Toddler Activities for Fall: Window Clings

This is what we are doing today, putting up seasonal window clings on our front screen door. These cost about $1 at the local craft store and keeps us busy for 30 to 45 minutes.

This is a good vocabulary builder for younger toddlers too.

Cheap Toddler Crafts: Halloween Masks

We are so fortunate that the older neighbor girls like spending time with the tots on our street. These girls sing songs, play pretend, are workhorses for wagon rides, and come up with crafts for my toddler and the toddlers next door.

My house has suddenly become craft central as the weather cools and we have Friday Fun night every week now. I provide snacks, some financial support, and the girls organize the craft and supervise the kids.

I don't hear a peep from anyone for almost 2 hours. It is really nice and allows my husband and I some much needed downtime.

So last week, the girls showed up with these foam masks. I supplied the feathers, googly eyes and glitter.


This was a very simple craft and perfect for toddlers. Once everyone finished their masks, they went outside and had a pre-Halloween parade through the neighborhood. Super cute. Super fun.

The cost? $5 at your local craft store.

Web Wednesdays: Free Websites for Kids

Got bored kids looking for something new to do? Then ActivityTV is the webiste for you and your family.

This fun website presents all sorts of how tos and instructions to do everything from magic tricks to origami. This is a great website for curious kids who are pretty self-directed in their learning. Kids can follow their interests or easily expand their skills--this is a really comprehensive website.

Age range is upper elementary to tween, although some of the activities could be done by younger children with parental involvement.

Toddler Crafts:Coloring Wooden Pumpkins

Go to any craft store and you can find these wood crafts for between $1 to $2. There are four pumpkins in the package pictured on the left. Cheap and easy, the perfect combination for any busy parent.

These are also a great activity for birthday parties and other events where children will outnumber the adults. Each kit comes with paint markers, so easy peasy.

They often come in holiday themes so it's a nice, easy craft to keep on hand for slow days, or the day after you just scrubbed paint off the ceiling only to turn around and find your toddler taking crayons to the wall. Even the craftiest parent needs a low key insta-craft every once in a while, right?

Which is why painting these wooden pumpkins made it onto our list of Fall crafts.

Oh and if you can't find them in your local craft store, Amazon.com sells packs of 36 for like $13 but they don't include the paints.

Toddler Crafts for Halloween: Candy Corn Wreath

The inspiration for these came from a magazine cover. I am always on the lookout for crafts that my toddler can actually do vs. watching mom put everything together. This one does require some parental involvement, but after a certain point, this craft is all toddler.

Here's what you need:

1.Ribbon, any color you like. Some versions of this craft use duct tape, which is an option, but not very attractive.

2.Candy corn
3. Small wreath (about $2 at craft stores)
4. Elmer's glue
5.Glue gun

Instructions:

1. Mom should use the glue gun to anchor the ribbon to the back of the wreath.

2.Mom then wraps ribbon around the the wreath, creates a hanging loop and uses the glue gun to secure in place.

3.Lay a generous track of glue. Generous is important otherwise the candy corn won't adhere well.

4. Give toddler a big bowl of candy corn. Coach them on not eating the ones with glue on them and turn 'em loose.

My toddler did all the gluing on the wreath pictured above by herself. She had a great time and has been begging for more candy corn ever since.

Toddler Activities: Mixing Phonics

Here's a new twist on magnetic letters that my toddler loved. Take your Leapfrog Fridge Phonics set and make it 'brand new' again with a mixing bowl.

My toddler's been taking them out and putting them back in while singing '1 little, 2 little, 3 little letters.'

Free Toddler Crafts: Fun with Glue

Here's what we've been doing with glue.

Gluing feathers onto paper.

The feathers get delightfully soggy with glue which is a texture revelation for the 3 and under set.

Also? Very low key, low prep toddler craft, which is a win for Mommy.

Unless, you happen to be Martha Stewart, in which case, why are you here?

Then I took some pinking shears and cut up a bunch of construction paper. As a bonus I made shapes; triangles, rectangles, squares, and irregular shapes that I just now invented (and should receive a Nobel Prize for aaaaany second now).

Then I left a trail of glue on some paper and had the toddler cover the glue with paper. If your little one can manage the glue, let them make their own paper trail.

Other cool things to do, spell out words and names in glue. Make a smiley face or other picture.