Tag: arts and crafts

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Pom Pom Sensory Bin

parksandcoffee

These dollar pom pom balls from Target were a hit with both my one year old and three year old. They are so simple to use, mess free, and oh so versatile. This is also an amazing fine motor skill activity for both kiddos.

What you will need:

  • Container
  • Colorful cups
  • Pom Poms
  • Tweezers (if your child is ready for them)

It’s pretty easy to get this sensory bin up and going. Dump all the pom poms you have into the container, put some cups inside, and you have a sensory bin. The more pom poms you have the better. You can also getting different size pom poms to add even more fun to this activity. Let your little one explore the bin.

Depending on your child’s ability, have them sort by color or just dump the pom poms from one container to another. For my oldest, I gave him some tweezers to make it just a little more challenging. He not only had to sort the poms by color, but also use his fine motor skills to transfer the poms from the container to the cups.

Each of them had a blast playing with the pom poms and this will definitely be a sensory activity we come back to! It took my oldest 10 minutes to sort his pom poms. Ten minutes of concentration, hard work, and silence. I sat there is awe watching him maneuver the tweezers and pom poms. He had so much fun and worked so hard. He was so proud of himself and I was proud of him too!

XO Kate & Elizabeth

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Fine Motor Cutting Box

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My little guy loves to practice his scissor skills every chance he gets. So, I put together a box of different textures for him to cut until his little heart was content. In his fine motor box was a bunch of scrap pieces of paper I had found in our art closet and drew lines for him to try and follow.

What’s in the box?

  • Scissors
  • Foam
  • Felt
  • Colorful paper
  • Toilet paper rolls

We started out with Melissa and Doug scissors, but they were not getting the job done. So, we switched to a pair of little scissors. After the switch, he hit the road running. If you do decide to use “real” scissors monitor your little one, so they don’t accidently cut themselves or give themselves a new hair do.

He cut through each of the items in the box. Then decided he was going to make a race car, something that never crossed my mind. I love when one of my simple ideas becomes something so much more because of his imagination.

Construction of his race car was underway. He cut out the doors, wheels, and even wrapped the toilet paper roll in blue foam.

If your little one has yet to master cutting on the lines or how to hold scissors all of those things will come with time. Fun practice activities will definitely help build those skills. As you can see we are still working on those very skills. He was on the other hand concentrating hard on what he was doing and giving it his best.

Just look at the pride on his face over something he made. It’s safe to say he this activity is Gray approved and that little car has been with him all afternoon. I have a feeling it may become his version of Sporky. (You ToyStory fans will get what I’m saying.)

We would love to see how this activity turns out for your little ones. It’s amazing to see their little minds work and their imaginations take over.

XO Kate & Elizabeth

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Water Gun Painting

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Sometimes using paintbrushes or our to paint can become mundane, so we switched it up. I found a pair of cheap water guns that the kiddos could use easily and an idea was born : Water Gun Painting.

Who said water guns should only be used for water? Not I, so we used them to paint. Neither kiddo had ever used a water gun, so I knew this would be a really fun experience for them. While Gray dove right in, Charlie needed a bit more assistance working her water gun.

What do you need to get started?

  • Water guns
  • Water
  • Paint
  • Large pieces of paper
  • Easel (or fence)

We used acrylic paint, but you can use washable paint to save your little ones clothes. First, you want to dilute that paint and create a 50/50 water to paint solution. You can just eyeball it, it is not an exact science.

Then you want to load up your water gun with the paint/water solution. I squirted the water gun in the sink a few times until the paint started shooting out. That way when the kiddos start spraying it works instantly.

I brought our easel outside, but you could also tape a piece of paper to your fence. Once your piece of paper is secure, let them go to down.

Gray noticed that when you sprayed the blue on top of the yellow he made green. If you had three water guns it would be a lot of fun to use the primary colors to show how colors are made.

I hope your little ones enjoy this activity!

XO Kate & Elizabeth

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Alphabet Search

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Repetition is a great tool to use when teaching your child their alphabet, but that doesn’t mean you have to do the same activity over and over again. Creating new activities for Gray keeps him interested and his wheels turning.

So, I put two of his favorite things together the dotters and a simple sensory activity

What you will need:

  • Dotters
  • Container
  • Beans or Rice
  • Letters
  • Alphabet form

To get started, fill your container with the beans. Stick the letters in the beans so that the tops are shown. Let your little one pick out a letter and then find it on their paper.

Once they have found each letter, let them go to down with the dotter. This was of course Gray’s favorite part. He chose different colors for each letter and made it his own. Unscrewing and screwing back on the tops is also a great fine motor skill activity.

He was so proud of himself once he had found all the letters. We will definitely be doing this activity again, but maybe with numbers next time. I have attached 3 files for you to choose from! Click here to see them.

XO Kate & Elizabeth

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Messy Play! Shower Curtain Painting.

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With the help of some nice weather and a shower curtain, our morning was spent outside painting.

Both of my kiddos have been messy art enthusiasts since the first time they felt paint. With every project we do they end up being covered from their head to their toes. So, we decided to take out painting outside. With some washable paint, paintbrushes, and shower curtain liner they went to town.

What you will need:

  • Washable paint (I know these are a little pricey, but they last for a long time!)
  • A shower curtain liner
  • Paint brushes
  • Tape
  • Something to put the paint on

Before the kiddos headed outside, I took some tape and taped the ends of the shower curtain to the fence. We poured the paint on the plates, gave each kiddo a paintbrush, and let them go to town.

They started off with paint brushes and quickly changed to finger painting! They mixed colors, painted the curtain, and some on the fence. Thankfully, the washable paint sprayed right off with the hose.

The kids had so much fun smearing the paint on the curtain together and making handprints all over. Grayson is already requesting to paint again! I am sure this will be an activity we do many more times over the summer. The best part, clean up was so easy. Spray everything with the hose, from the kids to the curtain. The paint washed out and I kept it hung up to dry.

XO Kate & Elizabeth

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Flashlight Look and Find

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We have played a ton of flashlight type games, but this one was a little different. We didn’t need any batteries, just some imagination. And let me tell you, his imagination went wild and I am sure your child’s will too.

What you will need:

Let’s get started! First, pick your theme. My son is in love with all things construction, so that’s what I picked. Once you have your theme you can either find a picture and trace it or if you are more artistically inclined, draw your own.

For my picture, I added a little challenge for my son. I hid the letters of his name throughout the pictures for him to find. You can hide letters, numbers, or shapes in your picture to make it even more fun.

Once your picture is complete, take out the picture you traced (if you used one), and insert the black construction paper into the bag. Now we can get started on the flashlight! It’s super easy you guys, I promise. Draw a simple flashlight, cut it out, but leave some white paper showing as if its the light shining. I have a picture of it below to help you visualize.

You are now ready to start your flashlight hunt! Have you little one put the flashlight into the bag and watch the magic happen. The drawing will pop out from behind the black paper and look as though a light is being shown on it. Grayson’s face lit up with surprise as he moved the flashlight from left to right.

A few tips!

  • You need to use permanent marker or else it will all wipe off.
  • Let the marker dry before handing it over to your kiddo or you’ll end up with a smudged mess.
  • The most important tip, it doesn’t have to be perfect. They will love it no matter what.

XO Kate & Elizabeth

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Ice Pop Painting

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It’s been hot here in North Carolina, super hot actually. With the heat comes short trips outside, so that everyone doesn’t overheat. These ice pops melt just in time to head back in for some relief from the heat.

I would recommend doing this activity outside because may get messy! Bonus, you can paint the concrete when they are tired of coloring on the paper.

What you will need:

  • Ice cube tray
  • Water
  • Food coloring or washable paint
  • Clothespins or Popsicle sticks
  • White paper

You can do this with either food coloring or washable paint, whichever you have handy. How I made them was by putting two drops of food coloring in each container. Those two drops were more then enough to create the bright colors we were looking for.

Once you have your colors made place a popsicle stick or clothespin in each color. Now for the hard part, throw them in the freezer until they are frozen. This took about two to three hours for ours to fully harden.

Those of you with small children, the clothespins seemed to be easier for my 1.5 year old to hold onto. As soon as the popsicles were set down the kiddos went to work. They painted the paper, the concrete and even themselves.

It did get messy, but most of the dye washed off in the bathtub!

Here is one of their masterpieces!

XO Kate & Elizabeth

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‘Cause Baby You’re a Firework

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I can’t believe Fourth of July is right around the corner! Like in three days! It is one of our favorite holidays. We love having a cookout, playing at the beach, and watching fireworks with our friends and family. With that being said, we have started our celebration a few days early with some fun and slightly messy fireworks. Now, these fireworks aren’t as loud, but they are just as pretty.

What you will need:

  • A few toilet paper rolls
  • Scissors
  • Red, White, and Blue paint
  • Paint Brushes
  • Black Construction paper

First, I cut the toilet paper rolls to make little slits. If your kiddo has good scissor skills and you aren’t scared of getting your finger cut off, let them do this part. I would like to keep my fingers, so I went ahead and did this step myself.

Now to the fun, and messy, part. Give the kiddos a paint brush or three and let them go to town. As you can see my son wanted to add a little eye paint to his outfit today. It’s washable, so no worries. Let them paint the spindles and then press them onto the piece of paper.

Let them paint and stamp until their hearts are content. We made a ton of fireworks and they are already asking to do it again. Here are a few of their masterpieces!

We would love to see your kiddos masterpieces in the comments!

XO Kate & Elizabeth

crafts, Motherhood, toddlers, Uncategorized

Color Hunt

parksandcoffee

Play is the highest form of research.

Albert Einstein

As we came inside to take a break from playing in the rain, I noticed all the colors dancing around our playroom. I realized that the toys we play with day in and day out are, in themselves, a learning tool. So, we went on a treasure hunt, well, a color hunt. You’ll see what I mean.

What you will need:

  • Two toilet paper rolls or one paper towel roll cut in half.
  • Tape
  • A large piece of paper 
  • Markers

Grab your big piece of paper and divide it into equal sections. I did 9 squares, but you can use as many or few based on what is best for your child. Next, write down the names of the colors using the corresponding marker.

While making the grid, have your child color the toilet or paper towel rolls. Once they are done coloring, take some tape and tape the rolls together. Now, you are ready to go on a color hunt!

Place the piece of paper in the middle of the room and let your kiddo go to work. Have them look around and find anything they can that matches the colors in your grid. Gray loved looking through his binoculars to find each new item.

Some colors can be a little tricky, like those teal puzzle pieces. He switched them between the green and the blue a few times, but either would be have been correct. Let your kiddo problem solve and search without interference, unless they ask for help of course!

Gray looked around the playroom for almost an hour, adding and taking away things as the grid filled. This is something that we will do again in the near future.

If you want to add more literacy, this fun art project pairs well with the book, Brown Bear, Brown Bear. It is one of our favorites and a great way to explore color learning.

What are some of your favorite color projects?

Take a look at some more fun activities for your kiddos.

XO Kate & Elizabeth

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