Welcome Back! In December the toddlers worked on holiday projects which required painting, coloring and peeling off the back of stickers.  As I thought about what projects we might do for the rest of the year, I began to wonder what parents do at home with their children. Does your child have a chance to paint at home? Do you get out the glue and let your child choose shapes or pictures to stick onto a piece of paper? Maybe it doesn’t seem that easy at home to get items for art or maybe you have a great idea you’d like to share.  I noticed before the holidays how much the children enjoyed working on our projects. Some children wanted to make a card every day. Toddlers love repetition. It’s part of their learning process.

In the classroom, a child might paint every day the minute he/she walks in the door of the classroom for two solid weeks.  This is a time for that child to absorb what he/she is doing. Maybe the child is learning how to hold the paintbrush better each day, or maybe the child figured out how to make circles. The child makes circles over and over every day. The concept may seem simple to us as adults but for toddlers learning how to make their hands do what they want them to do is something they work on every day.  Building those fine motor skills comes in many forms. From holding trays to setting the table, the muscles in your child’s hands are getting stronger. Using art is a creative way to strengthen those small muscles.

So, I thought I’d share some of our ideas we use in the classroom in hopes that you may share some of your ideas too.  If you’d like to share a project with us, please write your ideas under comments. Keep in mind that with older children we can usually do more with them. We may have to modify for the younger children. Also, if a project doesn’t turn out exactly how you wanted, that’s okay. It’s the process that matters not the product or end result.

• Painting with toilet paper rolls

Materials:

Paper

Toilet paper roll

Paint

Paper plate

Smock or old t-shirt

Pour paint onto the paper plate. Let the child hold the toilet paper roll. Dip the roll in paint. Let the child stamp the paint onto paper. For younger children you may want to use less paint on the paper plate. You may have to show them what to do a few times.

Variation: Squeeze one end of the toilet paper tube into the shape of a heart. Use pink or red paint and make hearts for Valentine’s Day.

• Gluing

Materials:

Elmer’s glue

Small paper plate

Pre-cut triangle shapes

Paper

Paint brush

Note: Using real glue is better than glue sticks because Elmer’s glue will stick better after the project dries. Also, from experience, some children think glue sticks are Chap Stick. Just an observation I thought I’d share.

Put a few dabs of glue on the paper plate. Show the child how to put the paint brush in the glue, and then paint the paper with glue. Next, set the paintbrush on the edge or side of the plate. Show the child how to put the triangles on the paper one at a time and pat the shapes on so they stick to the glue.

Variations: Use shapes, different color paper, old Christmas cards, tissue paper for older children, scraps of old fabric or ribbon, or cotton balls.

This is an easy way to make holiday decorations for the house by cutting the paper used into any shape you want. (Tree, heart, four leaf clover)

Well, enjoy making art with your toddlers. It can be such a fun experience. And, don’t forget, I’d love to hear your ideas.

Sincerely,

Kristy

Image Credit: Google Image