Art Activities for Infants and Toddlers

Whether you're a crafty person yourself or you're simply searching for a way to enjoy some bonding time with your child, you may find yourself looking for art activities for infants and toddlers.

There are many reasons to consider including the youngest member of your family in your arts and crafts sessions.

• Family bonding: Obviously, it's important to spend as much quality time with your children as possible. Art activities are a great way to bond with your children, especially if your little one has older siblings that can also participate.
• Promoting creativity: Watching you transform circles and lines into a recognizable face is a great way illustrate the concept of creativity to a young child.
• Recognizing colors: In addition to knowing the basic red, yellow, and blue, you can also work on teaching your child which colors are created when you mix these colors together.
• Identifying shapes: Knowing how to identify circles, squares, triangles, and other basic shapes is an important part of getting ready for school.
• Letter and word identification: It will still be a few years before your child is ready to read, but art activities can be useful in helping with letter and word identification. Helping your child to recognize his name is a great way to reinforce lessons being taught in preschool, for example.

If you're looking for simple craft project ideas to enjoy with your child, here are a few ideas to consider:

• Stamp your baby's hand and footprints with a washable ink pad to make a cute design for all those thank you notes you need to write for your baby shower gifts.
• Although finger painting is messy, it's one of the best art activities to enjoy with toddlers! Turn your favorite finger paint pictures into washable place mats by laminating them with clear contact paper.
• Place a bit of tempera paint onto some plain wrapping paper, then give your child a straw. Tell him or her to blow gently to create abstract designs. Just by varying the colors, you can make wrapping paper for almost any occasion.
• Trace around your child's hands and feet, then use crayons to turn them into silly animals or cartoon characters. (Think of this as a variation on the Thanksgiving turkey craft you probably completed in elementary school.)
• Make a batch of salt dough, create some fun ornaments or decorations, then microwave your creations so they will be preserved for several years to come.
• Create a special handmade gift for grandpa and grandma by painting a plain wooden picture frame so they have a fun place to display the newest photo of your little one.

When planning art activities for infants and toddlers, it's helpful to keep in mind a few basic tips. For example:

• Keep it short. A young child can't sit still and pay attention for very long. Projects that take more than 10 or 15 minutes to complete are going to be difficult for most kids.
• Get organized. You don't want to frustrate your child by stopping in the middle of a project to search for glue or scissors. Get all your items together before you begin.
• Protect your work area. When you have a small child in the house, accidents happen. Cover your work area with newspapers or an old sheet and make sure your child is wearing clothes that can get dirty.
• Allow for independence. If you're a crafty person yourself, you may have the urge to micromanage your child's creative projects. However, it's important to give him the freedom to create as he sees fit. Remember that there is more than one way to draw a tree, a rainbow, or a happy face! Praise effort and ingenuity, even if your child isn't doing things quite the way you had hoped.

For more tips on choosing art activities for infants and toddlers, visit LoveToKnow Crafts.

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