Make a Magic Door. Imagination and Creativity

Jul 12, 2012



craft, activity for kids, early literacy activity



Week 4 of the MeMeTales Readathon focuses on one of my favourite areas, Imagination.

There are a number of free books for you to read this week on the topic, and one of them, “Doors in the Air,”  inspired this fun activity. Give this activity more meaning by adding in some Early Literacy Skills. Perfect for all ages to listen to.

(read here for free!)

If your child enjoys lift-the-flap books, this is sure to be a winner.  :)




 Materials: Piece of thick paper, craft/paddle-pop sticks, glue & anything you'd like to decorate the sticks. 
(We used paint, sequins and glitter and a mini pom pom door handle)



 Measure your door to fit your craft sticks and cut around 3 sides as shown
(Ours is 8 craft sticks wide)



Encourage your child's creativity and let them decorate their "door panels" as they wish




Squeezing, hand eye coordination, pincer grip practice and more. Oh, and just a tiny bit of glittering!



Once decorated, let your "door panels" dry



Glue onto your thick paper flap and finish with a little door handle


Now, on to the imagination....

What's behind the door?

A cat?


Somewhere special?


The possibilities are endless....



Handy Tips:

- Simplify this activity by assisting your child with the processes needed to decorate the sticks and glue them onto the paper

- Extend this activity by encouraging your child to attempt as many of the processes individually that they are capable of. Have your child write (or dictate) a story using the prompt, "What's behind the door?"

- Pride- Making things that look visually pleasing as the end result help your child feel proud about what they have created.

- Talk with your child about what they are doing. This will help them understand the physical and mental processes they are going through as well as giving them the vocabulary to describe it.

- Use new language and descriptive words like, "imagination" This will help with their language development. Discover your own child's understanding.

- Read the book/s together on the topic of opening doors and imagination to give this activity more meaning and your child, more understanding, learning and depth.

- Demonstrate and discuss particular skills, such as gluing, sticking sequins etc. if your child is new to these techniques

- If you don't want your table covered with the entire contents of the glitter jar, stay with your child ;)




Happy playing,
Debs :)




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