Arts and Crafts for 2-Y-o

When my daughter was two she LOVED mixing colored water. We just got a bunch of clear plastic cups and some food coloring. We'd mix her up a whole bunch of different colors and let her pour back and forth. (This is obviously an outside activity). It would keep her entertained for a full hour at a time. It also works with milk, but is obviously more expensive. You can also have him paint different things - mini pumpkins are inexpensive, or apples, or even poster paint on the outside of a glass door. Washing the car is always fun too! Have fun!

My son (3 next month) tends to like projects with props. I went to the craft store and got ribbon remenants and my son had a blast gluing them onto things (paper bags, cards, etc.). Also, we have a bag of buttons, popsicle sticks, glitter glue, mini pom poms...

hope that helps - have fun!

try the website dltk-kids.com they have great ideas for arts and crafts. I use it alot for ideas at my preschool. have fun!

I also have a two year old boy and am always trying to find something new for him. Many times, I take out my craft box and let him go to town with it. Right now, he'll just use a glue stick and glue whatever he can (anything really) to some construction paper and he has so much fun with that. Stickers are always fun too. Also, he LOVES pens and whenever he can use one, he feels so grown up. So I'll let him use a pen at the kitchen table on a notebook and he has so much fun with it creating his own art.

Hi M.,
I'm a former toddler teacher and below are some of the "art" projects the kids have loved over the years:

Try stickers, dot paints (no mess!), oobleck- (just mix cornstarch with water),shaving cream art, paper and crayons or washable markers. Give him old magazines or toy catalogs to tear up. Now is also a great time to introduce play dough.You can also put a few different color finger paint blobs in a zip lock bag and seal the top with duct tape and let him squish the colors together and see what happens. Give him a spray bottle filled with colored water and let him spray white coffee filters. Outside, give him an old paintbrush and a bucket of water and let him paint the house, the ground - anywhere ! Sidewalk chalks are fun too. Eye droppers and ice cube trays half filled with plain and colored water will keep him busy forever,mixing up new colors.Try large stamps and stamp pads as well.And don't forget plain old scotch tape. Two year olds love to have several small pieces to stick and un-stick and "fix" things with ! Go on a nature walk and collect treasures to make a Contact Paper collage. Just tear off a sheet of Contact Paper and tape it sticky side up on a table or wall and let him go to work creating a beautiful collage! All of these ideas are quick and easy to clean up, and are fun for two year olds, but they help to develop their fine motor co-ordination as well. Just let him experiment with the materials in his own way and don't be too concerned about creating a finished product. Have fun ! L. S.

Great Question and great responses! I really like the eye dropper one for mixing colors! I bought fondant for a cake I was making and it didn't turn out good. So I gave the fondant to my 2 year old, along w/ some popsicle sticks and mini marshmellows and those tubes of icing that you squeeze. She loves to shape and build with it. And best of all, I don't have to worry about her ingesting anything toxic. Just another idea that I stumpled upon