Need easy craft ideas for toddlers!!!
Moms View Message Board: Parenting Discussion: Archive July-December 2004:
Need easy craft ideas for toddlers!!!
Ok ladies!! I need some ideas to help keep the kids entertained. We are home-bound the majority of the time, since Mads doesn't fit well in her car seat or stroller. I've had enough Blue's Clues and Dora to make me NUTTY! What are your favorite easy toddler crafts? I would like to keep it simple, with things we already have in the house. They aren't big play-doh fans, but right now they are using glue sticks to paste scraps of construction paper on a page. Also, and easy cooking activities?? TIA!!
Oh man- I feel for you. I teach preschool and a good entertainer for me after playdough is the matching game. Mine is old and I don't use all the matches- but they love to play it. Stickers and stamp pads are another good entertainer too.
Oh yeah and stencils and colored pencils. Sorry- this probably didn't help much though.
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/thanksgiving/thankfulwreath/ If you scroll down they have some neat things. Our kids are about the same age & I use this link a lot
Search the internet for kids crafts. I get alot of ideas. I do toddlers crafts on Wed night at church and adapt alot of ideas so they are appropriate for Christian teaching. Construction paper, cotton balls and paint or crayons- cotton ball a snowman and construction paper a nose, hat, eyes, etc. Die macaroni (I found the recipe on the internet), then glue the macaroni into pics on construction paper. They may not like playdoh, but I have found kids love to make and die their own. You make it with flour and water. I found the recipe on the internet, too. Cut out a shape of their foot in a shoe, draw their hands and cut out (Need 2). Use the shoe cut out for the body and the hands for wings to make an angel, then draw or paint on eyes and maouth, etc. If you have pipe cleaners, make a circle and fashion a halo and hot glue on. Make construction paper chains to hang on the tree. Or you can make a chain with the number of days left until Christmas, put a star at the end. Then take off one link each day until Christmas. When they get to the star, it's Christmas! You can also search for all kinds of coloring pages depending on what your kids like. You can use 2 cut out handprints to make a butterfly. Make paper mats by cutting strips short way across a piece of construction paper. Then the long way cut strips but stop about an inch from the end. Then weave the short pieces across. Got old broken crayons? Shave them into small pieces, spread on wax paper randomly (don't get too close to the edges, it will spread when heated) or in the shape of a flower or car or whatever. Place another piece of wax paper on, then a thin ironable rag, and iron on low until the crayon pieces melt. Makes kind of a "stained glass" thing. I love doing little kids crafts with my daughter and the toddlers at church.
CRayola makes some nice paints. We like to paints. Make a card - paint and sparkles. Okay Christmas Tree on foam or felt or construction paper. Decorate christmas Tree. Make a christmas card for Daddy. Make an ornament for Daddy for Christmas. Oh, gosh you can do anything they won't care. Take anything - toilet paper roll and decorate to hang on tree. - Make a construction paper snow man. You cut the pieces they assemble and glue. - another card for grandma. Pom Poms in craft store to create snow man. or any animal. DS made a rattle for an imaginary baby the other day using crayola clay that dries nice. Forget the name. He used a craft stick and stuck in eyes so it rattled. He also made a refrigerator magnet using the same clay and feathers. We mixed two colors together. Blue and Red - made purple.... We wrote his name using foam letters. They sticked great in this clay that dries nice. expensive that clay though... We got some rocks and glued them to a piece of paper. Used some crayons too. You can also make ornaments for clay or pom poms or anything.... We took a leaf and glued it to a piece of construction paper. You can decorate with glitter. Dries nice if you get the whole leaf wet with glue. Elmers makes a great glue paint. Great for painting leaves.
construction paper chains for the christmas tree. They can tape the chains together with your help.
Make daddy a construction paper tie. You cut out and they decorate.
Make a doll paper hat and decorate. You fold and they decorate. Paper hat can be made out of newspaper and they can wear it too.
Paper hat. (obviously you are making the hat.)
Take some sticker and make daddy a card. (Anyone having a birthday make them a sticker card.)
decorate the wrapping paper to wrap the paper tie in or a painted rock. Take plain paper and paint or color than just tape together any old way to make a sort of wrap for the paper tie.
Take a box and tape white paper on the outside. Paint the box to be used as a box for a present for daddy.
Make finger puppets out of construction paper or felt or foam or that crayola clay. Make finger puppet stage out of box. I don't know if it has to be as elaborate as this. They would be happy with anything. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=construction+paper+finger+puppets&spell=1
Make construction paper stocking and decorate.
http://www.dltk-holidays.com/xmas/crafts.html This site has the best crafts. Wish I could have it in book form.
http://www.kidsrcrafty.com/self-hardening_clay.htm Oh look you can make your own self harding clay which you can paint.
Make a construction paper wreath or from foam. Decorate with sprinkles and paint or crayons. Hang in front window.
Okay this person says you can dry and paint regular play doh. idea that is very easy is to use Play Dough, cookie cutters, and craft paints. Simply have the kids roll the Play Dough out onto a piece of waxed paper. Don't rollit very thin; keep it kind of thick. Now, using the cookie cutters, cut out various holiday shapes. Use a nail and carefully make a hole in the top of each shape after it is cut out. Let the shapes dry thoroughly and then decorate each one with the craft paints. Each kid can also paint their name and the date on the back of the shapes they make so they can be kept for keepsakes. Tie pretty ribbons through each hole and tie the ends together. Now the kids can hang them on the Christmas tree to add their personal touch to the tree.
Okay. Just two colors of paper of construction paper. Cut out some strip and have them glue them to the paper. Crayons and or sprinkles again.
Make mommy a necklace from the pasta. or any kids beeds. Make mommy a hat and decorate. Like just make a cone from the constrution paper (tape). Cut off the botton so it is flat. Decorate. This could be a christmas tree too.
Make mommy a bracelet out of constrution paper. Stip of paper decorate.
Make a fake watch out of constrution paper. Strip of paper. Glue or tape. fake watch face from constrution paper.
Decorate a paper plate for santas cookies. Or cut a paper plate out of construciton paper.
Make santa a present. Gosh.... How about a ornament or box or a drawing. Mail it off to him.
Make christmas placemats. Crayons or glue or glitter....
Make a fishing game. Stick. Magnets(from michaels or cvs). Cut out fish. Put paper clip on bottom of stick. Magnets get glued to cut out fish.
Make a birthday cake for daddy out of play doh.
make a doll house out of a hat box or a box. Paper furniture. paper dolls. cut out their stick figure.
Crafts for two year olds. http://www.childfun.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=232
glue a stick figure to a craft stick. Voila! Puppet.
Thanks everyone! Wow, Feona, those are great projects!
Some Christmas ideas-- Rudulph Christmas ornament--3 popsicle sticks, paint or magic marker them brown, glue together in the shape of a triangle except 2 of the sticks go past the 3rd to make the antlers. Then paint on eyes and nose or buttons and red pompom for the nose. Add a ribbon at the top to hang on the tree. Christmas tree--use green construction paper or green foam sheets (this will last for years to come). Trace kids hands and cut out. You will need at least 10 hand cutouts. Then glue the hands to a piece of cardboard or poster board--one on top row, two on 2nd row, three then four. Let the kids decorate with glitter, buttons, o;d broken jewelry or whatever they fancy.
One more that can be helpful to you. Take white lunch bags and let them stamp or stencil Christmas designs. You can use them to wrap small presents.
I forgot. Puppets from lunch bags.
Paper weaving. Fold construction paper in half. Cut about 6/8 away in. Cut strips of construction paper. Weave the paper in and out. Since they are two I would only cut four slits in the paper. (It is probably too hard anyway)
Make memory game. Use index cards and matching stickers. Or draw pictures on index cards. Like flower house stick figure Bee
Ds used the foam that comes in packages to make a frame for a picture. You can glue and paint this stuff. It shrinks but it is okay. (He decided to do it independently. I was making a werid christmas tree) I think you can make a house with it too. or use like like macoroni and make a picture like a flower. You could use a needle and make a werid necklace for them to paint. You can also make a picture for your picture frame. We made a bizare christmas tree with it. I was trying to do three d. It shrunk when painted.
Take a box and cut out pictures from a magazine and glue them on the box. You can pretend you are decorating the box for a present. Or put a picture in the box and give to daddy.
Water colors and tissue paper or paper towels. and construction paper Glue paper towel to construction paper and paint with water colors. You can cut the paper towel to make it nice if you want. Just something different... Can use some sparkle paint (elmers has the glaze paint with sparkles)
Make a snow flake with paper and scizzors. Okay it is too hard for them but they will like watching you make it. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/christmas/snowflake/
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/toddler/
Make musical instrument for kids. They have a guitar with a shoe box and rubber bands. We made one out of a plastic hangers. http://www.thefamilycorner.com/family/kids/crafts/9_musical_instruments.shtml
For the instead of bells you can use beads or pennies.
Easier musical instruments to make http://www.fastq.com/~jbpratt/education/music/instrumentscrafts.html
Make a super easy airplane http://www.onenorthpole.com/ToyShop/Paperairplanes.html
20 Oz soda bottles. Fill with beans, pasta, rice etc. Makes a great maraca.
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