Christmas Garland Craft Inspired by Peep and the Big Wide World

This is a compensated campaign in collaboration with PEEP and Latina Bloggers Connect. All opinions expressed are my own.

Exploring colors, shapes and animals has been a long-time favorite activity for our toddler, who doesn’t shy away from asking simple questions when something piques his curiosity. He loves venturing outdoors to jump in the leaves, look for new bugs and is always onboard for creating some sort of arts and craft…even if it is just some messy paint exploration or ripping up paper. So when I heard about Peep and the Big Wide World – a new series for preschoolers that teaches science and math while encouraging curiosity and a sense of adventure – I knew it would be a good fit.

The series is narrated by comedian Joan Cusack and stars a wide-eyed chicken named Peep along with his buddies Chirp and Quack who live in a large urban park – a place of endless wonder, adventure and mystery – ideal for learning science and math concepts each day.

PEEP is the newest bilingual multi-platform project designed to teach kids important science and exploration. The Peep website is a digital hub of educational content tailored specifically for home-based childcare educators, including fun activities to help keep preschoolers engaged and resources to keep parents confident in facilitating learning, especially when it comes to areas of science and math.

I knew creating an activity based on the Peep series would work well for us because my son likes to relate what he sees with what he does. Just the other day, he searched through his animal bin to retrieve a deer after I pointed out the foal grazing in the yard. On another occasion when we were coloring with blue crayons, he made a reference to mommy’s blue car. I’m sure any parent would agree that this type of play is a great way to reinforce what children learn.

After watching a couple episodes following Peeps adventures and visiting the online activities resource, we decided to try a craft exploring colors and patterns, but with a Christmas spin.

Materials

• Red & Green Construction paper
• Stapler or Tape
• Scissors
• Pipe Cleaners (optional)

How we created our simple Christmas garland:

First, I made sure to review the two colors we were working on with my son (and snuck in some bilingual lessons alternating rojo for red and verde for green). I then cut several strips of the red and green paper. Each time I needed one color I asked my son to pass me the correct one. With each alternating piece I intertwined and stapled together until we had a decent length. This was so basic but also such a great way to reinforce the two colors we are starting to see everywhere as the holidays approach. I would recommend the online resource for anyone looking to supplement learning with fun, bilingual activities.

Learn more about PEEP – English and PEEP – Spanish to see how the program can help your child.

Don’t forget to LIKE PEEP Latino on Facebook and Follow Peep on Twitter to catch all the fun kid’s crafts too!