1. Find a large box with a lid, such as a copy paper box. In the center of the lid, draw a circle that is quite a bit bigger than the ball you will toss, with Crayola® Markers. Ask an adult to cut out the circle to create a hole.

The Toddler Room –

Craft & Art Ideas for Little Hands and Big Imaginations

**Some crafts may require Hot Glue and other potentially dangerous items – please ensure appropriate supervision when crafting with your toddler!**

Make Chunky Crayons for small hands

Recycling beat-up old crayons into new, “choose your shape” toddler crayons. Talk about the texture (smooth, bumpy) and the myriad of colours along with how good it is to reuse/recycle.

This project must be supervised carefully. This activity requires melting crayons in the oven, please use extreme caution!

Peel the crayons then put crayons into an old muffin tin. If you need to use a good pan, put in a triple layer of cupcake liners. Fill 1/3 to 1/2 full.

You can try to put similar colors into each section, or mix for a swirl effect. Here is a good opportunity to talk about colors, and see if your child can match the reds, blues etc.

Bake in the oven at 200 degrees F. for about 10 minutes, or until the wax has softened and melted together. WARNING! keep hot wax out of children’s reach!

Let cool completely for “muffin shape” chunky crayons- pop them out, and start coloring! OR when slightly warm yet pliable to the touch, pop out the crayon “muffins” and reshape into whatever you fancy. The freezer speeds the process nicely.

Tissue Paper Painting –

Our kids LOVE to paint with glue instead of using glue sticks or glue squeeze bottles.

What You Need

glue
water
shallow plastic cup/dish
paintbrushes
tissue paper

How To Make It
mix glue with water to dilute the glue
glue torn bits of coloured tissue paper to the pictures  by using a paintbrush and
the glue to paint over tissue paper bits.

Using glue like this is great for small kids and also dries very nicely!

Playdough

(2 recipes)

A GREAT learning tool! Talk about the colours and the texture. Make shapes and have your toddler name the shapes – circles, faces, balls, animals etc..

What You Need
2 cups flour
1 cup salt
Water
Oil, optional (if you no not want it to harden)
Medium sized mixing bowl
Spoon
Food colouring

How To Make It
Mix the flour, salt, and water in a bowl. Add food colouring as desired
Add a small amount of oil if you do not want the play dough to harden.
Knead the play dough a little and watch the kids have fun.

World’s Best Playdough
Katie Bradley
What You Need

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup salt
1 Tblsp. cream of tartar
1/2 Tblsp. oil
1 cup water
1 small package kool-aid (for great color and smell)

How To Make It
Mix all ingredients in a sauce pan. Cook over med heat, stirring constantly until you can no longer stir. It will look like a clumpy mess! Turn out on counter top an let cool enough to handle. Knead into a smooth ball. Store in an air tight container.

Pudding Paint

Instant vanilla pudding
Food coloring

Mix pudding according to directions. Add food coloring for desired color. Finger paint on paper plates. This is wonderfully edible.

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Homemade Water Colors

What You Need

1 Tbsp. White vinegar; 1 1/2 Tbsp. Baking soda; 1 Tbsp. Cornstarch; 1/2 tsp. Glycerin; Food coloring

How To Make It

Mix vinegar and baking soda in small bowl & allow foaming. After foaming stops, add cornstarch and glycerin. Stir well (up to a couple of minutes). Portion the mixture into a paint palette, muffin tin or similar container and add food coloring. Make the colors dark since drying & use will lighten them. Allow watercolors to dry in a warm place for several hours or overnight. Makes 1 set of Watercolors.

Kool-Aid Finger Paint

What You Need
2 Cups Flour; 2 pkgs. Unsweetened Kool-Aid; 1/2 Cup Salt; 3 Cups Boiling water; 3 Tbsp. Oil

How To Make It
Mix wet into dry. The kids love the color change. Then finger-paint away.

Goop
What You Need

2 cups salt, 2/3 cup water, 1 cup cornstarch 1/2 cup cold water. Food colouring as desired

How To Make It
Mix 2 cups salt and 2/3 cup water, heat for 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and quickly add mixture of: 1 cup cornstarch and 1/2 cup cold water. Stir quickly. Return to heat briefly if too “goopy”.

Another great way to talk about shapes, colours and textures!