Crafts for Toddlers

Once you have stocked your arts and crafts cupboard for your toddler it’s time to take action. Not sure where to start? Here are a few creative ideas to get you and your toddler on your way to creating masterpieces for your fridge!

· To start your toddler off practicing their cutting, draw a thick line on a piece of paper with a big magic marker. It is a good idea to start with straight lines and move into curves once your toddler becomes more skilled with the scissors.

· If your toddler isn’t very experienced with scissors, you might want to start off with some similar manoeuvres to help them practice their co-ordination. Things such as filling eye droppers or turkey basters with water, or using plastic tongs to pick up cotton balls will be helpful when it comes time to pick up the scissors.

· With some help from mom or dad, have your toddler drizzle glue on to a sheet of construction paper. Then your toddler can sprinkle sand, cornmeal or birdseed on top of the glue to make a picture.

· Make a puppet with your toddler out of socks, paper bags or glue a toilet paper roll to a Popsicle stick.

· Used textured objects like leaves to make rubbings with crayons. Place the leaf underneath a piece of paper and rub the crayon overtop of it, leaving the imprint of the leaf on the paper.

· Unroll clear Mac tack paper sticky side up and let you toddler stick various art materials all over it. Stick a piece of construction paper on the back and have instant artwork.

· Trace your toddler’s hands and feet on paper or let them make the handprints and footprints in paint. This is a great activity for a summer afternoon outside.

· Windows, mirrors or bathroom sinks are great places to finger paint. If your toddler is a clean freak, let them use a paintbrush.

· Take bubble wrap on to a paint roller and let your toddler see the different designs they will get when they paint.

· Try different alternatives to paintbrushes: sponges, feathers, combs, Q-Tips, old toothbrushes, a potato masher, or apple slices cut into shapes.

· Let your toddler paint the side of your house or the sidewalk with coloured water. It won’t leave any colour on the house or sidewalk but it will look like paint when it is in the pail.

· Take the ball out of an empty roll-on deodorant container and fill it with some liquid tempera paint and pop the ball back into place. It makes a great roll-on art tool.

· Paint or dye pasta pieces with food colouring and water to make pasta necklaces. If you are going to dye the pasta with food colouring, dip it in the water for about 10 seconds each and then let it dry overnight.

· Rocks are easily transformed into paper weights with a bit of paint. To seal the paint, once it is dry spray with varnish.

· Put a piece of paper in the bottom of a square container and drop a bit of paint on the paper. Place a ping pong ball or a golf ball in the container and snap on the lid tightly. Show your toddler how to shake the container around make the ball roll all the bottom. The ball will paint a unique pattern on the paper.

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