photo credit: Shooting Nouns

When most moms and dads bring out the toddler arts and crafts box, they usually know that their child’s creation is going to either be hung on the refrigerator or displayed proudly on their desk at work.

But the most rewarding toddler crafts in the eyes of your child are those he or she can play with after they’ve worked hard to design, create and put flair to their ideas. Some toddler crafts aren’t meant to be turned into a toy once the craft is complete, but there are many ideas you can implement where your child will be occupied during two phases:  creation and utilization.

For example, there are many simple toddler crafts that use paper – including origami for kids – even at such a small age. Your toddler can create a variety of animals using origami and then use his imagination to make the paper animals come alive!

Another fun toddler craft that keeps the fun going past the creation phase is when you help your child make homemade playdough. This is thrilling enough for a child to use her own hands to create something she’s used to seeing for sale on the shelves at Toys R Us – but then she actually gets to store it and bring it out to mold, build and play with on a regular basis.

Whenever you’re making a list of various toddler craft ideas, make sure you balance out the display craft options with those that will provide your little one with many more hours of entertainment and joy.

What motivates me!