Arts and Crafts for a 17Month Girl

G.,
This is a great website to check out for ideas of things to do with your toddler.
http://www.preschoolexpress.com/toddler_station.shtml

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You can do finger paint, either with real finger paint, or pudding. Play dough, or sculpt with shaving cream.

When I was a pre-school teacher we would take just a little bit of washable paint, and mix it with shaving cream. I just let them smear it all over the table and then when they were done I took a piece of paper and set it on top and make a sort of print from what was smeared on the table. Its a great sensory activity for young ones. I also took all the paper off of crayons and put the little bits in to muffin tins and baked them until they all melted. Then, after they dried I had big chunky crayons perfect for little hands. The important thing with art at this young age is not to expect perfect little crafts. They are really just exploring new things. When children are ready to color inside lines they will make there own!

I'm pretty old-fashioned, but I think you should just let her be a baby for a while yet. A coloring book and crayons maybe, but she is still at the age where eating the crayons and tearing the pages will probably keep her entertained for hours. A few cardboard boxes and your pots and pans will encourage lots of creativity.

She can use washable Finger paints. She can make handprints on paper. Another is sidewalk chalk. She can draw and color on the sidewalk, driveway or porch.

As long as you are there to supervise every second: She can play with playdoh, use the crayola my first markers and the my first crayons. With the markers and crayons you can make many crafts (picture frames, cups with paper insert, etc.) Also you can stamp the hand/foot with paint or ink and then let her color on it or you can decorate it. I was thinking that maybe she could play with some cool whip on her high chair tray like they do in school with shaving cream. Might be a bit messy but it would be edible and fun to mush in her hands. If you need more ideas google toddler crafts.

My 18 month old loves to water color. Just use those cheap ones from the grocery store. I load the brush with paint and he paints away. The art work makes great gifts for family, too!

Look on the computer for finger puppets and pattern's these are fun to make and she can also play with them. There are also kits out there at the craft stores for making your own bath soap. That might be something that you both could do together. Have fun.