Good morning! It looks like it might be a chilly, wet Tuesday. Here are some invitations we hope will engage your toddler’s interest today.
Art/Sensory Invitation: Finger paint
Finger paint is an amazing medium for toddlers. It’s smooth, thick texture is lovely to explore with hands and fingers. If your paint supplies are running low, here’s a recipe. Please note that while this is amazing to paint with, the paintings do not keep well. Better to snap a photo than to try and save the actual work in this climate. The paint is best just after it cools down, it will get odd and bouncy if you leave it in the jars.
Edible Finger Paint
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 cup cold water
- Food coloring
Jars or other containers to hold the paint
Combine sugar, cornstarch and water in a small saucepan. Cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat until the mixture becomes fairly clear and thickens. Pour into 3-4 containers and stir different colors of food coloring into each. Allow to cool before offering it to your toddler.
This paint is perfect for smooth surfaces such as finger paint paper. It will also work on thicker paper or a plastic shower curtain liner or vinyl tablecloth.
Building Invitation: Stacking things
We are revisiting this invitation wondering what else toddlers might find to stack and what kinds of towers they will make. Do you have any paper cups and plates? Clean, child-safe recyclables? What about natural materials like pine cones to balance on the top?
Revising stacking asks children to share how their ideas and thinking have changed over time. This invitation also calls for fine and large motor control.
Large Motor Invitation: Bean bag toss into empty frames or chalk targets
You can use bean bags for this invitation, or balled up socks. Create a target or two using empty photo frames (remove the glass as well), painter’s tape, or sidewalk chalk. Invite your child to toss the bean bags into the frames. They may have ideas about how far away they would like to be, or a different way to arrange the targets.
This invitation uses children’s arm muscles, refining aim and tossing skills.
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