Kai Rai Creations: Toddler Tuesday

I am always looking around (mostly on Pinterest) for fun new art projects for the kids. I'm normally the "Let's go outside and make mudpies" kind of mom, but with it being so cold out we sometimes need to get a bit creative. I ran across this pin the other day and though it would be a perfect cold weather project. Unfortunately I pinned this and later realized that it didn't track back to anything... just a lonely old error message announcing that the blog has been removed. Boooo! So if this is from your blog, or your sweet darling boy let me know so I can give you some credit!. Ok, let's get started!

Since the blog did not link back I didn't have any directions but I figured, "Hey, how hard can it be?" And the answer was a resounding--- "Not that hard". But I figured I would give you a bit of instruction just.in.case.

So we started with a set of ingredients found right in our kitchen. I filled each of the round (I want to call them pie tins but they aren't tin...hummm, dished for lack of a better, more technical word) dished with about 1 cup of baking soda (not pictured). You can eyeball it, just make sure the baking soda covers the bottom of the dish. You also need: *Food Coloring * Vinegar * Medicine Droppers * Small Cups *

When we do art I like to get all of the supplies out and allow the girls to watch me put everything together. They took turns smelling the vinegar and Baylie insisted on calling it stinky water. For kids this age it can be difficult to disassociate something that they come into contact with multiple times a day with a specific set of properties and qualities and make a new association to something else with the exact same properties and very similar qualities. So, for the remainder of the project we called it stinky water. But my wheels were already turning trying to think of a science project to compare the qualities of water and vinegar (it's in the works..I'll share soon.) Anywhoo, I digress.

I let the girls choose what color they wanted and stirred the food coloring into the vinegar. These are droppers we got from CVS once when we were picking up meds for one of the girls. We just asked for two extra and the pharmacy tech threw some in. I bet your pharmacy would hook you up too, just ask!

*****I do not recommend reusing these droppers for medication after this project. I have no scientific reasoning for this, it just seems like a bad idea...maybe I'm paranoid. We just threw ours in the art box to keep them separate from the ones for medication. *********

Ok, now the fun part! I think Frankie about passed out from excitement when she saw the baking soda fizz. Who am I kidding? *I* was excited! They both caught on right away and it was giggling and screaming from that point on.

Baylie had a bit of trouble with the dropper. She kept wanting to grab it rather than pinch it which made it difficult to apply the pressure needed for good suction. This is a great activity for teaching toddlers how to pinch and it's great for their fine motor development (the same muscles used later when they need to properly grasp a pencil when learning how to write). She eventually got it, but we'll be doing this activity again to reinforce the grasp.

Any yes, they are clothes-less. I keep meaning to make them some art smocks, but I keep forgetting until I actually need them. So for now we strip them down to their skivvys. Food coloring + clothes + ME doing laundry = BIG no no

And there you have it. This kept them occupied for a good 45 minutes+. Eventually they figured out that they could suck up the baking soda and put it in their vinegar. Talk about messy! But they enjoyed it and overall it was a success. So why don't you give it a try with your little ones and let me know how it goes! Until next time!

In my past life, before I had children, I was a Kindergarten teacher. I loved my job. I mean, I REALLY loved my job. It was one of those jobs that, as a young single woman in her 20s and in an exciting and wonderful city full of nightlife, culture, art, and beautiful nature, would still come home on Friday night after a long week of teaching and not being able to wait for Monday to come around again. Don't get me wrong- I loved my alone time. But I adored teaching. And particularly I loved teaching kindergarten and I loved having the opportunity to teach in a progressive, child-centered charter school that truly cared for the social and emotional development of it's students. I was never pressured to teach to a test. I taught to each individual student and their needs. I connected and bonded with those students. I loved them and I still miss them all so much to this very day.

But then I had my second daughter and my love shifted. I still enjoyed teaching, but I loved spending time with my girls more. So two years ago we decided I would stay at home with my girls for a while. I still miss teaching, but for me, I know that I would miss being at home with the girls so much more.

What does that have to do with Toddler Tuesdays, you ask?? Well, Toddler Tuesdays is a series designed to highlight various games, crafts, projects, ect just for toddlers. Some of the projects are slightly more adult involved than others and ALL of these projects will require adult supervision. But at the core, none of these projects are designed for parents to complete and then write their child's name on it and frame it. I believe that children learn by doing. I've seen it. Some of these activities might require the use of tools like scissors. I will say it now- yes! My two year old uses scissors and has been since about 18 months. Many of her projects look like they've been completed by a young Edward Scissor Hands, but it's HERS. To guide you along, in each blog post in this series I will highlight for you what skill(s) are involved in the project and how it will promote readiness for more complex skills. By all means, if you feel as though your child is not ready for a particular skill or that attempting the skill will cause unnecessary stress, do it for them or skip that step. Sometimes I may pre-cut or pre-assemble part of a project. I might pre-cut a Christmas tree to have the kids decorate because I really want them to focus on the skill of tracing or gluing. You get the idea. These are just my thoughts as a former educator. Complete these projects as you see fit, but keep in mind, art doesn't always have to be pretty. Sometimes it's a hot mess but the beauty comes in knowing that your child created it and in the process they are developing new skills.