Creative Arts Archives - Wild Edisons

Drawing with Your Toddler…When You Don’t Know How to Draw

Mom-E — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 11:53:21 +0000

Drawing and toddlers go hand-in-hand. It is a great way to work on vocabulary, practice sight words, and teach them appreciation for creative arts. The problem is, we aren’t all Picasso’s.

If you have little or no artistic skill, the key to drawing with your toddler is cheating. Yep. Cheating.

Simply find yourself a children’s book on drawing. I say children’s book because there are generally fewer steps and simpler, cartoon style drawings. We aren’t aiming for still life’s in oil here. The goal is to be able to draw a simple picture that your toddler can recognize.

I love the How to Draw 101… series. The instructions are really easy and the end result is actually pretty good. I use “How to Draw 101 Animals” about every other day with my toddler. (I, regrettably, paid full price on an impulse buy at a retail store. I recommend clicking here to buy it at a discount through Amazon.com.)

Sometimes, he chooses a picture. I draw it and write the name under it. When he wants to watch a movie, I write three titles on the chalkboard with a little picture of an animal from the movie next to it so he can choose. Sometimes, we choose a letter of the alphabet and draw a bunch of animals that start with that letter. I am not joking. I use these books all the time!

Not only does my son think I can draw, but I am actually learning how to as I practice.

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Practice Fine Motor Skills with Wooden Blocks & Cars

Mom-E — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 23:50:02 +0000

I love this activity because every time we do it, I see a noticeable improvement in my toddler’s fine motor skills. We just pull out our toy blocks and build a bunch of garages. He will happily spend 20 minutes (a lifetime for a spirited toddler) driving his toy cars around the structures and parking them in the garages.

From a toddler’s perspective, it is much harder than it sounds. The blocks aren’t very big, so the garages leave little room for error. Since the blocks don’t interlock, it is surprisingly easy to knock them down. My son has to be very careful as he maneuvers the cars around and into the buildings. Inevitably, he will accidentally (or purposefully) knock one down. Then, we just get to build another one. He loves the multi-level garages the best, and the taller the building the better.

<< My spirited toddler, Edison, happily parking toy cars in his wooden block garages

Building wooden block garages is also a good creative arts activity. On more than one occasion, he has removed blocks from one of my garages and replaced it with others. It is interesting to see what he considers ascetically pleasing. Sometimes, he will place a block somewhere. Then, he will look at it thoughtfully and move it a fraction of an inch for no particular reason. It’s actually pretty cool to watch. Right now, he is pickier about shapes than he is about colors, but I am sure that will change at some point.

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Toddler Activities with 101 Cookie Cutters

Mom-E — Mon, 30 May 2011 11:53:57 +0000

A million years ago, I came across a box of 101 cookie cutters with all of the alphabet letters, tons of shapes, animals, and holiday shapes. Just looking at the box, my head filled with all of the cookies I was going to make. The neighbor boy has a birthday, BAM! I supply the entire party with cookies of his name. Bake sale? No problem! I have cookie cutters for any theme. I would be a cookie-baking queen, making the perfect shaped treat for any occasion.

I quickly discovered a few things. First, I am not really into sugar cookies. Second, there is a reason why folks only make cookies on holidays. The mess, the time, the hassle. Did I mention the mess? After just a few cookie baking binges, the beautiful box of cookie cutters was relegated to a dusty shelf where it was forgotten until I had a toddler. Now, we use them a few times a week for all sorts of activities.

Play Doh
Play Doh is just great with cookie cutters. It does not require a lot of ingredients, mixing bowls, measuring cups, and spoons. It does not have to be carefully cut on a floured surface. It does not have to be baked and it does not have to be iced.

Give your cookie cutters new life by letting your toddler use them with Play Doh. Talk about the shapes and letters. Ask your toddler which color Play Doh would make a good star.

Sandwich or Pancake Fun
Turn meal time into learning time by cutting your toddlers sandwich, pancakes, etc. into letters or shapes.

Tracing Activity
Trace around some cookie cutters of trees, stars, etc. Then, let your toddler decorate the shapes.

Sand Shapes
Press cookie cutters into wet sand. Stamp out the alphabet or a scene and then erase it and start again.

Sponge Painting
Trace the cookie cutter shapes on to sponges. Cut out the shapes and let your toddler use the sponges to stamp out fun pictures.

Felt Scenes
Find some shapes that go together and trace them on to appropriately colored felt. Use a piece of felt as a background and let your toddler create scenes with the shapes.

Lacing Cards
Trace larger shapes on to cardboard. Then, use a hole punch to make holes along the edges. Give your toddler a shoe lace and let them practice their lacing.

Cinnamon Dough Ornaments
Do a quick internet search for a cinnamon dough ornament recipe and make crafty ornaments that smell good enough to eat.

Greeting Cards
Trace cookie cutters on to construction paper and use the shapes to decorate cards for any occasion.

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