Art activities - drawing

A very simple activity which begins the journey to reading and writing. We usually have a quick drawing session each day. I try to sit down and do some drawing with my boy or write something while he has his crayons out such as the shopping list.

We have done many variations of drawing from small pieces of paper to giant ones to opening cardboard boxes on the floor and having a drawing marathon. It's all good practice for the future and our little boy just loves to scribble. He now sends daddy to work with a new picture each week and when he visits the office he can see the value his dad gives to his art work.

Art activities - gluing and sticking

Children love glue! It's another messy one but with the right planning you can reduce the mess stress and let your small people have a lot of fun. 

We use pvc child-safe glue. Ours came in an easy dispensable bottle but a tiny pot and a small paintbrush will do the job just as well.

We used different shapes as our boy is very interested in his shape sorted at the moment and we decided to use the opportunity to enhance his learning of shapes. You can use almost anything. Free magazines, flyers from the supermarket, wrapping paper or like us just some cut out shapes.

To make the activity even richer, we made one of the gluey pictures into a bookmark to give to our boys grandmother for her birthday!

Art activities - playdough

Today's post looks at playdough. 

This wasn't a very successful activity in our house which I believe could be down to the texture of the playdough. But don't let that put you off trying this cheap and easy activity! We'll be giving it another go in a week or two. 

The recipe

2 cups of flour

1 cup of salt

2 cups of water

2 tablespoons of oil

food colouring

Heat the ingredients in a pan over a low heat until they form a firm dough. Remove from the heat, allow to cool then add a few drops of food colouring and kneed the dough until the colour is spread evenly. 

This activity is great for teaching colours and when the child is older you can show them how to make new clours by mixing primary colours together!

Art Activities - Finger painting

To start our set of art activities we're kicking off with finger painting. This is a nice way to introduce your young child to paint and you can control the mess by limiting the amount of paint you use and by having a bowl of soapy water nearby!

I always give my boy one colour at a time as he is still young and gets a bit overwhelmed with more than one ending up with the paint going everywhere! This is an activity we have done with him since birth when we took hand and feet prints on a regular basis.

As Easter has been in the air we decided to use the finger prints to make little cards. It's always lovely to follow up an activity in this way as it makes it more purposeful. Even if the child knows they are painting a picture for someone, they will be more motivated with any activity.

Practical life activities - washing the windows

Today's activity - Washing the windows

This one is really simple. While I am cleaning the windows using window cleaner, he is using a damp cloth on the lower parts. It's great to see how he copies my movements and really goes to town!

All you need here is a clean cloth and to be careful they don't get too close to any cleaning products (sometimes easier said than done)! I usually encourage him to clean the patio doors so he isn't standing on a chair.

For older children a spray bottle with water and a squeegee can make the process more elaborate. Remember to give them a cloth to mop up the excess water!!!!

Practical Life Activities - cooking

Today's activity looks at cooking with your toddler.

When I say cooking I really mean combining the ingredients and (if your toddler is anything like mine) having a good taste!!!

Making Scones

Firstly, this activity takes quite a bit of preparation on your part. It's best to have ingredients measured out and in easy to pour containers. You also have to leave the recipe to one side and hope for the best!!!

So, we use flour (about a cup full), butter (a small chunk), milk (to combine the mixture), baking powder (a tablespoon), a grated apple and a handful of raisins. Then allow them to mix until they are happy! Bear in mind you will probably have flour overboard and loose a few raisins to your toddlers tummy!!! If they can manage, help them to blob the mixture on to a baking tray. If not you can do this later (that's what I do for now).

With all these activities it's important to allow the child to have freedom to carry out the activity without interfering too much. When they have finished and gone off to play you can mix it better. Try not to get into the activity too much unless they ask for help or it's getting out of hand. If need be, take the bowl away and ask them to help you clean up either wiping the surface of washing a spoon!

Other things we have tried when we need to get on and make dinner is: washing vegetables (yes, you will have to wash them again after), helping to put chopped veg into a pan, pulling leaves off the spinach and grating cheese (although he's a little bit small for this but it did keep him occupied until he'd eaten all the cheese)!

Got an idea for us to try out? Leave us a comment below.

When Babies become Toddlers - practical life activities

What happens when your baby isn't a baby anymore? They start to waddle after you and copy what you do. They want to be involved in everything you are and don't leave you alone for a second....sound familiar? Well, here is a short guide to helping your child to become independent whilst you work together. 

This is the stage that Montessori introduces a lot of practical life activities. What is this? Well, basically all the day to day chores and things you do around the house. Washing up, watering the plants, cleaning the house, folding and sorting the washing - the list is endless. So how can you involve your toddler in these activities? Over the next week we'll be posting several simple activities that you can do with your child that may help to make your life a little easier, while helping your little person gain some valuable life skills.

All these tasks can be adapted as your child grows and is capable of more complex tasks. Always try to plan ahead and only offer your child the things you are prepared to deal with. For example, many activities involve water. If your child is young you may need to limit the amount of water to avoid huge floods in your kitchen. As our little guy is still young, we give him very little water for these activities (something around 100ml) and we always have a floor cloth handy to mob up the inevitable spills. But remember it's all part of learning and important for your child to learn act and consequence.

Watering the basil

Today we show you watering the plants. A few weeks ago we planted some basil and now it is shooting up nicely. Our boy just loves watering it every morning and is almost able to do so alone. As watering cans often spurt water all over the place and are great outdoors but rather awkward for small indoor plants, we adapted our own waterer. We used a small plastic bottle and got some screw on rose available from most garden centres or from Amazon. 

Our waterer

We put the plant pots on a small tray and place them on his table with the waterer and he does the rest. Very simple and he gets to care for a living thing. For older children it is fun to plant the seeds with them and maybe keep a diary of the progress. Just make sure you pick something that sprouts within a day or two otherwise they may get bored waiting!