Craft Ideas for Toddlers
Your toddler is very active and likes to play and get into things. Sometimes this may be frustrating for you as a parent, but you can also use it to your advantage. Get your toddler to put some of his energy into making crafts, decorations, and gifts for extended family.
There are many things around the house that you wouldn’t think of as crafty. There are also several things you can buy. You should always keep a few “staples” on hand to help you in your various art projects with your toddler.
- crayons
- kids scissors
- glue
- paint
- markers
- construction paper
When you are going about your normal everyday life, think about items that you are throwing away and consider if you could save it to use for crafts. Good items to save are toilet paper and paper towel rolls, empty metal cans, and boxes that your dried foods, like cereal and instant mashed potatoes come in.
The toilet paper and paper towel rolls can be used to make various things your child can play with including “people”. Your toddler can color the entire roll, with your help cover it in construction paper, or just leave it as it comes. They can draw eyes and clothes on it. With your help and a little yarn they could glue “hair to the top of it. They can also decorate the outside of the roll, you can help them glue paper on the ends and put some rice or beads inside that they can then shake, creating their own little noise maker. For some reason it is always the toys that make noise that kids love.
Once you clean them out and remove any sharp edges, you can teach your child how to make an old “phone” with two empty cans and a string. You can also let your child decorate cans, buy some soil and seeds for them and let them plant their own plants. This is a good gift idea for holidays to relatives and friends from your child as well.
You can take empty boxes, and let your toddler decorate them, help them write their name on them and use them as storage for the various supplies you have bought and keep on hand for their crafts. Having their own special place to keep their supplies, that THEY made themselves, may encourage even the shyest of toddler into doing crafts with you.
One last idea is to get some paint sticks like the ones they give you at Home Depot or Walmart when you buy paint that helps you mix it up at home, and some narrow crepe paper. If you can’t find the narrow you can always buy the wider ones and cut them in half. 1-2 inches wide is perfect. You can help your toddler glue one end of crepe paper about 2-3 feet long onto one end of the stick. Your toddler will love this craft as they can run around, holding the opposite end of the stick, and the crepe paper will fly behind them in the air.
Don’t forget about finger painting for your toddler! It is easy and quick and can often be a sanity saver when you are busy cleaning the house or doing other chores. Unlike when we were kids, they now have easily washable paints for finger painting and crafts.
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