Category: 2-Year-Old

Toddler Mural

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Veronika loves to scribble and draw, and always narrates to me what her scribbles and lines mean, everything from “balloons” to “rainbows” to “dogs”. I keep a small notebook in my purse to pull out at restaurants or waiting rooms and she instantly begins her doodles. Today we made a giant version of that for her to use at home!

I taped a large sheet of craft paper to an empty space on the wall at a height she could easily reach. Already she was intrigued.

You can simply set out crayons next to the paper, but for extra enticement, I attached some above the mural.

Simply hammer a few nails into the wall, then tie a string from each and secure the other end around a jumbo crayon. “They’re dangling!” Veronika said with excitement. Not only did she immediately grab one of these dangling crayons to draw, she told me she was drawing the dangling crayon.

Needless to say, she paused to scribble on the paper every time she walked by it all day, even if just for a quick line. Other times she stopped and stayed busy for a while. “Up and down, up and down!” I caught her saying for this particular bit of abstract art:

When the paper fills up, simply swap it out for a new piece!

Easter Magic

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Here are a few ideas to make Easter magic happen and the holiday feel special, even though this year isn’t quite back to normal or extended family gatherings, yet.

Go to a Drive-By Easter Bunny

Sitting on the bunny’s lap is out, but check if your town has a local Easter bunny photo opportunity from a safe distance, even if that just means waving to him out the window. Included goody bags were a definite bonus!

Turn Jelly Beans into Lollipops

On Easter Eve, we “planted” jelly beans in a cup of dirt (a.k.a. a mix of chocolate cookie crumbs and chocolate cake mix).

Add a little water and tell the kids that the Easter Bunny’s magic will make them grow into lollipops overnight.

Imagine Travis and Veronika’s delight when they came down and saw that the lollipops had “sprouted”!

Easter Egg Hunt

I had a few extra tricks this year to make sure the kids’ egg hunt was their best one yet. First, I color-coded the eggs for the first time, to cut down on squabbling. Travis got green and yellow, and Veronika’s were blue and white.

As double insurance against any egg fights, Veronika’s were all hidden down low…

…and Travis’s were up high, corresponding to their relative heights. Toddler and big kid both could hunt at their own pace, with no grabbing for the same eggs.

What were your favorite Easter extras this year? Please share in the comments!

Dinosaur Fossil Excavation

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Depending on the age of your child, this game can be either mostly sensory play or mostly STEM play. Either way, it’s sure to delight!

I set up a dinosaur excavation pit for Veronika with three kinds of “dirt”. The first was a box of chocolate cake mix, the second was crushed chocolate cookies, and the third was regular flour (although whole wheat flour probably would have worked better).

Next, I buried a few of our small plastic dinosaurs under the “dirt”. If your children are older, you can use store-toy bones or fossil prints, instead (or even make your own). Since I knew Veronika wouldn’t quite understand what she was seeing with the fossils, we stuck with whole dinosaur bodies. She was about to be a very lucky paleontologist.

I scattered a few rocks on top for a finishing touch, then set out an old shaving brush, bucket, and shovel. Time to dig!

She immediately took to shoveling up the dirt and transferring to her bucket, a process which she absolutely loved.

I showed her how to brush the dust and grime off the dinosaurs as she unearthed each one, but honestly she wasn’t much interested. Dinos, rocks, and dirt alike went into her bucket and then were dumped into the tray to start all over. She also enjoyed pouring the “dirt” back and forth between a few small plastic cups.

Don’t fear the clean-up. The mixture sweeps up easily… as long as you don’t get it wet. Trust me: You do not want to deal with wet chocolate cake mix on your floor.

Paper Plate Sheep Mask

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Veronika recently made a woolly sheep from cotton balls, to celebrate March “going out like a lamb”. She loved the fluffy cotton balls so much that we followed up with another sheep craft today. This time, she got to be the sheep at the end!

To start, I cut the center from a paper plate and then added lots of glue around the rim. Veronika immediately began to place cotton balls all over the glue, and loved playing with extras, too!

We let the mask dry, then I cut two ears from sturdy white paper and attached with tape.

“Baa baa,” said my little sheep. If you’re able, follow up with a visit to a local farm to see spring’s lambs!

Easter Egg Necklace

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Veronika loves accessorizing, so we made this pretty little necklace for her to wear to Easter brunch this weekend!

To start, we needed to decorate the “beads”, in this case Easter egg shapes cut from construction paper. I chose a few different springtime shades like purple, green, and pink. She loved decorating with markers, telling me very specifically which ones needed dots, lines, or sometimes silly drawings like “slippers”, and took her work quite seriously!

Of course there’s no need to stop at markers. Use crayons, add stickers or sequins, or embellish with whatever else is in your craft bin. To add some sparkle to her jewelry, we squirted a little glue onto each egg and sprinkled with purple glitter. This made the craft significantly more messy, but this girl loves glitter these days.

For some fine motor skills, encourage your child to thread the egg “beads” ribbon to finish the necklace. I punched a hole near the top of each egg, and gave Veronika a yellow ribbon. (Note: You can wrap a bit of tape around the end of a ribbon to make it more like the aglet of a shoelace, for easier threading).

She needed some assistance, but soon was proudly modeling her creation.

“Bunny!” she said with a smile, without any prompting at all.

Easter Egg Holder

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Veronika has decorated quite a few plastic eggs for Easter this year, but those roly-poly eggs can be difficult to display. Here’s a cute idea from The Toddler’s Busy Book to show off your toddler’s creations!

First, cut an empty paper towel tube into sections, each about 2 inches tall. Next, cut strips of construction paper to wrap around them, and glue on. We chose yellow, green, and pink, all lovely springtime colors. I don’t normally use hot glue for a material as thin as paper, but in this case it cut down on mess and drying time.

Now it was Veronika’s turn to decorate! She loved adding Easter-themed stickers like images of chicks, bunnies, and flowers.

Her favorite step, though, was making the holders sparkle with glitter. I decided the most mess-free way to do this was to pour a little glue into a paper plate and sprinkle the glue with glitter (Veronika chose gold), and then roll the tubes through. Stand upright to dry.

The eggs look great, and won’t wobble over!

Raindrop Stamp for a Rainy Day

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Veronika has been obsessed with a rainy day episode of Blues Clues recently. So when we had a real rainy day today, I used the opportunity for a raindrop-themed craft.

First, squirt rainy day shades of paint onto a paper plate. We mixed dark blue, light blue, and black. Then, simply squeeze an empty toilet paper tube into a teardrop shape.

I showed Veronika how to dip in the paint and then stamp on the paper.

“Look at all the raindrops!” she said so happily. She took charge of the activity and didn’t want any help, which meant many of her raindrops were sideways. But I loved that the resulting artwork was authentically hers.

I covered a second sheet of paper with more raindrop stamps, and this time drew in a little dog ‘Blue’ towards the bottom.

In sum, this is a great way to keep toddlers busy of a rainy day.

Carrot Kid Craft

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Last year, Veronika loved having her feet painted orange for an adorable springtime craft. This year we painted them green instead! Capture a few green footprints and they become the green fronds at the top of this carrot memento, just in time for the Easter bunny to nibble on.

To start, I sat Veronika down in front of a big sheet of paper and painted the soles of each foot green. Make sure you have wipes ready at your side so you don’t wind up with green footprints all over the floor!

I tested out two methods for the best print, either bringing the paper to her foot and pressing firmly, or having her walk across it. The former definitely made clearer prints! I cut out the best two and set them aside to dry.

Meanwhile, we made the rest of the carrot: cut a paper plate into a triangle shape and invite your toddler to tear orange construction paper into small pieces. Glue down the orange pieces until the plate is covered.

Glue the footprint fronds to the top and the carrot is ready!

Bunny Tail Pom Pom Painting

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Bunnies have those adorable cotton ball tails that kids just love. Today, we painted with the “tails” to make the rest of the bunny, thanks to this cute idea from The House of Burke.

To start, I clipped a few small clothespins onto white pom poms, and set these out for Veronika, along with a plate of black paint. For preschoolers, challenge them to hone their fine motor skills and get the clothespins onto the pom poms solo.

For Veronika, the activity was more about the fun of dipping the “bunny tail” in the paint and dotting onto thick white paper. She also liked dotting two “tails” together!

Little did she know that there was a surprise in store for her once the paper was painted; we were about to turn it into a full bunny head! Let the paint dry, then cut out shapes for the bunny’s head and ears, and glue these down on a construction paper background.

A final pom pom makes the bunny’s nose. Glue down wiggle eyes and add a few details with marker, and this bunny is ready to hop into spring!

Easter Egg Pick Up

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Here’s a silly game that will have the whole family playing and laughing together! It’s a great game for multiple generations, whether just your immediate household or whether you’re able to celebrate with extended family once more this Easter.

For set up, simply cut Easter egg shapes from a few pastel shades of tissue paper, about 3 inches tall. Scatter these on a table or similar smooth surface and hand each player a straw.

Whoever gets the most Easter eggs with one huff up through the straw wins! For Veronika as a toddler, this was great practice for teaching control of her breathing direction. She couldn’t quite get an egg up by herself, but loved trying to imitate her elders!

Mommy managed to get 4. Daddy was the winner with 6!

Who wins in your family? Please share in the comments!