Given our outdoors-based Australian lifestyle and fairly good weather, we can often see craft activities as being a great way to pass the time whilst stuck indoors on an unseasonably wet or cold day. And if you’re like me, the second the sun comes out – we down tools and hit the park, all summer long.
However, craft activities really are a great way to help your toddler engage in new ideas and build a foundation for future learning. If you haven’t delved elbow deep into the craft supplies before, you should know that toddler craft time can be extremely messy. You’ll also want to be ready to pluck the grubby toddler from the crime scene and deposit straight into an antibacterial bath.
Despite the mess, and the realisation that you might just have to forgo any preconceived ideas about the end result, toddler art and craft is important. You should still absolutely let your toddler in on the glitter glue action!
Craft activities encourage your toddler’s creativity and imagination. And by simply sticking some milk bottle tops to a toilet roll and calling it a car, your toddlers are honing their fine motor co-ordination, their social skills, and even the process of using colours to convey emotions.
Of course, when talking about babies and toddlers under the age of two getting their hands on things like paint, there are some concerns. Choking hazards, toxins, non-ingestables and harmful substances that will stain your freshly painted walls are worth thinking about beforehand. To minimise the risk, and to ensure that your toddler is maximizing their benefit without coming into harms way, there are a number of precautions you can take to ensure the craft activity is toddler approved.
For example, most store-bought paints, glue and play dough are not baby friendly. But you can very easily make your own baby-friendly, non-toxic edible paints and glue using simple pantry items such as corn starch, baby rice cereal and natural food dyes.
How To Make Edible Finger Paint For Your Toddler
The full article, complete with the 6 most crucial points for making the most out of this toddler approved art activity, and the edible finger paint recipe is over on SitterCycle; Crafts For Those Under 2.
**This post appeared first online at SitterCycle, written and contributed by Nanny Shecando
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I’d never even thought of using rice cereal to make finger paint. Although I have a feeling my bub would just sit there and eat it instead of paint with it, but I’ll give it a go.
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