New toddler group seeking ideas!!!!

[mummyhill]

I am starting a new toddler group in birmingham area and need some ideas for craft activities for children upto the age of 4 any suggestions?

Anything that involves sticking goes down well.

Potato print painting
Flower pressing, when it gets better weather!
Easy baking? ie cornflake cakes (not sure about melting the choc tho? do you have anywhere to do it?)
Dancing! (bloody tikabila jive going round my head....)

we have a small kitchen but the church are really strict about its usage. Are there any really good things we can do with recycled products?

spaghetti cooked in well-diluted food colouring, and used to make pictures. it kind of sticks itself to the paper over time.

shakers made with plastic bottles/cartons and lentils - can be used in singing time too

I like that one and it will be just messy enough for the kids too.

We've had toddlers walking barefoot from a tray of paint, the length of a strip of lining paper, and into a bowl of warm water the other end. Must confess, I hoped ds didn't spot that one!

Cook penne or rigatoni in food-coloured water, then dry the pasta in a low oven. Use to thread bracelets or necklaces.

I've nicked all these ideas from somebody very arty. Not an enthusiast at all!

junk modelling usually goes down well. various cardboard boxes and a roll of masking tape...

Hi purpleturtle, doesn't matter who you nicked the ideas off they are great. All we could come up with the other day was egg box crocodiles.

Decorating paper plates to make faces, fish , masks etc.

Playdoh which can be allowed to set hard ie. brown for a hedgehog into which you stick short pieces of spahetti for spines and add googly eyes.

Squares of paper they can decorate to make kites to which you add a string tail with bits of tissue paper attached.

Egg box caterpillars - painted with googly eyes and pipe cleaner antennae.

mummyhill how about following a theme through for the term? eg food - sticking string to a plate to be spaghetti, cut up pictures of food on a plate, decorating biscuits with icing etc; or colours; sticking pix with cut up red pix from catalogues etc, followed by poato prints in blue and then sticking green leaves on a tree on subsequent weeks; or fave characters from TV - make Bob the builder mask, decorate a cut-out Thomas train with red or green or blue to make james or percy or gordon, make a picture of a teletubby using bits you?ve cut up for legs, head, tummy etc. Or you can go from the seasons - collages with autumn leaves, tissue paper flowers for mothers day, beach picture usign sand and cut-out buckets and spades in the summer, decorate a pink heart for Valentines day etc. HTH

thanks chocfreeclary thats a great idea.

If you're making shakers, take some super glue along so you (ie an adult!) can glue the lids on once they're filled.

You can make pretty much anything with a paper plate, Amongst other things we've done:

Octopus - cut (and discard) small bit off paper plate and stick 8 strips of paper on the now straight bit of the plate for legs. Decorate with cut up squares of paper, stick on some eyes (I print a whole sheet off to cut up), add a bit of string to the top to hang it up.

Rocking birds - fold plate in half, add long strips of paper for tail and a cardboard beak (and wings if you want). Decorate with squares of paper as above! They rock nicely if you tap them on the beak.

Sun flowers - cut out loads of yellow petals for them to stick. We the covered the centre of the plate with glue and poured on sunflower seeds (meant for bird food) but you can use black paper. Or use yellow paper and you have a sun instead of a sun flower.

For mothers day I made some salt dough flowers and took in glue and sequins for them to stick on.

A selection pack cereal box plus one cup from an egg box for a lense and a piece of round pasta for the button makes a good camera.

making stain glass wibndows out of crepe paper
growing cress on cotton wool
grass seeds in mud in plastic cups

I've just got a great book from the library called "Make it with rubbish" published by Book House, price on back 10.99. Does say for children of 5+, but I'm sure there are some good ideas for younger ones as long as there is some adult supervision.

Try this website things to make

humphrey - what a lovely site, do you have to pay to print stuff off? If so how much does it work out to in £???? Loads of really good ideas for all age groups and educational too.

I've got two great books, 365 tv-free activities to do with toddlers/kids
think the toddler one is for 1 - 4

They're written by an australian but everything in them is easily done here, and they are just fantastic. I got them for £1 each from 'the works' (don't know if they are nationwide but they are a discount book store and theres tons in towns and citys in the south)
THe author Di Hodges has another A4 style book along the same theme too, shes fabulous. Its all such simple stuff.

look on the CBeebies website - they have lots of printables to make finger puppets etc there. Our toddler group seems to come up with a great idea every week. Sticking is very popular and glitter

Thanks for the ideas folks, will have to try them all out.

what about edible necklaces, use sweet laces (strawberry, apple flavour etc) and cherios or loops breakfast cereal. Great for hand eye co-ordination and fine motor skills. Obviously the oyunger children will find it difficult but will love just munching on the ingrediants! I do this activity at home and the kids love it.

Also what about decorating digestive biscuits? Make different coloured icing or buy icing tubes. Use raisins, springles, marshmallows, choc chips etc to decorate!! (you could also make easter bonnet biscuits by sticking a large marsmallow in centre of digestive biscuit and decorating it with mini eggs!!))