Table of contents for Spring 2025 in Creative Steps

Spring is always a great time of year for crafting activities, with Mother’s Day, Easter, Holi, Eid and many other colourful festivals to help feed your imagination and include in your planning. Once again our contributors have devised a host of fabulous, fun creative projects for you to enjoy with the children in your care, so we are sure you will have a craft-filled spring! As the days get longer, and hopefully warmer, the first of the spring bulbs are starting to emerge and bloom in the garden, prompting opportunities to extend your activities outside. Take a look at the inspiring feature from Nature Makers on page 28 in this issue, exploring the many benefits of mindful nature play activities, ensuring children reap the full benefits of outdoor exploration. And…

The Creation Station help unleash the wonder within, through fun and educational arts and crafts, classes, parties, events and products. As a multi-award-winning, five-star rated company, they inspire over 14,500 children and families every week with creative arts and crafts experiences across the UK. Creating journeys of discovery, exploration and development to unlock ideas through fun, hands-on activities, here are a few creative ideas, taken from the www.thecreationstation.co.uk website. STORE CUPBOARD ■ Coloured paper (green and any colour for the petals) ■ Scissors ■ Glue/sticky tape ■ Pencil 1 Cut the Stem and Leaves – Take a sheet of green paper and cut out: • A long, narrow strip for the tulip’s stem. Roll the strip tightly to create a long stem and stick with glue or tape • Two…

STORE CUPBOARD ■ Yellow paper cup (or paint a white one) ■ Orange, yellow and white pipe cleaners ■ Orange paper ■ Eye stickers ■ Yellow feather ■ Scissors ■ Strong glue ■ Nail or other sharp object ■ Large white pom pom ■ Scrap of foam ■ Black pen CHICK 1 Bend 2 orange pipe cleaners into the shape of feet, with 3 toes and a leg for each foot. 2 Make 2 loops for wings, from yellow pipe cleaners. Twist them to close them. 3 Fold a scrap of orange paper in half and cut a triangle to make a beak. 4 Push a nail into the top of the head to make a small hole and push through a yellow feather. 5 Make holes with a nail…

First Friends.. Numbers / Shapes MK Smith Despres & Aya Watanabe £6.99 (BB) www.barefootbooks.com Join a daycare class as they count from 1 to 10 throughout the day or discover the shapes around them as they play. Count through the day from playtime to naptime at daycare! Introduces early maths, sorting and counting concepts. Seek-and-find items throughout the book. Age 1 year + We say… Perfect rhyming text in relatable scenarios for little ones to enjoy and develop early learning skills Again! Britta Teckentrup £11.99 (HB) www.prestel.com It’s finally spring, and Big Hedgehog and Little Hedgehog are ready to explore the world after having slept all winter. Everything looks the same, but also new. Over the course of a lovely day, they run into old friends and take part in fun…

Makes 6 • 40 minutes prep time • 50 minutes cook time Recipe extracted from Chefs Wanted! More Than 40 Delicious Recipes for Curious Cooks by Allegra McEvedy illustrated by Alice Bowsher (DK, £16.99, Hardback) We are giving away 3 copies of this fabulous book. For your chance to win a copy, just fill in the coupon on page 61. STORE CUPBOARD ■ Scales ■ Measuring spoons ■ Chopping board ■ Chef’s knife ■ Measuring jug ■ Grater ■ Large saucepan ■ 3 handfuls of ice ■ Large bowl ■ Slotted spoon ■ Wooden spoon ■ Small saucepan ■ Balloon whisk ■ 20 x 30 x 5cm (8 x 12 x 2in) dish ■ Large baking sheet ■ Foil ■ Food processor ■ Colander ■ Small bowl ■ Spatula ■…

TO MAKE THE CHICK STORE CUPBOARD ■ Yellow and orange foam ■ 2 medium googly eyes ■ Fine liner pen ■ Strong glue ■ Scissors ■ Creme egg 1 Cut out the body, head and wings from yellow foam and the feet, beak and spike from orange foam. 2 Carefully cut out a space for the egg. 3 Glue all the pieces together and stick on googly eyes. 4 With a fine liner pen, draw on a line for the beak. Add on toes. 5 Push the egg into the space in the tummy. TO MAKE THE SHEEP ■ Make a sheep in the same way as the chick. With white paint, paint on a nose and mouth with an X. FUN FACTS! ■ Lambs, chicks and eggs are traditional…

STORE CUPBOARD ■ A4 pale green card ■ 3 pasta shells ■ Paint - yellow, black, white and gold ■ Thin paintbrush ■ Orange paper ■ Black fine liner pen ■ Scissors ■ Strong glue 1 Make a pale green card from half a sheet of A4 card. 2 Paint 3 pasta shells yellow and leave to dry. 3 Cut out 3 triangles for beaks from orange paper. 4 Stick the beaks to the chicks. 5 Add small blobs of black paint for the eyes and leave to dry. 6 Glue the chicks to the card and draw on wings, head feathers, legs and feet. 7 Mix white and gold paint together and paint the wings and head feathers OTHER IDEAS ■ The bunny card is made in the same…

www.kvmadhuri.com STORE CUPBOARD ■ White eggs (preferable) ■ Natural ingredients for dye (e.g. beetroot, spinach, turmeric, red cabbage, onion skins) ■ Bowls or cups for dye ■ Water ■ Spoons or tongs ■ Old fabric towels or paper towels for drying ■ Oil pastels 1 Boil the eggs for about 10 minutes until hard and let them cool. 2 Prepare the Dyes: In separate bowls, prepare the natural dyes by boiling water with your chosen ingredient (for example, beetroot for red, spinach for green, turmeric for yellow). Let it cool. 3 Dip the Eggs: Using tongs or spoons, carefully dip the cooled eggs into the dye and leave them to soak for a few minutes. 4 Check the Colours: Take the eggs out of the dye and place them on…

Spring into Action with Pocket-Sized Games It’s fun in a bun with Hoddog, the award-winning, family-friendly push-your-luck game of wieners and winners, suitable for 2 – 5 players. Easy to learn and fun to play, simply use cards with different toppings and place same-numbered matched sets to build the longest hot dog before the timer runs out and the last ketchup card SPLATS! The pocket-sized box includes 78 Hoddog cards, 5 ketchup SPLAT cards and one rulebook. Sosig is a pocket-sized strategy game, perfect for fun family game nights and is suitable for 2 – 4 players. Players use various head and body cards to create Sosigs of different shapes and sizes to meet order goals, while using “Mystery Meat” cards to sabotage each other. It's loads of fun and…

As the days grow longer and the air fills with the scent of fresh blossoms, there is no better time to encourage children to embrace the wonders of the natural world. Spring and summer offer the perfect backdrop for outdoor adventures, providing an opportunity for children to engage in mindful nature play, an approach that fosters creativity, curiosity and emotional well-being through meaningful interactions with the environment. At Nature Makers, we champion the value of nature-inspired art, craft, and play, knowing that these activities cultivate mindfulness, strengthen connections with the natural world, and promote holistic development. In this feature, we explore how families and educators can incorporate mindful nature play into their spring and summer routines, ensuring children reap the full benefits of outdoor exploration. What is Mindful Nature Play?…

STORE CUPBOARD ■ A4 red and cerise card ■ Paper punches - flower, circle and heart ■ Green paint ■ Thin paintbrush ■ Scraps of paper in bright colours ■ Gold fabric paint ■ Glue stick ■ Red and white twine ■ Scissors ■ Pencil ■ Ruler 1 Make 2 cards from the red and cerise A4 cards. 2 Fold the cerise card in half and draw on the vase. Measure 7cm from the top and 3cm from the bottom. From the 7cm point draw a line 3cm long. From the bottom 3cm point draw a line 2cm long. Cut along these lines. Push the vase inwards. 3 On the inside of the card, paint the vase pale green and leave to dry. 4 Punch out several flowers and circles,…

Top tip When deciding what containers would be best to use, think about the height and space the plants will need when they are fully grown Get ahead If you can start early in the spring when the weather is still cold, get the seeds germinating indoors in these newspaper seed pots. 1 Take a page from a newspaper or comic. Fold over one long edge, twice. Roll over the paper around a glass. 2 Fold the overlapping end of the tube inside the glass. This will become the base. Slide the paper off the glass. 3 Looking inside the tube, fold down the overlapping ends to make a base. Use the glass to flatten the base against a table. 4 Fill the pot with soil and then it is…

Animal Friends: Hello, Cats! £12.99 (HB) www.storey.com With information about different breeds and tips for meeting, understanding, and respecting cats, kids will find everything they need to know about their feline friends, whether they currently have a pet cat now or are dreaming about getting one someday. Learn how cats communicate with the position of their whiskers, ears, and tails. Games, crafts, and activities take the fun off the page. Age 4 years + We say… A Purr-fect introduction to the world of cats for curious young minds, with fun feline activities Kwesi and Nana Ruby Learn to Swim Kobina Commeh and Barbar Quintino £7.99 (PB) www.barefootbooks.com Kwesi doesn’t know how to swim… and discovers his grandmother doesn’t, either! Nana Ruby tells Kwesi about the history of segregation that kept…

STORE CUPBOARD ■ 2 paper plates ■ Yellow and white paint ■ Large and small paintbrushes ■ Coloured tissue paper ■ Pipe cleaners ■ Scrap of white card ■ Red glittery letter stickers ■ Red and white gingham ribbon ■ Scissors ■ Strong glue 1 Cut arcs out of each of the paper plates to form handles. 2 Paint inside and outside of both plates with yellow paint and leave to dry. 3 Paint on white spots to the front of the paper plate and leave to dry. 4 Make 4 flowers from tissue paper. 5 Cut a piece of white card to make a tag. Stick on letters to spell MUM or NAN. 6 Glue the 2 plates together, around the outside of the rim. 7 Stick on the…

STORE CUPBOARD ■ Yellow, orange & green foam ■ Small terracotta plant pot ■ LED tea light ■ Lolly stick ■ Green, orange & yellow paints ■ Medium paintbrush ■ Green shredded paper ■ Scissors ■ Strong glue ■ Pencil 1 Paint the top of the LED light yellow. 2 Paint around the edge of the LED light orange and leave to dry. 3 Paint a lolly stick green and leave to dry. 4 Cut a star out of yellow foam and a 3cm diameter circle from orange foam. 5 Draw around the tea light in the centre of the star. Cut around just before the edge of the circle. Cut a similar hole in the middle of the orange circle. 6 Cut 2 leaves from green foam. 7 Stuff…

Wink, Murder: A Bletchley Park Mystery Rhian Tracey £7.99 (PB) www.bonnierbooks.co.uk Mary has a gift for languages and codes that has brought her to the attention of the adults working at Bletchley Park. She finds herself drawn into their undercover operations, learning Japanese in order to decode enemy messages - but the operation she's a part of remains cloaked in mystery. Age 9 years + We say… Another gripping wartime mystery in this excellent series, perfectly pitched for young readers Turn This Book Into a Bird Feeder Lynne Brunelle and Anna-Marie Jung £14.99 (PB) www.workman.com Fly, flutter, and flap into the colourful world of birds in this interactive book for kids. Learn all about birds - from feathers and feet to habitats and diet, and how to spot them in…

Colour Match Express – RRP £12.00 All aboard! Fill your train by rolling the dice and matching the coloured animals and carriages in this fun colour matching game for 3-6 year olds! With options for an easy and more challenging gameplay Colour Match Express can grow with your child. Dinosaur Number Eggs – RRP £9.50 Can you hatch the most baby dinosaurs? Players spin the spinner and match eggs to hatch adorable baby dinosaurs. But beware of the T-Rex wild card, which means you’ll need to return an egg! The excitement builds as players race to collect the most hatched dinosaurs by the end of the game. Perfect for developing number and counting skills Dinosaur Number Eggs offers a fun and interactive way to learn while enjoying dino-themed adventure! Spotty Cows…

Paper Chain Caterpillar STORE CUPBOARD ■ Green card (2 different shades of green) ■ Red card strip ■ Small off cut of black card ■ Pair of googly eyes ■ Black felt pen ■ Glue or double-sided tape 1 Cut a strip of red card measuring 4.5cm x 23cm and make a loop, joined by sticky tape. 2 Cut a selection of green card strips, 4cm x 23cm, and make a paperchain alternating the green card and using the double-sided tape to fix. 3 Loop the final ring through the red loop creating the head of the caterpillar. 4 Add 2 small strips of black card to the head to make antenna. 5 Add the googly eyes and draw on the nose. 6 You now have a wiggling caterpillar to…

The term daffodil is the common English name for the botanical genus narcissus. Daffodils are found in Europe, North Africa and Asia. The flower has been known about for thousands of years and the Romans were the first to cultivate daffodils. They believed daffodil sap had healing properties and took it with them on their conquests. Daffodils have trumpet-shaped centres and star-shaped petals. Botanists have identified more than 25 different species of daffodil – of these there are thousands of hybrid varieties. Daffodils exist in a range of shapes and sizes and most commonly they are white, cream, orange or bi-colour. Daffodils grow to a height of 25cm to 45cm. “Daffy Down Dilly has come to town, in a yellow petticoat and a green gown” Nursery rhyme about the daffodil…

STORE CUPBOARD ■ Paper cupcake cases ■ Newspaper ■ Paints ■ Paint mixing tray ■ Brushes ■ Thread or ribbon ■ Sticky tape ■ Scissors 1 You’ll need 5 or 6 paper cake cases to make each bauble. Open out the cases then press into flat circles. Place the circles on a sheet of newspaper. 2 Mix up some paints on a tray or plate. Paint the paper circles in different colours then leave to dry. You could paint another colour on top or splatter the paint by running your thumb over the end of a brush, or try dabbing paint on a sponge. Leave to dry. 3 When dry, fold all the paper cases in half, with the painted sides in the middle. 4 Glue half a folded case…

STORE CUPBOARD ■ Cardboard straws ■ Plastic container ■ Double-sided sticky tape ■ Sticky tape or masking tape ■ Scissors ■ Wool ■ Glue ■ Ribbon ■ Ruler 1 Cut 10 straws in half to make 20 pieces. Press firmly along the straws to flatten each piece about halfway down the length. 2 Wrap double-sided sticky tape around the base of a plastic butter container, or any similar container will work. Stick more sticky tape around the middle and near the top of the container. Peel off the tape backing paper then stick the flat ends of the straws around the container, about 2cm apart. NOTE: For weaving, you need an odd number of straws, depending on the size of the container. 3 Before you start weaving, wrap a couple…

STORE CUPBOARD ■ 2 A4 sheets of card (in contrasting colours) ■ Patterned piece of paper 8cm by 8cm (e.g. wrapping paper) ■ Long pipe cleaner ■ Contrasting beads to decorate ■ Glue stick or double-sided sticky tape ■ Sweet treat e.g. jelly or chocolate heart 1 Cut the A4 card down the middle length ways to create 2 strips 30 x 10.5cm each 2 Take 2 contrasting coloured strips and place on top of each other. Measure 9.6cm from each end to create a 10.5 x 10.5cm square in the middle. Crease and fold over the two ends. 3 Unfold and cut away the two shaded sections. 4 You now have 2 pieces of card of the same shape. Rotate the top piece by 90 degrees. 5 Decorate your…

PAPER SLIPPERS 1 To make the soles of your slippers, stack 12 pages of newspaper on top of each other and with a pencil, draw an outline of both feet on the top page. Staple inside the heel outline to hold the pages together, then carefully cut out the two sole shapes. 2 For the straps, fold up a half page of newspaper to make a 6cm wide strip for each slipper. Lift up about six of the pages from each sole and place one end of the strip inside the front part of the sole. Cut to adjust the size and then staple both ends in place. 3 Bring down the remaining six layers of the sole and glue together. To finish, you can bind the whole of the…