If you’ve got a toddler, then you’ve got your hands full. That’s an understatement. One of the great things about toddlers who are learning to get about by themselves is that they love learning new things and exploring them with or without Mom or Dad. What better way to help them learn than to introduce all sorts of simple crafts?
The key with toddlers is to keep it simple. The crafts don’t have to be labor intensive. In fact, the little one’s don’t need fancy or involved crafts. Many crafts are designed for specifically for toddlers and are available at the local crafts store. In addition to finding kits at the local craft store, you can also use regular household stuff like crayons, paper and even pasta to encourage your toddler’s creativity.
The key with toddlers is to keep it simple. The crafts don’t have to be labor intensive. In fact, the little one’s don’t need fancy or involved crafts. Many crafts are designed for specifically for toddlers and are available at the local crafts store. In addition to finding kits at the local craft store, you can also use regular household stuff like crayons, paper and even pasta to encourage your toddler’s creativity.
Here are some of our go-to craft ideas and items for crafting with toddlers.
- Foam containers. There are a bunch available at Michael’s or Joanne Fabric (and AC Moore, for those of us in the East Coast) for children that involve foam. Foam is super easy to maneuver and does not rip as easily as paper making. It’s a versatile project for children, especially toddlers. Consider making foam masks or even foam characters such as dinosaurs, dogs, etc. Save the building activities for a later age when children are more adept to working with glue.
- Toddlers love to draw and color. Provide a box of crayons, some paper and watch the children get inspired. Children can be taught to draw new items or simply left to doodle on their own. Ask them to describe what they’re drawing; it will fuel their imaginations even more. To add another element, give your child stickers to play with and place on the paper. Be sure to give your child a variety of stickers so they can choose what they want to use.
- Pasta creations. There are many things that toddlers can create with pasta. Wheels can be used as tires on cars, and ziti noodles and some string can be used to create bracelets and necklaces. If you use markers to color the pasta before using the noodles to craft, your child will come up with a colorful creation!
- Paper Crafts. This really starts to develop that eye-hand coordination. So let your toddler create a card for someone special. Cards can be made with glitter, with adult supervision, of course. Help your toddler spell out what they want the card to say, then have them trace the lines with a glitter marker. Glitter markers are better than actual glitter because the markers already have the glue in them . In other words, easy cleanup.
These are timeless ideas. Nothing fancy or techie here. These are things our grandparents used with our parents, and our parents used with us, and, well, we should use with our kids. Why? Play is the indispensable element in learning for preschoolers. Remember: They can’t read; they can’t write. But they can craft, and imagine, and play. Because toddlers love to learn and absorb new information, crafts are the perfect idea to spark their creative side. And the great thing about it: All of these are quick and easy and allow for minimal mess as well as quick clean up. Ahem…
