Month: January 2020

Contact Collage

Leave a comment

Contact Collage (7)

Sticky contact paper might just be the perfect medium for art projects with toddlers; everything sticks instantly but there’s no glue required (i.e. no mess and no drying time). This particular project also incorporates great ways to talk about shapes, build vocabulary, and more.

To start, I taped a piece of contact paper up to the wall, and peeled off the backing so the sticky side faced Veronika. You can make this surface as small or as large as you want. Feel free to cover the full length of a wall! Veronika trotted over and was quite curious about the way the paper stuck to her fingertips.

Contact Collage (2)

I gave her a pile of things to stick up on the paper, including pictures cut from magazines and fabric scraps in various textures, everything from soft cotton to bumpy burlap to fuzzy felt.

Contact Collage (1)

She immediately began sticking things up, declaring, “Sticker, sticker!”

Contact Collage (3)

I let her select which items to put on where. The magazine pictures interested her far more than the fabric to begin with, and I said the name of each item (“dog!”) as she applied it.

Contact Collage (5)

For a little learning, I cut some of the fabric scraps into squares and others into triangles. I also pointed out the different textures as she hung them, using descriptive words for how each one felt.

Contact Collage (6)

She was so proud arranging and rearranging her canvas. Although the magazine pictures were stuck in place, the fabric could be pulled off and moved elsewhere.

Contact Collage (7)

My girl looked so big, standing at her artwork. This one really made me feel like I have a toddler, no longer a baby.

Contact Collage (8)

What a masterpiece!

Contact Collage (9)

Crumple Crazy

Leave a comment

Crumple Crazy (4)

Glue + crinkly tissue paper? This art project is a toddler’s dream come true!

To make a glue solution that isn’t quite so sticky, I first mixed a little white glue with a splash of water in each compartment of a paint tray. This turned into a nice solution that was just sticky enough, but wouldn’t immediately do damage if Veronika got it on her hands or face.

Crumple Crazy (1)

She was wild about dipping a paint brush into it! I showed her how to smear the gluey mixture over cardboard. (Note: Use any piece of cardboard from packaging for this project, or an old cereal box, or even sturdy construction paper).

Crumple Crazy (3)

Next, I tore off pieces of white tissue paper and showed her how to crumple them into little pieces. These could stick perfectly onto her gluey cardboard. Could we hide all the glue?

Crumple Crazy (5)

It turns out that she loved lifting off the crumpled pieces, pulling them off the sticky surface and then putting them right back on again. Or tossing them to the floor!

Crumple Crazy (6)

Once there had been enough sticky glue play, the fun continued with extra tissue paper on the ground. Shake the pieces overhead, or crumple them close to the ear and talk about the sound it makes.

Crumple Crazy (7)

I thought for sure she would want to tear the tissue paper up, but that didn’t interest her. Instead, we crumpled them into tight balls that were great for tossing… and kicking!

Crumple Crazy (8)

How will your toddler play with tissue paper? Please share in the comments!

Doll Up Storytelling

Leave a comment

Doll Up Storytelling (6)

Travis has such an imagination, a beautiful thing to foster in children, especially when it comes to understanding narrative and how to build a story. Lately, Travis has bemoaned that he’s not sure what to play with his action figures, having run through the usual games. To engage those storytelling muscles, I pulled out this neat activity.

We filled a box with a few odds and ends from around the house, the more random the better, including toy food, swords, real avocado, and sunglasses.

Doll Up Storytelling (2)

Next we made a pile of a few action figures, everyone from Star Wars characters to ninja turtles to superheroes. (Note: This game works equally well with dolls or stuffed animals, whatever friends your child plays with the most!).

Doll Up Storytelling (1)

Travis and I took turns first selecting a character and then giving him or her an item from the object box. We then took turns narrating the next part of our story based on the character and item.

Things rapidly got very silly, of course, including energy smoothies drunk before battle…

 

Doll Up Storytelling (5)

…sunglasses to shield off an attack…

Doll Up Storytelling (3)

…and laser-blasting keys.

Doll Up Storytelling (4)

Once the bin was empty, we immediately filled it with a new set of objects to continue the tale.

Doll Up Storytelling (8)

Hopefully a game like this keeps your kids busy the next time they’re tempted to say, “I don’t know what to play!”

Doll Up Storytelling (7)

Tea Party Dough

Leave a comment

Tea Party Dough (6)

Veronika adores her two dollies these days (or as she happily says, “Baby!”). So I thought today I’d set up a tea party for her and the dolls. This super-sugary dough can really be eaten, adding a new dimension to the pretend party!

To prepare the dough, stir together 1 cup almond butter (or peanut butter), 1 cup corn syrup, 1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar, and 1 and 1/2 cups powdered milk. For a vegan alternative to the milk, I used a bag of vanilla protein powder I had on hand, which worked perfectly as a substitute. The dough comes together great, neither sticky nor gooey!

Tea Party Dough (!)

I set out tea cups and plates and made sure to serve everyone.

Tea Party Dough (3)

Veronika immediately leaped into the pretend play, helping to feed the dollies.

Tea Party Dough (2)

She was quite pleased when she realized the dough tasted delicious.

Tea Party Dough (4)

Candles were a wonderful addition to our play. I showed her how she could put them in the dough. It was far more fun to pull them out, of course.

Tea Party Dough (8)

And she tried to feed the candles to the dollies as little treats!

Tea Party Dough (7)

We also used cookie cutters, pressing fun shapes into the dough.

Tea Party Dough (5)

In sum, I love that she’s now at an age where sensory play and imaginative play are starting to intersect.

Bucket of Balls

Leave a comment

Bucket of Balls (6)

While big brother and I were playing math games with balls, I tailored some ball play to Veronika. The set-up? Just grab a bucket and fill it with a variety of balls; that’s it!

From there, I had no agenda for her (like past games that worked on gross motor skills or vocab) but was interested instead to see what she would be inspired to do with this simple set-up.

Bucket of Balls (1)

First she dug through, pulling out the balls in turn. Then it was so much fun to upend the bucket and watch the balls go rolling.

Bucket of Balls (2)

I helped her scamper after the balls so we could add them back in one at a time with a “plink”!

Bucket of Balls (4)

Of course the bucket itself was a toy, too.

Bucket of Balls (3)

As she played, I did chime in with a few words about the texture of each ball. Some were squishy, some were hard, and there was lots of color variation to discuss, too.

The bumpy one on her belly was the most fun of all!

Bucket of Balls (5)

Have a Ball with Math

Leave a comment

Ball with Math (1)

Travis has shown a keen interest in numbers and basic math lately. So today we had a ball (literally!), playing games that played around with numbers and worked his gross motor skills.

First up, we played backwards toss. Toss a ball back and forth, but instead of counting up each catch, count down. This is a great way to introduce the idea of subtraction, even before a child is ready for equations. Touchdown!

Ball with Math (2)

Next we returned to counting up, but used skip counting. He loved grasping how the numbers went from 5 to 10 to 15 to 20 and so forth up to 100. Plus I noticed improvement in his hand-eye coordination even over the course of a few rounds!

After school, we played a kicking game. I cut three holes in a piece of cardboard, each hole worth different points, again using skip-counting by 5s.

Ball with Math (3)

Travis was in charge of the tally!

Ball with Math (5)

I showed him how to make tally marks in bundles of 5, which we then totted up to find out our final scores.

Ball with Math (4)

Score one for the math team!

Chick’n Salad

1 Comment

Chicken Salad

This easy, creamy vegan chick’n dish is super easy, and super versatile.

Ingredients: 

  • 9 ounces Gardein chick’n
  • 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
  • 1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise
  1. Cook the chick’n according to package directions; finely chop or shred.
  2. Stir together the chicken, blueberries, and mayo in a large bowl.

Note: You can also use freeze-dried blueberries in the recipe, as I did with a later variation. Sprinkle in about 2 tablespoons instead of 1/2 cup fresh.

Chickn Salad alt

You can serve a dollop of the salad plain, or tuck it into a pita pocket for a quick lunch.

Chicken Salad var

Or spoon it into soft, cooked celery sticks for a variation on ants on a log.

Chicken Salad bis

My 1 year old and 5 year old love it best served alongside circle crackers!

Chicken Salad (2)

Chocolate Crackles

Leave a comment

Chocolate Crackles (2)

These sweet small treats are great if your kids need an afternoon pick-me-up: sugary enough to taste decadent, but with a few “good for you” ingredients thrown in.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups rice-crisp cereal
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 3/4 cup shredded coconut
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons coconut oil
  1. Combine all the ingredients except the coconut oil in a large bowl.
  2. Melt the coconut oil and drizzle over the dry ingredients, then mix well.
  3. Divide the mixture evenly among 30 mini muffin cups (alternatively, just press into mini cupcake liners and place on a tray). Refrigerate for 30 minutes to set.

Chocolate Crackles (1)

 

Mark and Erase Pictures

Leave a comment

Mark and Erase (5)

Veronika loves to color now, especially whenever she sees her older brother doing coloring book pages. As a result, we’re quickly running out of white printer paper, as I give her sheet after sheet to scribble on. Here’s a great way to let your toddler draw over and over, without the waste!

I drew shapes and easy lines to follow on a few sheets of white paper, then slipped them into plastic lamination pouches.

Mark and Erase (2)

Veronika immediately began using markers on the plastic pouches. It fascinated her that there were already colors and shapes there to see, as she scribbled busily over them.

Mark and Erase (4)

I demonstrated how she could follow along over my easy shapes, either with the same color or a different one. Obviously she’s way too young for this kind of pen control, but you can introduce the concept now, and then it becomes a game that will grow with your child.

Mark and Erase (3)

When the pages were filled with her scribbles, I simple wiped clean with a damp paper towel. Now the fun could begin all over again, no wasted paper! I’m definitely going to bring along a couple sheets like this the next time we’re in a restaurant, too.

Mark and Erase (6)

DIY Lift the Flap Book

Leave a comment

DIY Lift Flap (7)

If your toddler is at all like Veronika, then a) any lift-the-flap books you have in the house are dearly loved and b) the flaps have all been torn apart! Here’s a simple hack to make your own lift the flap book. All you need are post-its and board books.

Any kind of “First Words” book works particularly well for this game since there are lots of individual pictures to cover up. Technically, though, you could play it with any book on your child’s shelf!

DIY Lift Flap (1)

For variety, I left some of the post-it notes as full squares, and cut others into smaller squares or rectangles.

DIY Lift Flap (2)

Now simply let your child turn the pages (working those fine motor skills) and talk about the pictures he or she discovers as each post-it is ripped off (working those language skills)!

DIY Lift Flap (9)

A note of caution: You might want to avoid books that make noises. Veronika was so sidetracked by a cat meowing that she lost interest in the flaps for a while!

DIY Lift Flap (5)

But once she discovered the post-it notes could be pulled off, they were a hit.

DIY Lift Flap (3)

Plus she figured out they could double as “stickers“.

DIY Lift Flap (8)

This was a simple and novel way to engage a reluctant reader at storytime, and I highly recommend it.

DIY Lift Flap (6)