Our toddler loves go to bye bye in the “vroom”. We were not going anywhere yesterday because it was nasty outside, so we painted a car instead!
Materials Needed
Construction Paper (Any color, black, and white)
Paint (We used two different colors)
Scissors
Glue
Gallon Sized Plastic Sandwich Bag
Start by cutting a car shape out of construction paper. Next, cut two circles from the black paper and a rectangle from the white paper.
After that, put small dots of paint on the car shape and put it in the plastic bag.
Now your little one can get to work painting. Let them move the paint around in the bag. Our toddler loves the squishy texture and we love that there is no big mess to clean up.
After your little one is done, gently take it out of the bag. It will take a bit of time to dry.
Once the car is drive, let your little one glue on the circles as wheels and the rectangles as the front window.
We are just under a month away from St. Patrick’s Day, but we decided to take a break from winter themed activities and do something different! This leprechaun hat is super easy and can be done with materials most of you will already have at home!
Materials Needed
Green Construction Paper
Black Construction Paper
Yellow Construction Paper
White or Other Light Color Construction Paper
scissors
Glue
We started by cutting the green paper into several thin rectangles and one thicker rectangle. We recommend between six and ten thin rectangles. Next, we cut out a black rectangle, a small black square, and a yellow rectangle that was slightly smaller than the black rectangle. If your child is preschool or early elementary school aged, you can just draw the lines and let them do the cutting!
After all the cutting was done, we set our toddler down and let her get to work! We started with the thin rectangles. We put glue on the paper and then let her place the rectangles, but if your child can use a glue stick, that method is much less messy!
Next, we helped our toddler put the thicker green rectangle horizontally under the thinner rectangles.
Lastly, we gave her the remaining shapes to make the “buckle” part of the hat. The older your child is, the less guidance they will need.
The finished product is a cute little leprechaun hat!
Our daughter turned two years old at the end of December. She is growing daily and is now firmly into the toddler stage. Even though she can walk well, we still use her LÍLLÉbaby carrier often. We have had a lot of people tell us it was time to put away the carrier, but we will not be doing that anytime soon! This morning, we want to talk a little bit about toddler wearing and answer some common questions we get!
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Just because a child can walk, does not mean they can walk easily in a crowded environment. We often will use our carrier instead of our stroller in hard to navigate places. We also use a book bag style diaper bag, so there is really no need at all to try to use a stroller most places we go. The other reason we love toddler wearing is that it provides a perfect, comfortable place for our little one to nap even in noisy places.
While some older carriers may have been uncomfortable, there are modern carriers designed just for toddlers! The one we have is for children from 20 to 60 pounds. Our two year old is only 21 pounds now, so we will get plenty of use out of it! Our daughter feels much lighter when being worn than she does when she is being carried in our arms. The carrier is also designed to support your back, which does not happen when you are just holding your child.
This last one is not a question, but still a statement that we have heard before. The only thing we can say is, we are pretty weird, but toddler wearing should not be viewed as unnatural in any way! A majority of toddlers still use strollers, so what is the difference? Using a carrier is more convenient and it takes up less room in the car! While baby wearing is a fairly recent “trend” in America, people from around the world have been wearing their babies and toddlers for as long as history has been recorded!
If you would like to start wearing your toddler and you are unsure what carrier is right for you, we have a few suggestions!
The LÍLLÉbaby Tie The Knot Baby Wrap is a lower cost option for children up to 30 pounds. If you want to try baby or toddler wearing, but do not want to put down a lot of money in case you do not like it, this is a great option!
The LÍLLÉbaby 3 in 1 CarryOn All Seasons is our carrier of choice. It is safe for children over 20 pounds and 12 months of age. Our toddler is tiny, so we did not purchase this until around her second birthday. The has three easy positions and is super comfortable for both the wearer and the child. It is more expensive than the wrap, but it is worth the investment!
We would love to hear from you! How do you feel about toddler wearing? If you’ve never tried it, but have interest, please leave any questions below and we will try our best to answer them!
Valentines day is getting closer and today we want to share a quick little art project that can be done by toddlers, adults, and anyone in between.
Materials Needed
White Paper
Construction Paper (The color does not matter)
Tape
Scissors
Markers (You could use colored pencils or crayons as well)
We started by cutting out a heart shape from the construction paper. We just used a piece of paper that was in our scrap paper bin.
Next, we put tape on the heart and let our toddler place it anywhere on the white paper that she wanted. After the heart was on the paper, we gave her some markers and let her start scribbling on the paper.
Once our toddler was done happily scribbling on the paper, we carefully lifted up the heart. This left us with a beautiful heart shape. Before we had her do this, we tried it as well, and it is super relaxing and fun!
We love to travel! Road trips, both big and small, have a special place in our hearts. When our daughter was tiny, she was pretty easy to just pack up and take anywhere we wanted to go. Now that she is firmly into the active toddler stage, things have gotten a bit more challenging, but definitely not impossible! Today, we want to pass along some tips that we use to pull off a successful road trip with our toddler.
**The following post may contain affiliate links. We may get a small commission, at no additional cost to you, for purchases made from our links. All opinions expressed are our own**
Pack Accordingly
Packing is an essential part of road trip preparation. It is important to make a list in advance so that you do not forget anything that you may need. While exactly what you will need to pack will vary trip by trip, we have a few items that we do not leave without! One of our most essential items is our daughters iPad. Her grandparents gave it to her mostly for car trips! If you do not currently have a tablet for your toddler and are on a bit of a budget, the Kindle is a great choice as well. Depending on the age of your little one, coloring books are also a great thing to bring. Our next road trip essentials are snacks and drinks. You can stop along the way to buy both of those things, but it just costs so much more. A soft cooler can keep your drinks cool without taking up too much room. Lastly, we like to be prepared with a first aid kit, sunscreen, and a flashlight. You never know when something might not go as planned.
Plan For Additional Stops
You will want to stop much more frequently than you would if your toddler was not on the trip with you. Even if it is not time for a diaper change or potty break, small children need time to get out and move a little bit.
For Longer Trips, Drive at Night
When you are taking really long trips and have two adults who can drive, traveling at night is a great way to cut down the time you have to entertain your toddler. It also will get you to your destination faster and save money because you will not have to pay for a hotel. There are a few drawbacks to this, like that you may miss out on seeing some sights along the way, so you will have to decide if this is the best driving method for your family.
We hope these tips can be helpful for your next road trip! Do you have a tip you’d like to share with us? Please leave it below!
We have shared several snow men crafts in the past, but most of them were aimed towards toddlers. Today, we wanted to share a winter craft for older children. This one is perfect for children aged four to eight. Our toddler helped us out a bit, but it was far above her developmental level.
Materials Needed
Blue Construction Paper
White Paint
A Straw
Snow Man Parts (We used a foam orange triangle and black confetti. You can use your imagination based on what you have in hand)
Start by making a traditional looking snow man with white paint. If you are brave, let your child handle the paint bottle.
Next, let your child use the straw to blow the paint around. This might get a little messy, but they will have a blast.
After they are done blowing the paint around, let your little one put on the snowman parts. We did not need glue, because the paint was enough to hold everything.
The end result will take awhile to dry, but is super cute when it does.
Right now, it is freezing in Ohio. Mr. Not So Crafty has been braving the cold to go to work, but the rest of us have not left the house in several days. It is a perfect day to make art!
Materials Needed
Blue Construction Paper
Brown Construction Paper
White Paint
Cotton Swabs (Between four and six work great)
A Rubber Band
Glue
Scissors
This art activity has very little prep work involved. Use the brown paper to cut a base of the tree and some rectangles for the branches. Next, wrap the rubbing band around the cotton swabs. After that, you will be ready to start creating with your little one!
Start by letting them glue the tree onto the blue paper. The older your child is, the less help they will need with this.
After the tree is assembled, it will be helpful to let it dry a bit before you let your little one start painting. However, our toddler has no patience, so we had to start painting right away. It turned out fine that way.
When your little one is done, they will have a beautiful winter tree scene!
