Wandering Wednesday {Cute Little Owls}

First of all, let me apologize for being missing in action this week.  We've been busy swimming and enjoying a lot of outdoor time in some beautiful weather.  Here are some cute little owls for this week's Wandering Wednesday post and I promise to be back very soon with some new crafty goodness.

Paper Towel Roll Hamster Entertainment

This may be old news to rodent owners but last month while on vacation in Boston we visited the Museum of Science.  The museum was incredible and the kids had a blast and wouldn't you know that one of the exhibits had a hamster cage, complete with paper towel roll for added entertainment.  

Toilet Paper Roll Unicorn

Ok, let me start by saying that I consider this to be a total cheat craft.  I mean, we really made it, but I used a printout for the body parts that go with the unicorn.  This is not something that I usually do but in the last month we've moved, had end of the school year shenanigans and taken a week long family vacation.  Needless to say it's been crazy busy around here.  Shortly after the move Cole was begging to do a craft and this was a quick and easy answer.

Unicorn Supply List: 1 toilet paper roll, paint, glue, scissors, glitter, unicorn template found here

Start by painting your toilet paper roll.  Cole chose to mix some purple with white and some glitter glue.

While you're waiting for your paint to dry cut out your unicorn pieces.

Paint your unicorn pieces with some glitter glue to make it extra sparkly.

Glue on your legs, head and necklace.  Not the cutest craft we've ever done, but it was still fun.

Toilet Paper Roll Paint Chip Peacock

 Peacock Supply List: 1 toilet paper roll, 5-7 paint chips cards, google eyes, paint, scissors, glue, scrap of yellow paper

 Start by painting your toilet paper roll and allow to dry.

 Trim your paint chips to approximately 2 inches by 6 inches long.  I did this to trip the color names off the sides of the cards.

 Fan out your paint chips and glue them one on top of each other.

 Glue your toilet paper roll on top of the paint chips and let it sit to dry.

Add your eyes and beak and your peacock is ready to play.

Book Suggestion: Bees, Snails, & Peacock Tails: Patterns & Shapes is a poetry book about patterns that occur in nature.  After we finished the book we talked about the patterns on our paint chips and then looked for some patterns around our house.  It was a cute book that was fun to read.

Cardboard Tube Lion

 Lion Supply List: 1 toilet paper roll, paint, glue, scissors, google eyes, yellow paper, pipe cleaner

 Begin by painting your toilet paper roll yellow.  We mixed a little glitter glue in with our paint to make a sparkly lion.  Allow your paint to dry.

 Cut legs from the bottom of your toilet paper roll.

 Cut a circle out of your piece of yellow paper and cut small slits all the way around the circle so that it looks like a sun.  I let Cole do some of the cuts on this, but then he got board so I finished it for him.

 Add google eyes and draw on a mouth.

Glue on your lion face on the toilet paper roll and add a pipe cleaner tail.

Book Suggestion: I love the story of the The Lion & the Mouse.  It's a classic fable with a wonderful lesson.  In this version, the story has no words and the beautiful illustrations tell the story.  I like using wordless books with my kids.  It gives them a chance to really tell the story and predict what they think is going to happen as well as recant what they've seen.

Toilet Paper Roll Penguins

 Penguin Supply List: 1 toilet paper roll, black paint, glue, scissors, white paper, yellow paper, 1 other colored paper, google eyes

 Start by painting your toilet paper roll black and allow to dry.  Cut an oval out of your white paper.  Add google eyes, beak, and a small bow tie.

Glue your oval onto your toilet paper roll.

Book Suggestion: In the story Penguin, Ben is disappointed when the penguin he receives as a present doesn't speak.  All that changes when Penguin saves the day.  This was a sweet book with delightful pictures that your preschooler is sure to love.

Paper Towel Roll Giraffe

 Giraffe Supply List: 1 paper towel roll, yellow & brown paint, google eyes, glue, scissors, pipe cleaner

 Start by painting your paper towel roll yellow and allow to dry.

 Paint some brown spots on your paper towel roll.

 Cut some feet out of the bottom of your paper towel roll.

 On the top of your paper towel roll so that it looks like the head of a giraffe sticking up.

 Add your eyes, pipe cleaners and a scrap of paper towel roll for a mouth.

Book Suggestion: In Giraffes Can't Dance, Gerald the giraffe just wants to dance.  He overcomes his akwardness with a little help and a new beat.  This is a delightful book that teaches children that everyone can unique and dance to the beat of their own drummer, or cricket.

Wandering Wednesday {Animal Mobile}

You know we love the elephants around here, so this mobile immediately caught my eye.  I love the idea of using different animals (or even a bunch of elephants) to make one of these.  Go check it out!

Toilet Paper Roll Bunny Rabbit

 Rabbit Supply List: 1 toilet paper roll, paint, google eyes, pipe cleaner, pom poms, construction paper, glue

 Paint your toilet paper roll and allow to dry.  Cole chose purple because that's his favorite color.

 Cut your pipe cleaner in half and punch it through the toilet paper roll about 1/3 from the top.

 Cut out ears from your construction paper.

 Glue on your eyes, pom poms and ears and allow to dry.  We ended up using a small piece of construction paper as a nose instead of our pom pom because it was easier to glue.

Book Suggestion: The Story of the Easter Bunny tells the story of how an elderly couple's white rabbit takes over the traditional Easter Bunny tasks once his owners are no longer able to weave baskets and dye eggs.  If the Easter Bunny visits your house then I would highly recommend this book.

Fluffy Sheep

 Sheep Supply List: 1 toilet paper roll, black construction paper, google eyes, scissors, glue, cotton balls, pipe cleaner

 Start by threading the pipe cleaner through the bottom of the toilet paper roll.  You will need to do this twice, in the front and in the back.  Trim the pipe cleaner to good leg length.

 Cover the toilet paper roll with lots of glue.  This was Cole's favorite part.

 Add cotton balls until your sheep is good and fluffy.

 While your cotton balls dry cut a circle out of your black construction paper and add google eyes.

Glue your black circle to the front of the toilet paper roll.

Book Suggestion: There are plenty of sheep shenanigans with characters Shaw and Apple in the book Sheep Out to Eat.  The tongue twisting rhymes and sheep adventures are sure to please your little shenaniganizer.

Cute Little Bunny Toilet Paper Roll

 Bunny Supply List: 1 toilet paper roll, paint, brush, pink crayon, scrap of white paper, glue, scissors, marker, google eyes, cotton ball

 Cut your toilet paper roll in half and paint it.  We choose to use pink paint with some glitter mixed in.  Allow your cardboard tubes to dry.

 Cut two ears from your white paper and color pink in the center of the ears.  I drew an outline for the middle of the ears and then let Cole color them in himself.

 Glue your ears between the two tubes.  I used a chip clip to hold it together while it dried.

 Add your eyes, tail and draw on a mouth and some whiskers.

Book Suggestion: Jan Brett is one of my favorite authors.  This winter we loved reading The Hat and this week we've been enjoying The Easter Egg.  A young bunny named Hoppi wants to have the best egg so that he can help the Easter Bunny on Easter morning.  His plans are changed when he discovers a robin's egg has rolled out of the nest.