Christmas Bear Craft

The Man of the House had to go back into the office, last night, after supper. So, I seized the opportunity for some late night, messy crafting, with the girls.

When, I checked out Kestutis Kasparavicius' The Bear Family's World Tour Christmas, from the library, it was because I thought it would be a Christmas-around-the-world sort of book. It turns out to be more about bears around the world, than about Christmas, as a bear family takes their house, attached to a hot air balloon, and travels the world to help all of their relatives, in distant lands decorate for Christmas.

In keeping with the book, I found a Christmas bear, paper doll print-out, here (the Internet can be a mother's best friend). I printed two copies as 5"x7" prints, then flipped the picture, and printed them again, so each of the younger girls, could have two bears, that sit facing each other. While their older sisters went to work helping to cut them out, the younger girls made houses for them to decorate for Christmas.

I gave them each a cardboard house cutout, along with a fireplace shape, an oval for a rug, and dryer sheet boxes.

They painted the boxes brown. We used acrylic paint, because it dries quickly, and is very easy to clean up, with soap, and water (though it can stain clothing).

Then, colored, and glued the house fronts, to the flaps of the boxes, with the bottom of the house, touching the fold of the lid...

...so they open to reveal the "house" interiors, where they glued the fireplaces, and placed the rugs.

They have some more decorating to do, but at that point, it was time to clean up the mess, and put on jammies, before Daddy arrived home, tired from work. Though, we left the houses out, so he could see what the girls had been up to (minus all the wet paint, and paper clippings).

For more story stretching arts, and crafts, check out this week's stART (story + ART) link-up, at A Mommy's Adventures.

It's great to be a homeschooler.