Tips for Teaching Toddlers Part 3
Friday, October 13th, 2006By Mimi Rothschild
Yesterday I spoke about several ways to encourage different kinds of learning when homeschooling toddlers. Today we are going to wrap up this three part series with some advice on developing your homeschooler’s creative side with fun art projects.
1. Fun with crayons: Allow your child to draw outside the lines, explore scribbles and shapes, and generally just figuring out what to do with a crayon. They’ll learn how to draw later, now they are just discovering how crayons work. Offer your homeschooler several light and dark colors. They tend to prefer bright and dark colors over pastels. When preparing a coloring area, cover a length of your table with paper taped to the surface. Then you won’t be worried about straying outside the confines of the page. Draw a shape and encourage your child to copy what you have drawn.
2. Fun with paints: Grab a cardboard box and have your child creat his own “house” or “spaceship.” Make windows, and help them fill in details. They can use their fingers or brushes. Provide your child with his own apron to prevent dirty clothes. Your homeschoolers can go wild with edible paints like whipped cream, yogurt, and gelatin. Make sure to lay down a drop cloth!
3. Fun with paper: Kids love to tear up paper. Give them glue to make designs with the shreds. Give your kids rubber stamps and allow them to stamp away. Let your child cover themselves with stickers. Encourage your homeschoolers to make paper crowns and hats. Help your child make a newspaper sailboat. Then take it to and pull it around the water with a string. The possibilities are endless!
4. Fun with Sculpture: Clay, Play-do, and cookie dough will help develop small motor skills. Have your child create a shape and then bake it into a tasty cookie or scultpture. Explore the different ways to mold Play-do along with your child. You can even make cups, bowls, and saucers that your homeschooler can eventually use.