Month: August 2020

Glue Printing

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Glue Printing (8)

Caution: This project is messy! But toddlers love a mess and this catered right to Veronika’s impulse for arts & crafts this morning.

Instead of using an ink pad for stamps, the idea is to use glue as the “ink”. I gave Veronika a paper plate filled with white glue, and then I set out a few items that we could dip into it.

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I included a fish-shaped sponge, a block wrapped in string, and a cut apple. The small block was by far the easiest for her to dip in the glue and lift up, then transfer onto paper and press down.

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The larger items turned out to be tricky; they had a tendency to stick in the glue, and were tough for her to pull up without assistance!

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Next time I would use much smaller objects, like a sponge cut into little squares, or slices of an apple. But with some mommy help, we managed to dip the items in our glue “ink” and then transfer to paper.

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To make the prints more apparent, sprinkle with glitter. This was definitely Veronika’s favorite part, shaking a container of large glitter over the paper and watching it pour down on her creation.

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Shake off any excess glitter and let dry. I confess you couldn’t really discern the shapes of the prints we’d made, but it was still a fun and colorful piece of toddler art.

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Out at the Park Math

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Out at Park Math (11)

It’s never too early to start talking math with a toddler, yes even for those under age 2. The perfect place to do it? At the playground!

Chances are you’re going to be at a playground anyway, so why not throw in a little math? Once you start looking, you’ll realize just how many shapes there are to talk about. Today with Veronika, we found everything from the obvious, like a neat set of squares to climb…

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…or a circle wheel to drive…

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…to the subtle. There were tiny circles in the platform beneath her feet, for example, or rectangles outlined in the rungs of a ladder.

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Playgrounds are also great places to teach the concept of counting. “How many times can you go down the slide?” I asked her. With each whoosh down, we counted. One time! Two times! Three times!

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Or count the steps your toddler climbs, the bars on the monkey bars, the number of swings…

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…or the keys on a giant xylophone (and hey, more rectangles)!

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This simple game is a great way to make math an everyday concept for your little one.

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Bow and Arrow

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Bow and Arrow (4)

I’ve tried to make this simple bow and arrow with Travis before, but every time we try I realize I don’t have the right size dowel! The first time, our dowels were too thick. Today, they were honestly too thin, but we managed to make it work. Ideally, look for craft dowels that are 3/16 of an inch. Don’t have any dowels? You might try this craft stick version instead.

In addition to being very thin, the dowel we had on hand was very long, so we only needed one piece. If you’re using craft dowels, secure two together tightly with duct tape, overlapping the ends a bit.

Use additional tape to wrap near each edge, winding until it’s about a 1/2-inch thick. Travis loved the challenge of this step! We used Washi tape, but duct tape would work, too.

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Cut a string that is a bit longer than the dowel(s). Secure with a knot just above the tape on one end, then pull tight against the dowel and secure at the other end. This is your bowstring.

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For harmless arrows, we used straws. Cut a notch in one end so you can hook it onto the bowstring. Travis wanted to add a marshmallow to the front of each arrow. Here at Camp Mom, why not!

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It took a few tries before Travis was able to make the arrow fly forward, but he was so proud once he was successful.

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This is a great craft for a summer day at home.

 

Auditioning All Dolls

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Veronika loves her doll toys and frequently plays with them solo, but today we devoted some time to focus on doll play together. Some of our games were familiar to her, but I threw in some new activities, too!

First I simply set out all the doll accessories around her, and encouraged her to play. She loves to dress the dolls (and undress them!)…

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…and to do diaper changes and feed them. Beyond merely mirroring adults in their lives, children build empathy when they care for dolls or other toys in this way.

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Now it was time for something new! I read her a favorite story (Sleeping Beauty), and after we read each page, I encouraged her to act it out with the dolls. She loved rocking the baby when Princess Aurora is born.

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And dancing the babies at the ball.

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And then rescuing them with a kiss!

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Paper dolls are another great toy, in general, but Veronika is still too young for the regular version. The perfect toddler alternative? Magnet dress-up dolls! I showed her a new magnet set, featuring two dolls and lots of clothes and accessories that can be mixed and matched. She immediately loved playing fashionista.

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Dolls were also great for talking about body parts. “Where is the girl’s arm?” I asked her. “Where is her hair?” And of course there will be lots of clothing vocabulary, too.

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To tie it all together, I drew her the outline of a few fancy dresses from the Sleeping Beauty book.

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She colored these in (with a little mommy help).

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Then we dressed the magnet dolls in these cut-out dresses!

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Footprint T-shirt

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Big brother Travis is off at camp, and Veronika misses him! Here was a fun way to have her do something special for him while he was gone, plus fit in some arts & crafts.

We used an old tie-dyed t-shirt for this project, but you can also purchase a plain white t-shirt from the dollar store.

I sat Veronika on a chair and painted the sole of her foot with fabric paint. No doubt your toddler will giggle at how this tickles! Press firmly onto the shirt.

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You can make as many prints as you like, whether just one front and center, all over the shirt, or anything in between. We thought it looked cute with three footprints marching across the shirt, each in a different color, like a little trail walking somewhere.

Veronika proudly added a few extra dots of fabric paint with a paintbrush, and then we set it aside to dry.

Easy Elevator

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Easy Elevator (9)

Travis extended some recent science fun about the notions of push and pull with this cute elevator craft. Use a leftover Kiwi Crate (or any similar shoebox) as the shaft of the elevator. Cut two strips from the lid of the box, one wider and one narrower. Bend them so there are flaps at either end and then glue together so the narrower strip nests above the wider strip; this will be your elevator car.

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Now punch holes in the top of the car with a pen, near each edge. Cut a piece of string that is twice as long as the shoebox and loop it through the holes; secure with a knot at the top.

Use a pen to punch two holes in the shoebox, near the top as it is standing upright. Insert a dowel.

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Tape the string on the elevator car to the dowel. Your elevator is ready to rise! Now when you twist one way, the elevator goes up. Simply twist the other way for descent!

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Of course Travis immediately needed to add little figures for some play. He wanted to make pom pom people, so we hot-glued wiggle eyes onto tiny pom poms.

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And of course his Lego people needed to go for a ride!

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That meant this was not only a great STEM craft, but also a great prop for imaginative play.

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Tension Kiwi Crate

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Kiwi Tension final

This month’s crate for Travis from Kiwi Co was all about push and pull. Between puppets to push and turtles to pull, there was lots of hands-on fun in this one.

First up were the Push Puppets. Travis helped rig together a base that relies on tension, meaning lots of wooden pieces held together by rubber bands, nuts, and bolts.

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To assemble the puppets, thread one end of the provided elastic through a hole in the wood base, and then layer on three wooden beads. These look like little people: a body, a head, and a hat!

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Two sticky wiggle eyes complete each person. Pushing on the wooden lever now releases the tension on the elastic, and the puppets fall flat.

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Needless to say, Travis thought this was a riot! We could add the provided backdrops for little puppet shows that took place at the beach or in the moonlight.

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He colored his own background of a big hairy spider on the blank sheet of paper. Oh no, the puppets fell down in fear!

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Next up were Woven Turtles. This was the crafty Art part of STEAM for this crate, with a turtle shell to weave from yarn on a wood frame. This project came right on the heels of several other weaving activities we’ve done this summer, so Travis is becoming more dexterous at the motion.

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It was a lot of yarn, though, so he still needed me to take over! The fully woven shell is then adhered to a foam cut-out of a turtle, with a nut and bolt to fasten things in place.

 

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Travis added wiggle eyes and a little straw in the turtle’s nose. We made two because now it was time for… a Turtle Race! Use the provided blue tape to attach a piece of straw to the edge of your Kiwi crate (or any similar box).

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Tie the provided string to a table leg, making sure it’s at the same height as your prepared turtle.

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Thread the string through the straw on the turtle’s nose, and then through the one on the box. Add a wooden bead at the other end of the string, securing with a double knot.

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When you give the string quick tugs, your turtle moves from the table leg to the box. Here he goes:

What’s more fun than watching one little turtle scoot along? Making it a race of course!

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Mommy’s turtle won by a nose!

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In addition, Explore magazine had fun facts about ways people use ropes and tension in everyday life, whether the cables of an elevator, the strings of a guitar, or a game of tug-of-war. So of course we needed to play the latter!

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Finish with a read of the following:

  • Give It a Push, Give It a Pull, by Jennifer Boothroyd
  • Cece Loves Science: Push and Pull, by Kimberly Derting

Kiwi Tension books

 

Strawberry Cantaloupe Sorbet

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Strawberry Sorbet (2)

We’ve been having fun with fruit combos for dessert this summer. Here’s another unexpected blend of melon and berry with delicious results.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cantaloupe
  • 1 and 1/2 cups strawberries
  • 1/2 cup apple juice
  1. Peel and cube the cantaloupe, reserving the remaining half for another use.
  2. Add the cantaloupe to a blender, along with the strawberries and apple juice; process until smooth.
  3. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for 1 hour. Fluff with a fork. Repeat until ready to serve.

Note: If you leave this in the freezer overnight and it becomes solid, just let thaw briefly before fluffing with a fork and scooping out. It will resemble more of a granita than a sorbet, but is still delicious!

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Hummus Yogurt Dipping Sauce

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Hummus Yogurt DIp (2)

Store-bought hummus can be too strong for my kids’ taste buds. Adding creamy non-dairy yogurt helps make it just right!

Ingredients:

  • 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, undrained
  • 2 peeled garlic cloves
  • 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon plain non-dairy yogurt
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

We love this served with pita chips!

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Domino Towers

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Veronika has been having fun building towers up lately, sometimes with unconventional materials, so today we focused on the opposite: knocking down! I got this idea after some recent family fun playing with dominoes. The small dominoes are tricky for toddler fingers to build very high, but she loves the sound they make as they fall!

I showed Veronika how she could stack the dominoes into little towers. To throw in a little learning, I used only one color per stucture, asking her if we should make a purple tower, for example. She thought they looked like little houses and loved peering through! “Window!” she said.

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And then of course the temptation was too much and it was time to knock it down. We repeated this with all the different colored dominoes in our set.

She can also build her own domino “towers” if they are lying flat on their sides, and we talked about their rectangular shape as she built them this way.

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So yes, dominoes can be a great toy even for young toddlers.

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But enlist older siblings if you want to make more sophisticated designs. You can even count the pips as you build for a little math!

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