Kid Creations

Tuesday, December 15, 2009 by Jeannie Fleming-Gifford from Child Development

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, or simply the winter solstice, chances are you may be trying to think of something special you can create with your munchkin.

You know those grandparents are expecting homemade gifts. The ones they can show off to their friends, hang on the fridge (or their tree) and share the brilliance that is your munchkin. The challenge, of course, with all of this is finding a craft that is going to be fun, developmentally appropriate (meaning that your child has the skills needed to successfully do the project) and also will be a nice product (something to be treasured that your child - not you - created).

I'm right there with you.

Trust me, I'm no Martha Stewart, but as you can see by the cute pic of my kid and her creations, if I can pull this off, so can you.

crafts.kaboose.com/saltdoughgifttoppers.html

Here's one of the recipes I found that was simple enough for me to whip up without another trip to the grocery store.

A couple of other pointers...

*Be prepared for a mess. Don't have expectations for your infant or toddler not to be messy. This is all new. Worry about clean-up later and enjoy the process now. Forget the spoons and, especially with toddlers, let them dig into this concoction with their hands.

*When it comes to paints, be sure to get non-toxic, washable, tempera paints. To jazz them up, add some glitter to the paint or shake the glitter on to your creations when they are still wet. There will be no need for glue, the glitter will stick.

*If you aren't into making ornaments, make these cut out creations into refrigerator magnets by simply picking up some self adhesive magnets (sold at craft stores) and attach to the back...voila...refrigerator magnets to be treasured year round!

*If your kiddo is really diggin' the process, grab some paper (even something like simple copy paper) and let them paint, paint, paint. This will be the perfect paper to wrap up their creations as gifts.

*Oh, and don't forget to put your child's name and the year on the back of their work. Use a permanent marker to preserve this information...next year and the year after that, you'll be glad you took the time.

If you take on this project, let me know how it goes...or maybe you've got a whole different idea, I'd love to hear that too.

Not ready to take on the ornament project? Do you have a teeny tiny infant? Even the youngest baby can create something really special. In the next couple of days, grab some tempera paint, a canvas board (the size of your choosing) and then come back for the next blog entry...we'll tackle another project just perfect for your baby.

Cheers!

Jeannie Fleming-Gifford
Jeannie Fleming-Gifford is a mama to one little lady, freelance writer, and the director of education for a non-profit community school of the arts. Graduating with a B.A. in Music and a M.A. in Child Development, Jeannie began her career in quality child developme...Read More

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