Here's another quick and easy toddler craft:
1. Get some flour and a baking dish:
2. Pour flour in the dish. Have some tools handy to explore the flour (spatula, toothpick, cookie cutter, etc...). Make handprints and draw pictures.
Kate had fun and we played for quite a while. Next time I will remember to put a mat down :)
... sorry for the dorky title, I couldn't help myself :)
There are lots of little spurts of time during the day when I have time to do something with Kate while Sara Paige sleeps. But, they're LITTLE spurts and oftentimes I don't have time (or energy, frankly) to do something that requires a bunch of time to set up or clean up.
Alas, I present to you the first of a bunch of quick, usually free activities to do with your toddler:
Step One:
Grab some change.
Step Two:
Acquire an old toothbrush (or steal your husband's and apologize later).
Step Three:
Fill a bowl with water and a few squirts of dish soap. If you want to remove the tarnish on pennies, throw in some salt and vinegar too.
Step Four:
Let your kiddo scrub the dirty coins and then put the clean ones in a new container.
Step Five:
Admire shiny coins and happy kid. Kate liked this a lot. We've done it twice and each time she cleaned about 15 coins before losing interest. You can also have your child sort the coins by type, count them, etc...
My favorite little crafter and I decided to make some Valentines over the weekend. We made cinnamon heart bark and tissue paper hearts. The bark is AWESOME and super easy to make. Highly recommend it if you need a chocolate fix :)
While we were making the tissue paper hearts, Little Miss doused herself with glue. That was definitely her favorite part. I'm thinking next time we'll skip the decorative bit and I'll just let her roll around in glue for a while.
And my teeniest of Valentines was a spectator during all the mess :)
I saw this idea on Martha Stewart and figured it was something I could construct from the bed/couch.
One great thing about a felt board is that no adhesive is required on the back of the characters since felt sticks to felt. I know I've said it before but I just love activities that provide a little structure with a lot of room for open-ended play. I have always like that about play therapy.
You wouldn't put all the characters on the board at one time when you play but I thought it was the best way to photograph it! I still need to make the following themes: the Itsy Bitsy Spider, the Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, a dress up doll, and sea creatures.
* On another note, Kate fancies the advent calendar and squeals "Christmas chocolate time!!!" each morning when she gets to eat a Hershey's Kiss with breakfast.
Kate loves sorting, counting, organizing, and stacking. So when I saw this post about color blocks, I decided to make a set for Toaster. It didn't take long at all and would make a pretty cute stocking stuffer or birthday present for a special little person in your life.
I love manipulatives that provide structure and creative exploration at the same time. You can practice colors, counting, stacking, and fine motor skills. Not bad for blocks that cost a buck, huh? :) I had to make a little bag for the blocks too...
Lately I have noticed that Kate is less interested in her toys and more interested in sequencing and causal activities. She loves to help me measure and mix ingredients while I cook. I have been trying to think of things she can do on her own or with little assistance since she has been on a BIG independence kick. I saw this awesome post about making inexpensive manipulatives for toddlers.
Here are a few things I put together for her to play with. Everything's been a big hit so far :)
1. We dyed rice and hid "treasures" to dig up:
2. We made play dough. Kate likes to make pancakes and cut out shapes with cookie cutters:
3. We grabbed some nuts, bolts, and washers from the garage, cleaned 'em up, and voila! A great fine motor skills activity:
4. We dyed some macaroni, got some shoe laces, and strung, strung, strung:
