Lazy Mother's List of Kid's Crafts
We try to have craft time at least once a day in our house. I believe it's wonderful for stimulating kids both intellectually and
artistically, plus my kids just plain love it.
However, life is hectic.
For all of those times where you're sick, busy, overwhelmed or just want to sit down and watch "A Make Over Story," here's a
sampling of ways to entertain a toddler and buy some mom time. And they'll actually get something out of it to boot!
For the messy ones, I recommend spreading out newspapers first, of course...
- Peanut butter goop: You've probably read the recipe for peanut butter clay with powdered milk and honey. Leave the
honey out and nevermind measuring. Plunk a scoop of peanut butter in a big bowl. Add enough powdered milk to make a good
dough, and give your toddler a wooden stick to stir with. Kids can mold this, smoosh it and if they eat it then you've just taken care
of lunch! (Okay, I'm kidding but there's no harm in it ending up in their mouths -- BUT keep in mind some children have peanut
allergies and some experts recommend not giving kids peanuts until age 3.)
- Draw on mommy: Yes, I've resorted to this while laid up with morning sickness. You'd be amazed how long my daughter
sat quietly and drew when she was allowed to do it on my left leg. I got to lie down, she got mommy time. It was a no-lose situation.
Note: make sure you remember your decorated left side before going to prenatal appointments. Otherwise you feel really, really silly.
- Salt on a cookie sheet: Pretty self-explanatory. Pour some salt on a cookie sheet (dark works better). Show your child
how to draw shapes in the salt with a finger, then give it a little shake to smooth it again. (If you're ambitious, finish it out at the sink
so toddler can experiment with what happens when salt and water mix.)
- Rag time: Take a shirt or a sheet out of the rag pile. Sit on the couch (don't you love that part?). Help your child rip it
into strips (start the rips with a pair of scissors). Toddler grabs one end and you grab the other, then you both pull. When you have a
lot of strips, tie them on your toddler so they stream down and have your child run or twirl to see what they do. Have her use the
strips to bandage your leg. Show her how to braid. See what she comes up with.
- Shaving cream in a bag: Another self explanatory one, mostly. Put some shaving cream in a ziplock bag and add a
couple of drops of food coloring. Show him how to knead the bag to mix the colors. This should occupy him for a bit, but when he's
done snip one corner (small) and let him pipe it out and "draw" with the shaving cream. Make sure you supervise this one, so none of
it goes near little mouths.
- Colored sugar: Give the child a clear plastic container like a peanut butter jar and put a cup or so of sugar in it. Add a
few drops of blue food coloring and let her shake and shake to turn the sugar blue. Later, make something like waffles with her
special magic sugar.
I hope at least something in this buys you a few minutes and gives your little one some fun. Now I just need to find a lazy guide to
cleaning it all up....
To the Crafts Index
All works on this site Alicia Bayer unless otherwise noted.
Don't take it - that would be rude.