The Mom I Want to Be

White paper to paint on

Different colors of finger paint

wax paper

newspaper to lay down underneath you as you work.

 

Drop spoonfuls of fingerpaint on white paper (less is definitely more my friends!) To work on color change, make sure the two colors are primary. Cover the paper and paint with wax paper. Working on top of the wax paper, have your kids spread out the paint with their fingertips, working from the inside out. I also encouraged them to squish it around near the center to mix the color and watch them change.  When your child is finished, peel the wax paper away from the fingerpaint to reveal a stunning and Rorschach-esque masterpiece! Let dry.

Involve your new walker — and the rest of the family — in this art project.

Old sheet
washable paint
disposable foil baking tin, large enough to stand in

 

Lay an old sheet out on the grass or sidewalk. Pour paint into a foil baking tin. Help your toddler step into the paint barefoot and walk across the sheet. Talk about how the paint feels on her feet and what color it is. Invite other family members to step in the paint and add their footprints to the mural. After it has dried, point out which footprints belong to which family member. Can your child identify her own prints? Which ones are big? Which are little?

Learning benefits:
• promotes gross motor skills
• enhances sense of balance

Here is something you can do with paint samples that you can pick up (free) at any hardware store. (They also have Mickey Mouse cards at Home Depo. that are really cute :))

 

 

Cut the cards up if there are multiple colors on one card.  Get at least 2 cards of each color.  Get a variety of colors. You can laminate them to extend thier lifespan.

• Use them like a flash card to help your child learn their colors
• Sort and categorize
• Play GO FISH or MEMORY or a MATCHING GAME
• Practice patterns-children will learn patterns starting in Kindergarten. You can prepare them by learning some basic patterns. ABAB, ABBA, ABC, ABAA, etc.
• Punch a hole in the corners, slip a D ring or key ring through them all and you have a portable color wheel.
• You could also write the name of the color directly on the card to promote word recognition.
• Write the letters of the alphabet directly on them and correspond it to the ROYGBIV scale to help with letter recognition.

This project is a sure fire winner with kids, and a perfect companion craft to Eric Carle’s The Hungry Caterpillar. This craft is so easy and has a lot of reward for very little effort! Be sure to grab these essentials before you begin:

 

 

Construction paper in various colors

Glue Stick (or other adhesive)

Paper Cutter or Scissors

Marker (to draw face)

 

Cut strips of Construction paper (we cut ours 2″ by 8″…which made it nice and tight). Watch as your son lays them out to make railroad tracks and uses the glue stick as a train. Have child swipe the glue stick on one end of the strip, and make a loop.  Next, swipe the glue stick on the next strip and before making a loop thread it through the first loop and then close the loop! Repeat several times with your strips until you reach your desired caterpillar’s length. After you have made your Caterpillar body, cut two small strips of construction paper for the antenna.  Curl them around the end of a pencil to get them nice and curvy. And lastly, glue your antenna to the top of your caterpillar’s head! If you haven’t already, draw a face on the little guy (or gal)!

Today is a little preschool activity that involves early counting.

 

Cut up several pieces of cardstock (according to the size of your pieces) and number them 1-6 (or 1-10 or 1-20). Lay them out in a grid pattern. Gather the pieces you will use from around the house. It is preferable that your pieces be the same shape, color and size. But if not, I say, work with what you got. The dollar store might be a great place to look if you don’t have any resources at home.

 

 

Some examples of pieces:

 

Game pieces

legos (same color and size)

beads

wooden or plastic blocks

cotton balls or q-tips

small food items like baby carrots or cherry tomatoes

See what flows from your toddler’s imagination with this colorful, book-inspired activity.

 

Learning benefits:
• Encourages creativity and imagination
• Introduces colors and color-mixing
• Supports pre-literacy skills

 

 

Used Water Bottle

Water

Glitter/Tinsel/Mylar Confetti

Small Object (able to fit through top of water bottle)

Glue Gun/Sealant for Top of bottle

 

Have your child fill an empty used water bottle with assorted glitter/ tinsel/ Mylar confetti. Have them use their fingers to fill the bottle (or spooning it in works too)- this helps build their fine motor skills. Have them add the chosen small object (we used a little plastic bird from the wedding section at the Dollar Tree). Have them (or you-your choice!) fill the water bottle with water. Screw the cap on. And seal it with hot glue or another sealant to prevent your child from opening it accidentally. Shake it up for sparkly fun! They can shake it up and “find” the small object through the glitter and confetti.  Other options include: adding baby oil to make a faux “lava lamp” and/or food coloring.

 

Help your toddler make stars that really sparkle!

 

Construction paper
scissors
glue
paintbrush (a larger one will work best)
salt shaker

To prepare, cut stars out of construction paper. They can be a variety of colors and sizes. Invite your toddler to help you glue the stars onto sheets of construction paper. She can use a paintbrush to spread the glue.  Next, have her “paint” glue onto the tops of the stars and sprinkle salt on the glue. When the glue dries, talk about how the stars sparkle and twinkle. You can even sing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” Help your toddler spot other things that sparkle in your house or when you are out for a walk.

Learning benefits:
• promotes small-motor skills
• supports language development