The Everything Toddler Activities Book (24 page)

1. Let your child color the front of the plates. She can draw in a face for the spider if she wishes.
   
2. Punch a hole in the center of one of the plates. Knot the end and thread the yarn through the hole from front to back. This will be used to hang the spider.
   
3. Help your child glue the black strips onto the back of one plate. These are the spider’s legs—they should be evenly spaced and should stick out past the rim of the plate.
   
4. Glue the two plates together back to back to complete the spider.
   

Masks can be particularly frightening for a young child, who may not recognize the transformed face as someone she knows and may not understand that the transformation is temporary. This activity may help your child overcome any fear, but if she is reluctant to wear the mask, don’t force her.

1. Cut wide holes in the paper plate to make eyes and a mouth.
   
2. Have your child decorate the back of the plate to create a face.
   
3. Glue the craft stick onto the bottom to serve as a handle. Your child can then hold up the mask to her face. Let her see herself in a mirror.
   

Your toddler will enjoy making this unusual craft.

1. Pour some glue into the shallow bowl.
   
2. Show your child how to dip each noodle individually into the glue. Have her hold the noodle over the bowl to let any excess glue drip off.
   
3. Let her arrange the noodles onto the waxed paper in her version of a cobweb design.
   
4. When the design is dry, you can lift it off the paper and hang it from the ceiling.
   

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.

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.

1. Dissolve the Epsom salts in the beer. It should foam. Let this sit for ½ hour before using.
   
2. While you are waiting, clean off a window that your toddler can easily reach.
   
3. Your child can dip the sponge into the mixture and swirl it onto the window.
   
4. Pat the designs gently with wet tissues or paper towels.
   
5. When the painting dries, the salt crystals will sparkle, giving the window a frosted appearance.
   

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.

1. Pour the paint into the pie tin.
   
2. Have your child arrange the doilies on the paper and paint over them to create snowflake patterns. Remove and discard the doilies.
   
3. 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.
   

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.

1. Make a tray of ice cubes. Freeze each cube with a craft stick sticking in so that you have a square Popsicle.
   
2. Let your child sprinkle the powdered paint on the paper.
   
3. Show your child how to use the ice cube on a stick as a paintbrush. The colors will swirl as the ice melts.
   

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.

Show your child how to fill the bucket with snow. Have him dump and mold a castle from snow.

Your child will enjoy watching the colors run as he learns a little bit about science, too.

1. Mix 1 tablespoon of salt with a few drops of food coloring and put into a paper cup. Repeat process for different colors.
   
2. Place the ice in the pie tin.
   
3. 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.
   

Young children are usually fascinated by animals. When you talk to your child about hibernation, share information about the habits of animals but also about the basic needs of both animals and people. How do we stay warm in the winter? Do we need to rest?

Here’s a cute puppet variation. Your child may want to create an entire story
around the groundhog that she creates.

1. Have your child decorate a paper cup for the burrow. When the paint is dry, poke a hole in the bottom of the cup.
   
2. 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.
   
3. 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.
   

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.

1. Cut the shapes of a number of white animals (polar bear, lemming, snow hare) from the paper and glue to the poster board.
   
2. Challenge your child to find the animals hiding in the snow.
   

This is fun way to learn a little about penguins and help your child develop large motor skills at the same time.

1. 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.
   
2. 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.
   

Here is a fun and concrete way to teach your child about hibernation.

1. Explain to your child that today you are going to pretend to be bears and hibernate.
   
2. In order to have energy, you need to eat well before hibernating. Serve the child a nice snack.
   
3. 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.
   
4. Turn out the lights and encourage your child to curl up inside the den and pretend to sleep.
   
5. After a short time, turn on the lights and announce that spring is here! When bears emerge from their den, they do a lot of stretching. They may even be a bit hungry again!
   

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.

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.

1. Have your child use crayons or markers to decorate both sides of the poster board.
   
2. Roll the board into a cylinder and tape it securely on the edges.
   
3. Punch a hole at one end and attach a yarn loop for hanging.
   
4. Let your toddler tape strips of the crepe or tissue paper to the other end.
   

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.

1. Have your child use the crayon to draw a tree trunk and branches on the paper.
   
2. 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.
   

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.

1. Show your toddler how to open and spread the baking cups out.
   
2. Let your toddler paint the cups.
   
3. 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.
   
4. Help your child attach the pipe cleaner to make a stem for the flower.
   

This creative craft can be used for a festive centerpiece.

1. Cut the carton into individual egg cups.
   
2. Let your toddler paint the cups.
   
3. When the paint is dry, use the scissors to poke a small hole in the bottom of the cups.
   
4. 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.