Before I get too far, I want to thank Jamii over at The Purple Bench Collective for sharing some of his suggestions with us when it comes to age-appropriate art projects. We hope that this will be an ongoing staple of the editorial for Macaroni KID Winston-Salem. The Purple Bench Collective is located at 3784 Bethania Station Rd. here in Winston-Salem. They focus on fresh, local artists as well as offer workshops, paint parties, shopping, and so much more to the public. We asked Jamii on this visit about arts and crafts for toddlers. Being such an important developmental stage of a child's life, we wanted to see his take, and this is what we came up with:
- Finger painting: Provide your toddler with non-toxic finger paint and let them create a masterpiece using their fingers.
- Playdough: Make homemade playdough or buy store-bought playdough and let your toddler use cookie cutters, rollers, and other tools to create shapes and designs.
- Paper plate animals: Cut out ears, eyes, and other features from construction paper and glue them onto a paper plate to create an animal face.
- Toilet paper roll crafts: Collect empty toilet paper rolls and have your toddler paint and decorate them to create various crafts such as binoculars or telescopes.
- Collages: Provide your toddler with different materials such as construction paper, tissue paper, stickers, and glue and let them create a collage by gluing the materials onto a sheet of paper.
- Popsicle stick crafts: Collect popsicle sticks and have your toddler use them to create a variety of crafts such as picture frames or puppets.
- Handprint art: Use washable paint to make handprints on a piece of paper and let your toddler decorate the handprints with markers or other art supplies.
Remember to always supervise your toddler during arts and crafts activities and make sure they are using safe materials. This article was sponsored by The Purple Bench Collective, which holds a Kid's Creative Workshop on Saturdays from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
