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March brings St. Patrick’s Day and the first thoughts of spring!
We’ve combined a bit of both in this month’s column.
CUPCAKE LINER
FLOWER WREATH
Your young child can help you create this delightful
wreath, while older kids can embellish it further
with lace doillies, button centers, or anything else
that gets their creative juices flowing! The base is
a paper plate with the center cut out and painted
green (use cardboard if you want a stronger
version). Cupcake liners of varying colors are
folded in half to create “leaves,” while other liners
are turned inside out so that the colors are on the
inside of the cups. Cut along the edges of the liner to give a more
“flower-like” edge. Consider layering liners of different colors or sizes to add depth. Glue to
your base and add sequins – or other decorations – to the center of the flowers! Check out the
details at: https://www.cbc.ca/parents/play/view/cupcake-liner-flower-wreath
FINGERPRINT FLOWERS
WITH BUTTERFLY
This spring craft is especially playful because the
butterfly moves! Again, a paper plate is your base.
Make flower petals with acrylic paint fingerprints,
adding small buttons at the center of each flower.
Draw in the flower stems with markers. Create your
butterfly and attach it to a craft stick. Cut a slit in the
bottom edge of the plate in which to insert the stick
and help your butterfly “flit among the flowers.”
You’ll find complete instructions and a video here:
https://www.thejoysharing.com/2018/04/
fingerprint-flowers-with-butterfly.html
SHAMMY THE LEPRECHAUN
We thought this leprechaun had an especially
friendly face! A manila folder is used as the
cardstock for his “complexion,” giving him an
appealing tone to match his textured beard and
eyebrows made from torn orange paper. Big
googly eyes and freckles add more personality.
His bowler hat with buckle is easy to copy. But,
if you’re not confident in your artistic skills,
you can find directions as well as a pattern to
purchase at: https://iheartcraftythings.com/
leprechaun-craft.html
A ST. PATRICK’S DAY TREAT
These “hats” look good enough to eat… and
they are! Made from upside down green snack
pack size containers of green gelatin, black felt
and metallic gold pipe cleaners for the hatband,
green construction paper for the brim, and
felt shamrock stickers, these leprechaun hats
would even work well at an adult St. Patty’s
Day party! Check out complete instructions
at: https://www.craftcreatecook.com/st-
patricks-day-treat-leprechaun-hat/
What’s New...
IN THE KIDBIZ
MEASURING
KINDERGARTEN
READINESS
For almost 40 years, Child Trends
has been a leading institution in the ef-
fort to improve the lives and prospects
of all children and youth through rigor-
ous research. Their work has helped
shape the public policies that affect
children and families, strengthened a
wide array of social services, and in-
creased public awareness of child and
youth issues.
One of their most recent projects
involves developing a standard to help
identify when children are truly ready
for kindergarten. The skills children
gain before kindergarten can greatly
affect their ability to succeed in school.
Consequently, communities have a
vested interest in providing resources
to support young children, setting them
on a path towards success in school
and life.
For years, states and early child-
hood stakeholders have sought such
information. Until 2016, no single data
source provided a comprehensive,
integrated assessment of children’s
health and preparedness for kinder-
garten for children ages 3-5.
The “Healthy and Ready to Learn”
National Outcome Measure (NOM)
meets this need. It comes at a time of
unprecedented investments in early
childhood. This measure, which was
developed using data from the 2016
National Survey of Children’s Health
(NSCH), includes 18 items that assess
children’s health and development
across four domains: Early Learning
Skills; Self-Regulation; Social-Emo-
tional Development; Physical Well-
Being and Motor Development.
Analyses of the 2016 NSCH data
using these domains found that 42 per-
cent of children aged three to five were
on track in all four domains; 34 percent
were on track in three domains; 15 per-
cent were on track in two domains; and
nine percent were on track in none or
only one of the domains.
“Healthy and Ready to Learn” NOM
is still a pilot measure and additional
steps are needed to refine and vali-
date it. Want to learn more? View their
webinar on YouTube at https://bit.
ly/2N7DF1C.
March 2019 WNY Family 5