Letter Stickers

Calling all moms who are looking for another idea to practice letters. 

 

I purchased poster letter stickers on a whim one afternoon. 

What a great purchase!!!! I originally was thinking fun cheap stickers, however, it has turned into so much more! 

 

I gave little man the stickers for his name and he pulled the paper back off and put them on the paper. 

He decided that it wasn't enough just to have the stickers. He needed to make a border for each letter. Which was AWESOME, since he was outlining each letter! 

(Practicing letters all on his own) 

We spell his name to him all the time and he was writing C and L over and over.

 

 I encourage him to use various mediums to enhance his art. We had painted earlier in the day and spent time practicing using colored pencils while his sister was sleeping (she likes to try to eat them, good ideas from a 11 month old). It was time to bust out the crayons.

  

The letters were inspiring. He found his favorite letter H. Not sure where that came from but he points how "big H" anytime he sees one. Today we used the letter sticker to demonstrate how to make his letter H. 

 

We used the pattern 'line, line, cross' to practice making about four dozen H's today. It was exciting to see him start writing. 

 

Thanksgiving Cards

I know that I am a little late on this, however, if I posted before the holiday it may have ruined the crafty surprise to family. Now, feel free to pin this one for next year! 

  

I spent some time painting with CP and his little sis. His palm is painted brown and each finger is painted a different color coordinating with feathers on a turkey. When the paint dried, I used a black sharpie marker to draw a neck facing forward with two eyes and the orange marker to make a beak and "gobbler". It was a blast to make a full set of cards for our family.

Color Collages

CP is one smart little man but needs so practice with his colors. We have a ton of books, coloring books, crayons, markers, and toys that we use to teach color. (Basically, everything we see) 

Today, we had a wonderful day where mom and son could send a few quiet hours just playing and being crafty together.

 

We chose a few pieces of construction paper together and decided which colors we would focus on today. I used an old house decor magazine that we could rip apart, or destroy without hesitation :) We turned the pages together to find yellow, blue, or green. 

*** Be sure to stick with one color at a time in the beginning to secure each color.***

We would rip then glue and repeat. 

 

Ripping pictures and letters out to match was a blast. We used a nontoxic glue stick that I use for scrap booking so really who cares how messy we got! So much FUN! 

-For me this craft was TOTALLY free!!!-

Pops of Color

Moving into a new house has been WONDERFUL, however, new spaces sometimes call for new colors. The family that lived in our home prior us, left an entire cabinet of vases. I decided to take left over paint from various projects and give them new life.

 

I pour a bit of paint into the inside and swirled it around. I allowed the paint to drip out for a bit. It is OK to have a bit extra in the bottom. I did find an issue that if I didn't allow excess to drain out the paint didn't really dry out. Even after two weeks on the shelf. I now have them scattered around the fire place mantle and bookshelves. 

The cost to me......absolutely NOTHING!

Animal Parade

Little man loves his animals and his race car mat. We found this rug for about $13 at Ikea!

 It has become our home for many activities. We are currently having and animal parade. Lil' Man practiced moving the animals one by one to advance them around the track. It was a great way for me to model how to use his animals and race car track in a different way.

 

We are playing king of the hill with an old plastic bowl. I started to show the size difference in animals and then he busted out the cars and clearly cars win in size when in comes to elephants and bears.

Frogs aka "Ribbits"

We loved creating frogs, however ours were "destroyed" before a photo could be taken.

I did all the cutting and my son had fun with a glue stick. Yes, he did get messy as he was 20 months when we created our "ribbits", but we used our high chair for easy clean up. :) 

 

I do not have a heart punch. I simply cut hearts out of green paper. If you feel comfortably free cutting go for it, it cuts the time down drastically. I did find it helpful to use various objects to trace, to help show my son how to use different things from around the house to create other things.

I used scrap construction paper that I had in the 'leftover box'

Music Parade

Use a wooden spoon and a tin pie pan. Yes, it makes a ton of noise, however, normally doesn't last too long and is a complete joy!

I am sure that every household with kids has plenty of milk jugs ready to be used for activities. Put a few pennies in a cleaned jug. The more pennies, the louder the sound. We found 6 six a good number :)

Mess Free Finger Painting

Buy your favorite toxic free finger paint. Add a few dollops to a easy close, clear, plastic bag. - Best Part: It's reusable! You can also open it slightly, let it dry out, and it can be hung in the windows for decor.

Let him use different utensils to try and move paint around the bag.

***This is an idea that I used when I taught kindergarten. I used to fill zip lock sandwich bags with paint and allow the kids to practice making letters and sight words! ***

Shaving Cream Painting

Mix cheap shaving cream with some food coloring. Let the kiddos go crazy in the tub!

Let the kids have the container, what's the worst that could happen, they may get shaving cream on them in the bath tub? :)

**Stole this great idea from my sister-in-law, who is super creative! Can't wait to share more of her ideas!***

Playing with the Pets

He loves playing with the cats and dog, however, he gets a little aggressive and over bearing for the pets. New Idea: attached some feathers and ribbon to a long stick and create a nonthreatening toy to interact with the pets.  

Laundry Assistance

All kids like to push things around. I gave him the empty laundry basket to push back to the bedroom to get loaded with clothes. He would push the basket back to the top of the stairs (to the baby safety gate) and I would carry it downstairs to the laundry room and return it to him at the top of the stairs.  He would take it back to the bedroom for another load.

Balloons

Balloons are some of the cheapest fun!!! You can normally find a bag of 25 or 30 for $.99. We carry them around, drum on them, try to bat it back and forth, kicking it down the hall, and of course creating a static connection.

Use a wooden spoon to try and keep the balloon from touching the ground. This helps to build hand-eye coordination.

Making Old New Again

I have gotten many quiet moments from simply getting out his old Prince LionHeart seat. We got it out for a younger friend visiting and he realized he missed it. He would carry a handful of books over to it, sit down, and read quietly for several minutes.

Check google or your local baby store for this seat! It is GREAT! Unlike the Bumbo seat, this bebePOD seat has wider leg holds to hold larger babies as well as active toddlers wanting their own space.

Painting

Finger painting with washable paint makes for a great activity. Make sure you are willing to give early bath time or do it right before bath time. Stripping kids down to their diapers or undies make for much easier clean up also.

My one year old LOVES painting with the bingo dot makers. It's so easy to use and less of a mess!

Pinwheels

Make your own pinwheel and practice blowing on it to make it move.

Click on the pinwheel to see a how to guide to create a homemade pinwheel!

Productive Destruction and Clean Mud

Allow your kids to be destructive and unroll one roll of toilet paper. - Pictures taken www.JenniKenney.com

Once unrolled, have them tear up the toilet paper into smaller pieces. - Pictures taken www.JenniKenney.com

To make the "Clean Mud" -

1 roll of toilet paper
1 bar of dove soap
Warm water - warm enough to melt soup

Have the children tear up the toilet paper into little bits (the smaller the better). Using a cheese grater, grate the bar of soap into a big bowl. Add the torn up toilet paper to the bowl. Add the warm water a little bit at a time while mixing the toilet paper and the soap together. You have added enough water when the mixture begins to feel like a thick cool whip. Do not make the mixture soupy. The more you play with it the fluffier it becomes. The kids have an absolute blast with it!

Spoon Practice

This may not be the most productive way to eat for this young man but he is learning valuable skills. Not only is he understanding how a spoon may work but also the different textures on the teeth help provide various sensations.

Window Views

It sounds so simple, however, counting cars as they pass is very stimulating to a young person. It gives you a chance to communicate about speed, color, size and compare moving objects. Sometimes counting or pointing out other objects such animals or people practices finding less obvious objects.

Fake Out Soda

Allow your kiddo to play with a tightly closed bottle. Here he has some old, flat soda. But you could fill the bottles with water, dye it with food coloring and add glitter, confetti, or small items that the little ones can shake and make into a snow globe type toy.

Open and Close

Now that it is coming into spring, practice opening and closing plastic Easter eggs. At first, your kiddo will need some assistance but frustration will lead to success. You can also fill some of the eggs with rice, beans, pennies, or other small objects to turn them into shakers. Just tape around the seal to help eliminate the chance your little one gets the small items in their mouths.