I am paid and have received free Wikki Stix to bring the following activities to you. While I am paid, our kids have used Wikki Stix in our classroom for over 20 years. The activities and opinions below are my own and not those of Wikki Stix/Omnicor, Inc.
5 Little Acorns – a chant to accompany Wikki Stix created Acorn Stick Puppets – 5 Little Acorns
Materials needed: Brown/White Wikki Stix, 5 craft sticks per child, and one printable (linked above).
Have the children make acorns from the brown/white Wikki Stix. Our kids made spirals from two strands of brown Wikki Stix and two strands of white Wikki Stix. If desired, the kids can add other features to the acorn top as pictured. The Wikki Stix acorns will adhere to the craft sticks to form the stick puppets for the acorn chant. Read “5 Little Acorns” to the children several times. Have the children hold up their stick puppets and put one behind their back when the “acorn” drops in the chant. *Repeat the chant with numbers 4, 3, 2, and 1 until all stick puppets are behind each child’s back.
LITERACY EXTENSION: Have the children use brown Wikki Stix Wikki Stix to circle letters (that have been introduced) in the chant. In the photo above, our kids made circles to find all the letter A/a’s in the chant.
Wikki Stix Leaf Counting Sticks – Hand Drawn Leaf Template
Materials needed: Fall Colors of Wikki Stix, Leaf Template (linked above), and Fall Colors of Pony Beads.
Print the leaf template for each of the children. Have the children trace around the leaves with Wikki Stix. The Wikki Stix can then be “lifted” to form the leaf toppers for the Wikki Stix counting strands (*note – Super Wikki Stix are longer and work well for tracing the leaves). For younger children, cut out the leaf templates and they can color the templates to use as the counting stick toppers. For older kids, tracing the leaves with Wikki Stix is a great fine motor activity.
Have the children label their leaves with any numbers that have been introduced. In the photo above, we used our counting sticks/pony beads to make basic addition problems. Our Pre-K children are ready for addition and did great with the counting sticks. NOTE: do not use pony beads with children who still put small objects into their mouths as they pose a choking hazard. Supervise younger children closely.
I like using Wikki Stix for counting sticks as pipe cleaners always poke our kids with the metal ends after hours of use/manipulation. Wikki Stix are the perfect size for pony beads and we don’t have pipe cleaner “ouchies!”
Wikki Stix Acorn Math Mats – Numbers 1-12 – Acorn Counting_WS
Materials needed: One set of Acorn Counting Mats per center/child and brown Wikki Stix.
Print the counting mats to heavy paper and laminate for durability. Set out a tray of brown Wikki Stix for the children to make into counters. The Wikki Stix can be made into spirals or balls for use on the counting mats. For younger children, only set out the counting mats for the numbers that have been introduced at home or in the classroom (additional counting mats can be added as larger numbers are introduced).
Wikki Stix Fall Acorn Craft – Hand Drawn Acorn Template
Materials needed: One acorn template (linked above), brown Wikki Stix, and assorted acorn decorations (dried beans, corn, leaves or other nature items, candy corn, silk leaves, etc.).
Print the acorn template above for each child. Have the children use brown Wikki Stix to outline the acorn and fill the white space. The Wikki Stix will act as glue for the acorn’s decorations. The children can then press any items desired onto the acorn craft. It is a “mess free” way to create an acorn craft that involves fine motor skills, too!
The acorn crafts make a great family craft project for fall! It is fun to see how different families chose to design the acorns!
Wikki Stix “Twisted” Fall Tree Crafts
Materials needed: Brown Wikki Stix, Mounting Paper, and Fall Leaves (silk, plastic, or real – we purchased fall silk garland at the dollar store and cut the leaves off to make our trees).
Have the children twist several strands of brown Wikki Stix together to create any kind of tree desired. Twisting the Wikki Stix together creates a unique texture for the fall tree crafts. The children can make spirals or balls from the brown Wikki Stix and place on the backside of the leaves. The Wikki Stix will hold the leaves in place and can be easily removed if the child decides on a different leaf placement.
The twisted tree crafts make great fall displays at home or in the classroom!
Wikki Stix provides a “hassle-free” way to create and learn in the classroom or at home this Fall! Wikki Stix will replace ordinary glue for many projects and help develop fine motor skills while learning and creating! We hope you enjoy some of the Wikki Stix Trees and Leaves activities with your own children!
For more Fall Activities and Crafts, visit the Wikki Stix Blog!