Pretty Simple Snowflake

• Toddlers and preschoolers can complete this craft with minimal supervision and assistance. Prepare numerous bowls of uncooked wagon wheel pasta noodles prior to this activity and place one at each work table. Hand every child one piece of dark blue construction paper and inform them that this represents the nighttime sky. Instruct students that the goal is to glue the plain-colored pasta noodles that you have provided into a snowflake shape. Tape an image of a snowflake onto every tabletop for easy visual reference. You can also opt to glue noodles together on top of a piece of wax paper, then peel the paper away and hang the pasta snowflake in a window. Allow the noodles to dry for an hour if you plan to hang them.
  
  

Christmas Starry Sky

• Ring in the winter holiday season with a fun and simple craft that toddlers and older children can complete with minimal supervision. Each child will need one piece of white construction paper to get started. Instruct kids to draw a brown line across the page, approximately one-third of the way from the bottom edge. Add additional short brown lines beneath this line in any order to act as twigs or fallen branches. Draw a tree trunk on the left side of the page with barren branches. Glue several red and green wagon wheel pasta shapes above the line to resemble snowflakes. Make sure to firmly press the pasta to the paper and allow it time to dry before hanging your picture on the craft board.
  
  

Pasta Snowflake Count

• Pasta snowflake count is a fun, educational way to get preschoolers interested in math and learning their numbers. Prior to starting this activity, go online and print a downloadable snowman card (from makinglearningfun.com). Then make one copy per student. Laminate the cards to make the glue you use later adhere better. If you decide to pick a snowman card that has the number five on his "stomach," you will need to have enough total pasta noodles for each child to have five. Spray-paint the noodles white prior to handing them to children. Instruct the kids that the goal of this project is for them to glue the same number of wagon wheels in the sky as is reflected on the snowman's body.
  
  

Santa's Sleigh

• Turn a green sheet of construction paper into a memorable crafty creation. Prior to starting this project, print an online template (from silverboxx.com) or flip through the pages of a sewing pattern book for a sleigh image. Copy this image and place one at each work table for visual reference. Draw or trace an outline of the sleigh onto the center of the paper. The sleigh's base should rest just above the bottom edge. Glue red wagon wheel pasta noodles inside the entire frame of the sleigh. Affix white noodles in the "air" around the sleigh to resemble snowflakes.