Autumn Fingerplay: 10 Red Apples

This is a charming Fall fingerplay that really revs kids up with the 'shaking' of the apple tree.

10 red apples grow on a tree (hold up all ten fingers)

5 for you and 5 for me (extend hand for a handshake.)

Let us shake the tree just so (shake the 'tree' which is your toddler)

And 10 red apples will fall below (flutter fingers as if they are apples falling down)

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (count your apples)

Toddler Crafts for Thanksgiving: 'Hidden' Thanksgiving Picture

Just FYI, before we go any further, this toddler Thanksgiving craft requires some basic ability to draw. Amazingly I can kind of draw. Sort of. If you squint at me funny.

Are you squinting?

Okay, good.

This Thanksgiving craft is a lot of fun for kids because the picture is hidden until they cover the paper with watercolor paint.

This does require some preparation and planning so don't try to do this on the fly (this is why I'm posting at the beginning of November, so you have some time to prep). And you probably don't want to do this for more than one or two kids--the drawing is a lot of work. (I did 4 drawings for 3 kids and my hand was cramping by the time I was done.)

Oh, and I am sad to say my camera was acting up and the flash was only sporadically working, which greatly affected the photos of this craft. Sorry!

Materials:

-White crayons (Some people have used white candles)
-White paper (thicker construction or sketch paper is better)
-Watercolor paints

Instructions:

1.With the white crayon, draw your design. Keep it simple because it's really hard to keep track of where you are and what the whole pic looks like. Don't get too complex. You are free to copy my designs but Google images works well. I looked for coloring book type images with simple lines as inspiration.

2.Have your toddler paint the paper with watercolor to reveal the picture. The white crayon 'resists' the paint.

This would also be fun to adapt for Christmas as a secret letter from Santa.

Cooking with Toddlers: Popcorn on the Cob

One of the cool things we brought home with us from the pumpkin patch was popcorn on the cob. This is popcorn, dried on the cob. You pop it in a paper bag and microwave for 1 to 2 minutes just like store bought microwave popcorn.

The really cool thing is the popped kernels that stay on the cob which your toddler can pick off and marvel at.

We had a lot of fun with this simple 'recipe'.

Cooking with Toddlers: Cajun Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

We recently came back from the pumpkin patch with our own Great Pumpkin and I decided to let our toddler try her hand at roasting pumpkin seeds.

This recipe also sparked a good conversation about what seeds are.

Here's the super simple super easy recipe for about 1 - 1 1/2 cups of pumpkin seeds.

Ingredients

1 - 1 1/2 cup fresh pumpkin seeds
1tsp salt
1 tbsp Cajun Seasoning (we used McCormick brand)
2tsp brown sugar

Instructions

1. Separate seeds from pulp together. Some toddlers will LOVE this, others will not like it. My toddler did not care for the slime, but did eventually help me pick out the slime free seeds.

This is the most tedious part of the recipe and takes some time, so think about watching Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin while you dig out the seeds. So long as you're using a large mixing bowl, this is not very messy and pumpkin guts don't really stain anything.

2. Parents should preheat oven to 300F.

3.Have your toddler rinse the seeds in a colander.

4.Parent melts 1.5 tbsp butter in microwave.

5.Toddler pours seeds into a mixing bowl.

6.Toddler pours in butter.

7. Toddler adds in spices: 1tsp salt, 1tbsp cajun season, 2 tsp brown sugar

8. Mix thoroughly and spread thinly on a baking sheet

9. Bake for 10-20 minutes (check frequently as these burn fast).

Let cool and enjoy! These taste great on salads or you can eat them like potato chips.

Toddler Crafts for Fall: Fall Candle Holder

I read about this craft years and years ago. I thought it was soooooo cool, I actually have a large collection of empty sauerkraut jars in my closet.

The hubby is starting to think I'm a hoarder.

I'm not. I just really really really wanted to do this craft, but my toddler was not old enough until now. Every time I emptied a jar, I thought of this craft and kept it. So now I have a collection.

Anyway, this is another easy peasy craft with lots of opportunity for toddlers to play with different textures.

Here's how we did it.

Materials
1. Empty jar
2.Tissue paper cut up into squares
3.Mod Podge (we used what we had which was Mod Podge for fabric, but imagine you should technically use Mod Podge for glass--I never did say we were professionals around here.)
4. Applicator for the mod podge. Sponge, brush whatever you got.
5.Glitter (optional)
6.Jack'o'lantern face cut outs (optional)

Instructions
1.Paint the jar with mod podge

2.Apply tissue paper and jack'o'lantern face if you are doing that.

3.Cover the tissue paper with mod podge

4.Decorate with glitter and let dry.

5.Put a candle inside or flashlight and see how it looks.

Toddler Crafts for Halloween: Easy Pumpkins and Ghosts with Glue and Tissue Paper

This craft is super simple and lots of fun. Use construction paper, glue and tissue paper (cut up in squares) to make ghosts and pumpkins.

Mom lays out the trail of glue to make the picture. The toddler covers the glue with tissue paper. We did a lot of experimenting with scrunching and crinkling the tissue paper.

This was very very easy and entertained the toddler for a decent amount of time.

Toddler Activities for Halloween: Foam Puppets on Popsicle Sticks

You can find packs of seasonal foam shapes for about $5 at local craft stores. Save your popsicle sticks or buy some (they're cheap!). Add in glitter, glue, googly eyes, feathers, paint etc... for a simple, fun Halloween craft.

We called these puppets (our toddler ran around for hours playing with them), but they would also make fun cupcake decorations.