Get ready for some mess! Finger paint is great fun for littlies but it is messy. I started to use finger paint with my son at around 1 year old and he loved it. I have a high chair with a removable tray so you can push it up to the table. I taped paper to the table took off his clothes and let him go nuts. Some children don't like the initial feeling of finger paint (or anything messy) but give it a couple of attempts before you give up. This is a recipe I made up. I use baby shampoo, if they put it in their mouth it won't taste nice and will discourage them from eating it but shouldn't cause to much harm if they get it in their eyes. If you are lucky you might even end up with a nice piece of art work! Always supervise children closely with this activity.
Recipe
3/4 cup of plain flour
1/4 cup of corn flour
2 tbsp of baby shampoo (or dishwashing liquid)
approx 1/2-3/4 cup of water.
4-5 drops of food colouring
Simply put all ingredients into a jug and mix together with a fork. Add as much water as you like to get a desired consistency. Then mix in food colouring until you get the colour you are after.
Finger paint is a great sensory and early art activity for children. It also teaches them early science skills such as colour mixing. As children get older you can add different things to the paint and encourage them to experiment e.g., marbles (to roll around and make patterns), more soap suds, paint brushes, sponges. Have Fun.
Simple but very effective.
This is one of the most simple toys to make so much so I was reluctant to even post about it but my husband kindly reminded me that I made it months and months ago and our son still enjoys it. All you need is an empty bottle and something sharp to poke holes in the bottom ( I used a mini screwdriver). Then you can fill it with water and watch it shower out of the bottom. Kids love it in the bath, I initially made this as we have a number of stacking cups which seem to empty the water out of their holes faster than you can fill them, the benefit of a large bottle is you can fill it up once and it runs for ages. Also great to help with washing their hair in the bath.
Enjoy.
Firstly I must credit this one to my Aunty Heather who gave us these great foam blocks for Christmas.
The blocks are fantastic first blocks for children as they can easily grab on to the corner of them to hold, and they can build and knock down towers without getting hurt by the falling blocks. They also look amazing.
They are simple to make. I would suggest using a sewing machine if you have one but you can also make them by hand.
What you need....
- A couple of meters of material with 4-5 different patterns (the amount you need depends on how many blocks you want to make.)
- foam squares to insert into the blocks (you can get these from foam/rubber suppliers such as Clark Rubber, they will cut them to size for you). These ones are 9cmx9cm squares
- sewing machine and/or needle and thread.
Process....
Cut you material into squares 10cmx10cm you will need 6 squares for each block.
Sew the squares together with approx 1/2 cm seam as per the picture below
Then sew squares 2, 5, 4, 6 together to make the shape of a box with square 1 being the lid (open) insert the foam square into the box, close the lid and hand sew it closed.
Blocks are ready to play with.
