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Casa Activities: Create & Learn!

Creative projects, hands-on activities, and skill-building for early learners.

CHRISTMAS ACTIVITIES

🧤 MY WINTER MITTEN - SALT PAINTING CRAFT

THEME CONNECTION

Winter clothing exploration | Pairs with The Mitten by Jan Brett

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  • Develop fine motor skills through drawing and painting
  • Practice hand-eye coordination with glue tracing
  • Experience cause-and-effect with watercolor on salt
  • Create unique artistic designs
  • Build independence through multi-step process

MATERIALS

  • My Winter Mitten template (print one per child, or children can draw their own mitten outline)
  • Table salt
  • Watercolour paints
  • Paintbrushes
  • White glue
  • Pencils
  • Tray to catch excess salt

METHOD

  • Print mitten template on regular A4 paper or card
  • Children draw their design inside the mitten (patterns, shapes, winter scenes)
  • Trace over design lines with white glue – encourage thick, continuous lines
  • Sprinkle salt generously over wet glue, covering all glue lines completely
  • Shake off excess salt onto tray
  • Dab watercolours over salted lines – watch the colour spread along the salt!
  • Allow to dry flat

TIPS

  • Bold, simple designs work best (not too detailed)
  • Use plenty of salt to create the textured effect
  • Watercolours will “bleed” beautifully along the salt crystals
  • Less water on brush = more controlled colour

LANGUAGE EXTENSION

  • Art vocabulary: pattern, design, texture, blend
  • Winter vocabulary: mitten, warm, cozy
  • Process language: trace, sprinkle, dab, spread
  • Descriptive prompts: “What pattern will you create?” “Watch how the colours spread!”

Want the coordinating story activities? Check out The Mitten Story Resource Pack for vocabulary cards, sequencing activities, and comprehension materials.

THEME CONNECTION

Winter clothing exploration | Christmas activities

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  • Develop fine motor skills through manipulating puzzle pieces
  • Practice clothing vocabulary and sequencing
  • Build hand-eye coordination with velcro placement
  • Develop literacy skills through labelling and word recognition
  • Encourage independent problem-solving
  • Learn body part names and clothing items

MATERIALS

  • Large Santa body template (printed and laminated or drawn on poster board)
  • Clothing piece cutouts: hat, jacket, trousers, belt, mittens, boots, socks
  • Velcro dots (one side on Santa body, one side on back of each clothing piece)
  • Display board or easel
  • Clothing word labels or blank labels for children to write

METHOD

  • Create or print a simple Santa body outline without clothes
  • Cut out individual clothing pieces
  • Laminate all pieces for durability
  • Attach velcro dots to appropriate spots on Santa’s body
  • Attach matching velcro dots to back of each clothing piece
  • Create word labels for each clothing item or provide blank labels
  • Present activity on easel or board at child height
  • Invite children to dress Santa by matching pieces to body
  • Children match word labels to corresponding clothing pieces or write their own labels

LANGUAGE EXTENSION

  • Clothing vocabulary: hat, jacket, trousers, mittens, boots, socks (beard)
  • Action questions: “What does Santa wear on his head?” “Where do the boots go?”
  • Sequencing prompts: “What should we put on first?” “What comes after the trousers?”
  • Body part vocabulary: head, hands, feet, body
  • Literacy activities: Match word cards to clothing pieces, write labels independently, create sequencing instruction cards

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