Thursday, June 24, 2010

Koolaid Playdough


Materials:

1 c. flour

1/2 c. salt

1 tbsp. cooking oil

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 pkg. unsweetened Kool-Aid

1 c. water



Mix dry ingredients. Add oil and water. Cook over medium heat until mixture forms a ball. Pour onto floured surface and knead. May need a little extra flour for this. Store in an airtight container.(I put mine in the fridge.)



The best part about this playdough is that if your child eats it,like mine did, it's non-toxic. And you know exactly what's in it. It also smells good and the colors are really bright!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Glitter Shapes


Materials:
Elmer's Glue
Glitter
White paper
Jellyroll pan

Directions:
Draw or print out shapes off the computer. With your child, label each shape and count the sides and corners. Discuss the different shapes. Then place the sheet of paper on the jellyroll pan. Have your child squeeze the Elmer's glue (depending on your child's age you may have to guide his/her hands) to trace each shape. Have your child then shake glitter over the whole paper and then dump the excess onto the jellyroll pan. You can gather up the glitter by sprinkling it onto a paper, rolling the paper up, and pouring it back into the container.

Variations:
You can do this with most anything. You can put numbers on the paper instead and draw dots to represent each number. You can put letters or words on and practice tracing them. You could also do this activity with glitter glue.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Colored Fans

Materials:

Plain white Paper (hard paper like cardstock will work best, but construction paper or even computer paper will work)
Markers, caryons, or colored pencils.

This is a fun QUICK art project to do with your little one. Give your child a piece of paper and let her/him decorate it in any way desired (you could even add glitter or stickers). Then fold the paper into a fan!

Variation: fold the fan first and have your child color each panel a different color.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Colorful Chameleons


To introduce this activity, read several books about colors with your child. Talk about colors and where you see them. It is also fun to read some non fiction books. We checked one out at our library about chameleons and my toddler was fascinated by it.

Then cut out several small squares from different colors of construction paper. Find a picture of a clip art image of a chameleon online, print it out, and allow the child to glue the colorful squares onto the image wherever they like.