RESOURCES
Filter
How to Draw a Holiday Hedgehog, Snowman, and Unicorn — Printable Guides
This drawing with simple shapes activity is the perfect addition a snowy day at home. Lulu Mayo’s How to Draw a Reindeer and Other Cute Creatures takes doodlers step-by-step through the creation of adorable holiday characters. Perfect for any age, the easy-to-follow instructions will ignite curiosity and creativity in every budding artist.
You can personalize these quirky creatures to your heart’s content––doing each drawing with simple shapes makes it easy. Whether you want to draw a snuggly hedgehog, adorable snowman, or twinkling unicorn, being an artist has never been so accessible (and so cute)! See for yourself just how fun these doodles are by downloading three free How to Draw guides here.
Breaking Cat News – Paper Doll Puppet Guide: Beatrix, Sophie, Baba Mouse, Trevor
Let your middle-graders take center stage and put on their very own paper doll puppet show. Using our free paper doll template, inspired by more cute and lovable Breaking Cat News characters, you can encourage creative expression while also building students’ love of reading. In this delightful comic series, three house cats take on the most relevant and hilarious news happening at home, and now, with this all-new guide, you can create your own paper dolls for Puck, Elvis, and Lupin’s other friends: Beatrix, Sophie, Baba Mouse, and Trevor!
Once students have read Elvis Puffs Out, they can use this free paper doll template to help them put on a puppet show. The instructions are easy to follow and understand, so budding puppeteers can have their cast created in no time. Encourage middle-graders not only to create the paper dolls, but also to write their own scripts for the show. They’ll have fun writing them, and you’ll have fun seeing what they come up with. They can even use the Breaking Cat News books as inspiration! After the dolls are done and the stage is set, sit back and enjoy the show.
Breaking Cat News: At-Home Activities, Wooden Spoon Puppets
Report on all the happenings around the house with a new at-home puppet guide from Breaking Cat News creator Georgia Dunn! With just a few everyday items (and a parent/caregiver’s permission), kids of all ages can turn ordinary wooden spoons into their very own kitty reporters. After painting your spoon dolls and getting them all snazzed up with accessories, create your own theater and tune into the show! Includes a full wooden spoon puppet activity guide, with bonus pages from Georgia Dunn on how to report on the news stories happening all around you, every day.
This activity has been adapted from the “More to Explore” section at the back of Elvis Puffs Out: Another Breaking Cat News Adventure.
Outlaw Yearbook Page and At-Home Activities
Like the end of any great school year, Diary of a 5th Grade Outlaw is going out in style with its very own yearbook page! Join up with all the Merry Misfits throughout the series—including special guest appearances from author Gina Loveless and illustrator Andrea Bell—with the yearbook page activity, with a space to draw in your own portrait. Then on the back, check out special activities and games that you can do using items found around the house!
Soul Riders: Jorvik Calling — Book Club Discussion Guide
Saddle up for an easy and fun book club kit all about Soul Riders: Jorvik Calling, the first novel based on the adventure game Star Stable! Tween readers will gallop through this fantasy novel, following four very different friends who share one thing in common: a mysterious and powerful bond with their horses. Don’t rein in the excitement after finishing the book, though. With this free downloadable discussion guide, gather a group of fellow riders for a turnkey book club. This discussion guide includes questions from every chapter of the book, giving you and your StarFam plenty to talk about, including characters, themes, and fun prompts to imagine yourself visiting the enchanting island of Jorvik.
Perfect for after-school programs, tween clubs, Language Arts classrooms, or just a few friends!
Cat Ninja: Boredom Busters!
Go on a Cat Ninja–themed adventure with crafts, games, and activities based on your favorite feline superhero! These three free printable activities from Epic empower kids to build, explore, and learn at home. With fun crafts, STEM learning opportunities, and hilarious gags from the Cat Ninja crew, you’ll be busting boredom in style! For the full activity book, check out Epic, the world’s leading digital library for kids.
Wallace the Brave: Printable Paper Craft Houses
Escape into the wondrous world of Wallace the Brave with these paper-crafted houses! Designed and demonstrated by Eisner-nominated cartoonist Will Henry, these foldable, adorable models will make you feel like you’re right at home in Snug Harbor. Print out each paper house template here, and then follow along with Will Henry through each easy and energetic video, found here.
“Llama, Llama, Saw Ya, Llama” — At-Home Seek-and-Find Game
How to play: Find an object to hide such as a little stuffed animal—even a toy llama! Select one person to hide the object. They must make sure that part of the object can still be seen and isn’t completely out of sight.
The other players hide their eyes until the hider hollers, “Where’s the Llama?” Then the search begins! When a player spies the llama in its hiding place, they do NOT shout, “Found it!” Instead—and this is the fun part—they pretend to keep looking, walking around for at least another ten steps away from the hiding spot. Then they shout, “Llama, Llama, Saw Ya, Llama!” and sit down in a designated spot like the couch or porch steps.
Where’s the Llama? — High-Res Seek-and-Find Samples
This intrigued and intrepid herd of llamas has decided to ‘alpaca’ their bags and embark on an incredible around-the-world trip in this seek-and-find adventure! Can you find these elusive llamas as they travel the globe? Check out these free high-res samples of Where’s the Llama? and journey to exciting places like a Día de Muertos parade, Miami beach, a modern art gallery, and more, learning lots about each location along the way! Note that files are quite large for optimal finding, so please be patient while the fun loads!
How to Draw Nessie and a Turtle — Printable Guides
This drawing with simple shapes activity is the perfect antidote for a rainy day. Lulu Mayo’s How to Draw a Mermaid and Other Cute Creatures takes doodlers step-by-step through the creation of adorable characters. Perfect for any age, the easy-to-follow instructions will ignite curiosity and creativity in every budding artist.
You can personalize these quirky creatures to your heart’s content––doing each drawing with simple shapes makes it easy. Whether you want to draw a super-sneaky ninja-sloth, bring a cat-cus to life, or create a hula-hooping avocado, being an artist has never been so accessible (and so cute)! See for yourself just how fun these doodles are by downloading two free How to Draw guides here: a dapper Nessie and an adorable turtle.
want more reading activities for kids?
Sign up to receive email updates from AMP Kids