Fun and Easy Crafts for Toddlers

Getting a toddler to sit still can be a near-impossible feat. They’re constantly exploring the world around them. That’s a good thing, but sometimes they need some creative downtime. That’s where toddler crafts come in. Crafts are great for toddlers for a number of reasons. It can help them develop longer attention spans. Most crafts help develop hand-eye coordination. And young children can benefit from learning how to follow simple instructions.

Craft ideas that your toddler can do (with supervision)

Craft Stick Puppets

Puppets are fascinating to toddlers. Creating their own puppets is easy, and it’s lots of fun. All you really need are some craft or Popsicle sticks, construction paper, safety scissors, markers and glue.

Help your toddler cut animal shapes out of construction paper. They can draw faces and other details with washable markers. Glue the stick to the back of the shape, let dry, and then your little one will be ready to put on a puppet show. If you want to make more elaborate puppets, try cutting shapes out of foam. Glue on a pom pom for the nose, and add some googly eyes.

Paint with Pudding

Little ones love to finger paint! Unfortunately, it can be really messy. And there’s also the concern about them eating the paint. Even if the paints are nontoxic, it can make cautious parents uneasy. The solution? Let them paint with pudding!

You don’t need different flavors to make different colors. Just use one serving of plain vanilla pudding, divide it up into small portions, and add food coloring to create various shades. Give your child a paper plate to use as a canvas for their masterpiece. When finished, they can eat it with no worries.

Design a T-Shirt

If your toddler sees you sewing or painting clothes with fabric paint, they may want to try designing clothes themselves. However, needles are small and sharp, and fabric paint is messy. What to do? Break out the markers!

Children can have a blast decorating a plain white t-shirt with colorful markers. If you use washable ones, they can create a design, wear it, and start over after you wash the shirt. If a permanent design is desired, however, you’ll have to let him use non-washable markers. You can avoid a mess by covering the work area with newspaper and putting a smock on your toddler.

Placemats

Making place-mats out of contact paper is very easy. Have your toddler cut shapes out of construction paper and glue them onto a whole piece with a glue stick. They can add detail with markers or embellish with stickers. When they are done, place the artwork on a piece of contact paper, sticky side up. Place another sheet of contact paper on top, sticky side down.

Most toddlers will only have the patience to make one place mat at a time. However, this is the activity that keeps on giving! LOL! They can make another one tomorrow, and the next day…continuing until there are enough for the whole table. Your little one will be so proud to know that everyone sees their artwork at every meal!

Crafts can help your toddler learn important skills while keeping him quietly occupied.