Balloon Tennis (paper plate; wooden paint stir stick; craft glue; balloon) Glue the wooden stir stick to the paper plate. This is your tennis racquet. Blow up the balloon, tie the end, and let the games begin!

 

Touch and Feel Book (construction paper; glue; materials of different textures, e.g., small piece of sandpaper, cotton balls, velvet, bubble wrap, felt, wax paper, etc., stapler) Glue one textured material per page of construction paper. Staple the pages together. Have your toddler close her eyes and tell you what each feels like (rough, soft, etc.). Young children will enjoy discovering the many textures of the world around them.

 

Bread Art (white bread; food colorings; small drinking cups; milk; new paintbrush; toaster) You will need a drinking cup for each color you wish to use. Pour a small amount of milk into each cup. Add a few drops of food coloring to the cups (a different color for each). Using a paintbrush, paint designs or pictures onto the bread. Don’t soak the bread. Use just enough “paint” for the picture to show up. Now toast the bread for edible art!

 

Animal Walk Parade (radio; silliness) First, choose your favorite animal. Form a straight line, Turn on the radio and walk the way your animal would walk. If you’re an elephant, use your arm as a trunk. Giraffes, stretch your neck out and hold your head up high. Birds, flap your Wings to the music.

 

“People Who Love Me” List (paper; pen or pencil) Sit down with your toddler and make a list of all the people who love her. (Parents should limit the time spent on this project because, after all, doesn’t everyone love our children? This list could take hours!) When you’re finished, frame the list or have it laminated, then hang it in her bedroom. Have her refer to the list whenever she feels blue.

 

No-Bake Banana Crunch Cookies (bananas; graham crackers; Ziploc baggie; butter knife; rolling pin) Place 3 or 4 graham crackers into the baggie, and gently crush the pieces with a rolling pin. Peel a banana, and then slice it into small circles. Drop the banana circles into the bag and shake, coating each slice with crumbs. This simple treat is sure to become a favorite!

 

Yummy Finger Painting (package of instant vanilla pudding; food coloring; muffin pan; spoon; paper plates) Prepare the pudding as directed on the package. Once it’s ready, spoon the pudding into a clean muffin pan. Add drops of different food coloring to each (mix 2 different colors to make wilder colors). Stir each until the color is consistent. Now, “paint” yourself silly on the paper plates. Yummy!

 

Sun Spots (blueprint paper, available at office supply stores; small objects such as leaves, flowers, buttons, rubber bands, keys, etc.; clipboard; lots of sunshine) First, attach a piece of blueprint paper to the clipboard. Place a collection of small objects onto the paper. Leave space between objects when arranging. Set the clipboard and its contents outside in direct sunlight for several minutes. Bring your project inside and remove all of the objects. Beautiful artwork compliments of the sun!

 

Sheet Murals (white bed sheet or pillow case; tempera paint; squirt bottles such as a clean ketchup or mustard container, or clean spray bottle; water) Hang your canvas (sheet or pillow case) on a clothesline. Fill the squirt bottles with water and just enough paint to color the water and not clog the spray. Shake well to mix. Now stand a few feet away from the sheet and spray your art! *Note: If you’re doing this project indoors, be sure to put down a sheet of plastic to protect the floors.

 

Colored Ice (plastic ice tray; water; different colors of food coloring; freezer) Fill the ice tray with water. Add a few drops of food coloring to each square, and then freeze. This may help children who don’t drink enough water. Add a few cubes of colored ice to their bath water for even more fun!

 

Make an Album. Get a small photo album (the 4″ x 6″ plastic booklets from the photo store are perfect), and gather individual snapshots of all the people you want to include. Put the photo on the right, and on the left insert a 4″ x 6″ index card with a word or two identifying that person (Grandma, Uncle George, and so on). Kids love to look at pictures, and it will also help your child remember who’s who.

 

Mail Love Notes. Create postcards from 4″ x 6″ index cards. Have your child draw or paint a picture on one side, then turn it over and ask her to dictate a message for you to write. Add the address and a stamp, and you’re sure to brighten someone’s day.

 

Plant a Paper Garden. It’s not quite spring yet, but it’s never too early for flowers. Using pinking shears or other decorative scissors, cut tulip-shaped blossoms out of brightly colored construction paper, then tape onto a drinking straw. Set bouquets in vases around the house.

 

Plan a Color Day. Once a week, dedicate the day to a color. On blue day, dress your little one in a blue shirt. At breakfast, add a drop of blue food coloring to pancakes or scrambled eggs and your child’s morning cup of milk. Go for a walk, and point out all the blue things you see while outside-a blue mailbox, a blue house, a blue bird. It’s a great way for kids to learn their colors, and it gives organization to the day.

 

Build a House. Call your hardware store, and ask if you can have a large appliance box. After you cut out a door and some windows, make curtains out of fabric scraps, draw or paint pictures to hang on the walls, and put a throw rug inside for a carpet. You can also attach boxes of different sizes to create a mansion.

 

Make Wind Chimes. String beads, bells, and other noise-making objects onto thin strands of yarn or fishing line. Tie these onto an embroidery hoop or a wire hanger twisted into a circle, with the strings spaced closely enough so the objects strike each other and make music when the breeze blows. Hang the chimes on your porch or in a tree, and listen for the soothing sounds.

 

Feed the Birds. Get a couple of bird feeders and a birdbath (a pie tin is just fine) that can be seen from your window. With your child, set out water and birdseed, then plop down on some cushions by the window to see which feathered friends drop in for dinner and a spa treatment. For more tips on bird-watching, log on to www.birdsource.org.

 

Write a Book. Make an “I can” book with your toddler. Have her cut out pictures of things she can do (get dressed, ride a trike, brush her teeth) from magazines and glue them onto sheets of construction paper. Make holes with a three-hole punch, and bind pages with ribbon or yarn. Variation: Have her dictate a story and draw pictures to go with it, then bind as above.

 

Rock On. Make your own instruments, and have a concert. Let your imagination run wild: For a great sound, put crunchy cereal between two aluminum pie plates stapled together, shake rice in an old film canister, make a drum out of an empty cardboard oatmeal container (use a wooden spoon for a drum-stick), or fashion a kazoo by wrapping a comb in waxed paper.

 

Host a Teddy-Bear Picnic. Have your child draw invitations and send them to the guests. Prepare cocoa, tiny sandwiches, and a dessert of pound cake cut into shapes. Cover a small table with a cloth, and assemble the lucky partygoers.