I’m planning to share some general craft ideas and skills you can learn along with the kids if you don’t already know them so you can all make together this year.

First up: finger knitting. Kids love finger knitting (especially in late elementary school, but I think teens would love this too as a throwback) and it’s super easy to learn.

The only supply you need is yarn. I have a tutorial over at Our Daily Craft you can try, which shows you how to make a chunky bracelet, or check out this video from Red Ted Art that shows you how to make a finger knitting butterfly.

What else can you make with finger knitting? There are actually whole books on the topic, but here are some other ideas to get you started.

A finger knit snake is a classic, and this pattern from Vickie Howell (who also wrote the book mentioned above) is fun and easy.

Red Ted Art also has a cute bunny made with finger knitting. Imagine Childhood has a darling little finger knit basket.

Kids might enjoy making this finger knit garland from Sisters What to decorate their rooms. Or for a bigger project they can make a rug like this one from Meet Me at Mikes.

This finger knit ear warmer from Simply Maggie could be made into a headband by just working a single strip of knitting. You can also finger knit a hat with these instructions from Bean Creative (shared at Red Ted Art).

Or you can just make a long strand and turn it into a necklace, or sew strips together into a scarf. Hello Glow has a single strand infinity scarf project. Once you get kids started they are sure to think up their own ways to use the strips of finger knitting, too.

Do you know how to finger knit? I’d love to know what you or your kids do with your knitting!

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Teach the Teacher Printable Worksheets: A Fun…

I don’t know why tropical animals feel like something you should learn about in the summer, because these tropical bird crafts and activities are great to do any time of year. Let’s take a look.

Homeschool Giveaways has a printable tropical birds copywork book kids can use to practice cursive or print writing. They also have links to more fun printable activities, mostly about parrots, toucans and cockatoos.

Homeschool Share has a printable lapbook all about parrots. This one is a lot of fun because it includes things like the pros and cons of owning a pet parrot and some parrot jokes alongside information about where parrots live, why they have hooked beaks and their lifespan, among other things.

Use colorful bird puzzles to reinforce number order with this free printable puzzle collection from Craft Play Learn. It includes five different bird puzzles that are each eight pieces.

And if you want to look at toucans in particular, check out this toucan study guide aimed at elementary students from Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus. This isn’t a free resource but it’s 31 pages all about toucans, their life cycle, anatomy, what they eat, role in the rainforest ecosystem, activities and more well worth the cost.

How about some tropical bird crafts? This 3D macaw parrot from The Craft Train is a great one, also not free but super cute and easy to make with the printables.

I Heart Crafty Things has a super cute parrot made with cardboard and card stock. If you hang it from the ceiling it will even spin.

Or try the cute cardboard tube parrots from Kids Craft Room, which kids will love to decorate (you could even use feathers if you have some). You can also make a parrot (or whatever other tropical bird you like) from a paper plate with these instructions from Crafts on Sea.

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