Hi, Welcome back to Toddler Craft. Please subscribe to my Toddler Craft newsletter. Sign up to the left. It's full of more fun activities, parenting information and crafts! Thanks for visiting!

This preschool craft can also make a great gift for Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.  This craft would be great for a Christmas or Chanukah gift as well.  It will be special to whoever gets this wonderful gift!  Credit for this idea goes to my nephew who made it for his dad as a gift!

Supplies:

• Popsicle  sticks
• Glue
• Melty beads

Steps:

1. First you will want to create the box, to do this you will start by making a square with the popsicle sticks and gluing the corners together.
2. Then line the sticks side by side across the square to make the base of the box, glue them to the square.
3. You will then need to glue the sticks along the square to make the the walls of the box until they are the right height- approximately 1 1/2 inches.
4. Now you will want to create the top.  Make another square and glue the corners.
5. Glue popsicle sticks side by side to the square to make the top of the box.
6. Create a melty bead design, You can make a heart, flower whatever you like.
7. Iron the melty bead design and let it cool
8. Glue the melty bead design on to the top of the box.
9. Let it dry.

Enjoy!!

This is a fun preschool craft and perfect for the cold weather we are feeling here in the Northeast! You can easily make this craft into a nice card to give to someone for the holidays or a birthday card.

Supplies:

• White paper
• Construction paper
• Scisors
• Glue

Steps:

1. Fold White paper in half
2. Cut it into a half circle
3. Fold a few more times
4. Cut slits and shapes in the paper
5. Unfold
6. Fold Construction paper in half and glue snow flake on the card.

Enjoy!!

photo credit: Photocapy

This is one craft that your kids will surely love and enjoy. This will develop their creativity and resourcefulness. As they grow taller and stronger, they are attracted to moving objects.  They are also becoming more aware of their mobility.   Making a pull-along mini-cart would satisfy their curiosity and active desire to be in control of things.  Moreover, this craft can be a learning activity in which the children can identify colors and shapes.

What you will need:

• Drinking/plastic cup
• Colored cardboard
• Two pieces of pencils
• Modeling clay
• String
• Pair of scissors

How to do it:

1. Place your drinking/plastic cup on the colored cardboard and trace the base with a pencil to make four wheels.
2. Cut the four wheels out of the cardboard.
3. Push the two pencils through the two wheels respectively. Be careful in handling the pointed tip to avoid piercing or hurting yourself.
4. Attach the pencil on each wheel and seal it with modeling clay to prevent it from loosening.
5. Make a small rectangular box with an open top using your colored cardboard. You can use a different color this time to make the body of the mini-cart distinct from the wheels.
6. Make four holes on the sides of the box, two on each side.
7. Push the pencils with wheels through the holes.
8. Attach the remaining two wheels on the two pencils, respectively and fixing it with modeling clay.
9. Tie a string on one end of the box, just long enough for your kid to pull it along.
10. Now that you have a pull-along mini-cart, ask your child to give it a name to make it more meaningful for him.

photo credit: katekillet

Toddlers always enjoy making sounds, be it by just tapping objects or anything they can get their hands on. Teach your kids early to develop their love for music.

One simple musical instrument that you can do with your toddlers is a musical shaker made of ordinary things or recycled materials. Surely, it will be enjoyable for the kids to make, and play with!  To make their shaker colorful, the kids can add decorations on it.

Supplies:

• Two pieces of used plastic cups
• Dried lentils or beans
• Tape
• Colored construction paper (optional)
• Crayons or markers
• Glue
• Pair of scissors

Steps:

1. Clean up the cups very thoroughly.
2. Ask your child to take the dried lentils or beans and place them inside the cup.
3. Take the other cup and place it on top of the cup with dried lentils or beans.
4. Attach them with a tape (make it tight, so it doesn’t break open)
5. Take out your colored construction paper and wrap it around the shaker.
6. Assist your child in decorating the shaker with crayons or markers.
7. Ask your kids to shake it up and down, and side to side to make sounds.

Now, play the CD of your kids’ favorite songs and sing with them while demonstrating how you enhance the rhythm of the music using the musical shakers that you all crafted.  Add some fun dancing and surely the whole family would find great time and bonding.

This is a fun preschool craft that is also a great learning experience.  It gives you an opportunity to work on drawing, creating a story and letters all at the same time.  Depending on the age of the child, you can have them tell you the story of the pictures and you can write it, or if they are old enough they can write it themselves.

Supplies:

• White computer paper
• Stapler
• Crayons

Steps:

1. Fold  a few pieces of Paper in half to make a little book
2. Staple center
3. Have your child think about what they want their book to be about and then draw a picture on the front.
4. Help them come up with a title and then write it for them (or help them write it if they are able to)
5. Have them draw pictures on the rest of the pages and tell you the rest of the story on each of those pages.
6. Read them their story.
7. Have them “read” their story back to you.

Enjoy!