When the design is dry, you can lift it off the paper and hang it from the ceiling.
Let It Snow!
When you wake up to find that it has snowed overnight, you may be annoyed or even angry. To you, snow means shoveling, hazardous roads, and longer commutes. To your child, however, snow is a magical wonderland! Take the time to remember the fun of playing in the snow.
Jack Frost
Your child can paint the windows with this mixture to make it look like Jack Frost has just paid a visit. When you wish, you can clean the window off with a wet cloth. Supervise your child closely so that he does not ingest any of the mixture.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 45 minutes
5 tablespoons Epsom salts
1 cup beer
Sponge
Facial tissue or paper towels
Dissolve the Epsom salts in the beer. It should foam. Let this sit for ½ hour before using.
While you are waiting, clean off a window that your toddler can easily reach.
Your child can dip the sponge into the mixture and swirl it onto the window.
Pat the designs gently with wet tissues or paper towels.
When the painting dries, the salt crystals will sparkle, giving the window a frosted appearance.
Snowy Picture
Here is a special way to create a seasonal picture.
Perhaps you and your child can think of other ways to create a snowy effect.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 30–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
White tempera paint
Shallow pie tin
Small paper doilies
Dark-colored construction paper
Old toothbrush
Pour the paint into the pie tin.
Have your child arrange the doilies on the paper and paint over them to create snowflake patterns. Remove and discard the doilies.
Let your child dip the bristles of the toothbrush into the paint. Show him how to flick the bristles over the paper to splatter the paint for a snowy effect. Be sure he holds the brush far from his eyes.
Ice-Cube Painting
This is a fun craft and science activity all in one.
If you don’t have the paint, you can also use Kool-Aid or Jell-O powder.
Activity for an individual child or a group
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
Ice cube tray
Craft sticks or small tongue depressors
Powdered tempera paint
Construction paper or poster board
Make a tray of ice cubes. Freeze each cube with a craft stick sticking in so that you have a square Popsicle.
Let your child sprinkle the powdered paint on the paper.
Show your child how to use the ice cube on a stick as a paintbrush. The colors will swirl as the ice melts.
Snow Castle
Tired of snowmen? Why not pretend you’re at the beach? Your child can even paint the completed castles by spraying them with a mixture of water and tempera paint or food coloring.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 20 minutes
Sand pails
Small shovels and spoons
A snowy day
Show your child how to fill the bucket with snow. Have him dump and mold a castle from snow.
Rainbow Melt
Your child will enjoy watching the colors run as he learns a little bit about science, too.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 25 minutes
Salt
Food coloring in various colors
Paper cups
Ice (cubes or large block)
Shallow pie tin
Mix 1 tablespoon of salt with a few drops of food coloring and put into a paper cup. Repeat process for different colors.
Place the ice in the pie tin.
Let your child sprinkle the colored salt liquid over the ice. Discuss what happens. Encourage him to observe how the colors run when the ice melts.
Arctic Animals and Hibernation
Groundhog Puppet
Here’s a cute puppet variation. Your child may want to create an entire story
around the groundhog that she creates.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 30–40 months
Duration of activity: 10 minutes
1 small paper cup
Tempera paint
Scissors
1 piece of brown felt
Fine-tip black marker
White craft glue
1 craft stick
Have your child decorate a paper cup for the burrow. When the paint is dry, poke a hole in the bottom of the cup.
Cut a quarter-sized circle from the felt to make a head for the puppet. Your child can draw the face on with the marker.
Help your child glue the groundhog head onto the craft stick. Turn the cup upside down and push the bottom of the stick into the hole you made in the cup. Your child can push the stick up from the inside of the cup to make the groundhog pop up.
Find Me in the Snow
This activity will help your child develop the visual discriminatory skills she needs for reading. Be sure to use this opportunity to talk about camouflage and how it can protect an animal. You can use either magazine clippings or make your own animal outline shapes from white bond paper.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 10 minutes
Scissors
White bond paper
White craft glue
1 sheet white poster board
Cut the shapes of a number of white animals (polar bear, lemming, snow hare) from the paper and glue to the poster board.
Challenge your child to find the animals hiding in the snow.
Penguin Walk
This is fun way to learn a little about penguins and help your child develop large motor skills at the same time.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 30–40 months
Duration of activity: 10 minutes
Small beach ball
Help your child place the beach ball between her knees. Challenge her to keep the ball there while walking across the room. Once she masters this, have her hold her arms out to completely imitate a penguin.
Teach her the following song to go along with the walk. It is sung to the tune of “I’m a Little Teapot”: I’m a little penguin, oh so bold.
I live where it’s very cold.
I can waddle fast and walk on ice.
I think cold is very nice.
Hibernation Party
Here is a fun and concrete way to teach your child about hibernation.
Activity for an individual child or a group
Age group: 30–40 months
Duration of activity: 30 minutes
Snack food
Blankets and pillows
Explain to your child that today you are going to pretend to be bears and hibernate.
In order to have energy, you need to eat well before hibernating. Serve the child a nice snack.
Have your child help you set up a cozy bear den. You can do this by draping a blanket over a table. Use extra pillows and blankets to make the den comfortable.
Turn out the lights and encourage your child to curl up inside the den and pretend to sleep.
After a short time, turn on the lights and announce that spring is here! When bears emerge from their de
n, they do a lot of stretching. They may even be a bit hungry again!
Springtime
Springtime is a time of change. Consider taking your toddler for a walk to observe the first signs of spring. Look for budding trees, birds returning from the south, the first signs of early flowers such as crocuses, and more.
Wind Sock
When your child is done with this project, be sure to hang it somewhere it can catch the wind.
Do not be surprised if your child wants to make more than one.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 20 minutes
Crayons or markers
1 large sheet poster board
Masking tape
Hole punch
Yarn or twine
Crepe or tissue paper
Have your child use crayons or markers to decorate both sides of the poster board.
Roll the board into a cylinder and tape it securely on the edges.
Punch a hole at one end and attach a yarn loop for hanging.
Let your toddler tape strips of the crepe or tissue paper to the other end.
Blossom Trees
Although they will not smell as nice as real flowering trees, you will be surprised how realistic these trees look. If you don’t want to use popcorn, you can have your child make little blossoms by crumpling up small pieces of tissue paper or Kleenex.
Activity for an individual child or a group
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
Brown crayon
Light-colored construction paper
White craft glue
1 cup popped popcorn
Have your child use the crayon to draw a tree trunk and branches on the paper.
Show your child how to glue the popcorn on the branches to make the blossoms. It works best if he puts a dab of glue on the paper rather than on the popcorn kernel.
Soufflé Flowers
This simple activity results in a craft with a nice fragrance that lasts a long time.
Perhaps your child will want to make a whole bouquet.
Activity for an individual child or a group
Age group: 30–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
Paper baking cups or mini soufflé cups
Watercolor paints
Paintbrush
Perfume
Cotton ball
White craft glue
Pipe cleaner
Show your toddler how to open and spread the baking cups out.
Let your toddler paint the cups.
Help your child dab a small amount of perfume onto the cotton ball. When the paint is dry, he can glue the ball into the center of the flower.
Help your child attach the pipe cleaner to make a stem for the flower.
Egg-Carton Tulips
This creative craft can be used for a festive centerpiece.
Activity for an individual child or a group
Age group: 30–40 months
Duration of activity: 25 minutes
Scissors
Egg carton (cardboard works better than Styrofoam)
Paintbrush
Tempera paint
Pipe cleaners or chenille sticks
Cut the carton into individual egg cups.
Let your toddler paint the cups.
When the paint is dry, use the scissors to poke a small hole in the bottom of the cups.
Thread a pipe cleaner through each one. Pull enough of each into the center to twist a small loop. This will keep it secure as a stem and create a little stamen. Always be sure that there are no sharp wires on the ends of the pipe cleaners.
Summer Activities
Here are a few activities to celebrate summertime. Remember that the most valuable way for your toddler to learn about summertime is through experience. Take the time to watch clouds roll by, go for a walk in a meadow, or drink homemade lemonade under the shade of a big tree.
Sunflowers
This cheery craft will brighten up any summer day.
Children seem drawn to these giants of the flower world.
Activity for an individual child or a group
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
Marker
Brown, yellow, and green construction paper
Scissors
White craft glue
Sunflower seeds
Draw a circle on the brown paper and the outline of eight yellow triangles on the yellow paper. Make the circle as big or small as you want the sunflower to be. Size the triangles so that side by side, they will go all the way around the circle. Cut a stem from the green paper.
Either cut the shapes out yourself, or assist your child in doing so.
Show your child how to glue the pieces together to create a flower. When the flower is dry, she can glue on the sunflower seeds in the middle.
Sun on a Stick
This project makes a cute decoration to place into a potted plant.
It can also be used as a puppet or a hand-held fan.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
Scissors
2 paper plates
Yellow and orange tempera paint or crayons
White craft glue
Craft stick
Cut a big circle from the center of one paper plate.
Have your child paint or color the circle orange. Have her paint or color the intact plate yellow.
Help your child glue the orange circle onto the yellow plate.
Glue the craft stick onto the bottom to serve as a handle.
Everlasting Sand Castle
Bring the beach home with this unique craft activity.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 20 minutes
4 cups sand
2 cups cornstarch
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
3 cups hot water
Mix all ingredients together and let cool.
Your child can use the mixture to build a castle by hand, or she can use shallow plastic containers for molds. Coat the containers with Vaseline before using.
Give the castle three days to dry.
Flowery Window Clings
Decorate any sunny window with this easy project.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
Scissors
Clear contact paper
Flower blossoms and leaves
Cut 4 squares of clear contact paper.
Help your child place flower blossoms and leaves on the sticky side of the paper. Leave enough of the contact paper uncovered that it will stick to the window.
Carefully pick up the squares and press on the window.
When you choose to take the flowers off the window, you can remove the excess adhesive with nail-polish remover.
CHAPTER 17
Holiday Activities
Holidays are special times when ordinary routines are broken and there are new foods, visitors, and activities. The excitement can be overwhelming for young children. Although you want a holiday to be fun for your young child, remember that he may need some quiet one-on-one time with you. Take some time out of your hectic schedule to try one of these activities with him.
New Year’s Day
Your young child will probably be fast asleep long before the clock strikes midnight. But she can still participate in some of the festivities. This is a great time to talk to her about the passage of time.
New Year’s Noisemakers
Your child will enjoy making noise and helping to celebrate the new year
without having to stay up until midnight.
Activity for an individual child
&nb
sp; Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 10 minutes
Pencil
Toilet paper tube
Scissors
Waxed paper
Masking tape
Crayons
Use the pencil to poke three holes on one side of the tube. Make holes in a straight line and leave at least 1 between them.
Cut a square of waxed paper large enough to cover the opening of the tube. Help your child secure the waxed paper over the end of the tube nearest the hole with a long piece of masking tape.
Let your child decorate the horn with crayons. Show her how to blow into the horn to make noise.
New Year’s Party Hat
You can adapt this basic craft and let your child make a hat for any special occasion.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
2 sheets construction paper in bright colors
Stapler
Crayons
Scissors
Glitter
White craft glue
Place the two pieces of paper together lengthwise so that they overlap by ½. Staple them together.
Roll the paper into a cone, making sure that the bottom is wide enough to fit your child’s head. Overlap the paper at the seam and mark seam with a crayon.