I can't tell you how many times I have heard "my baby is too young to do crafts" since I started this blog. Well I am here to tell you...you are WRONG (in the most polite way of course!). If a baby can hold a small toy they can create art. I am so excited about this post because I love babies and I love crafts, combine the two and I am a happy camper. I don't have a little baby anymore (she is 15 months) so I borrowed the adorable Miss. Sidney for a power art session. Sidney is just 3 months old. Normally I wouldn't do multiple projects in a row with a little one but I only had a couple hours so ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
The first rule of baby art (other than the obvious safety things) is that it's about the PROCESS not the PRODUCT. You need to look at each art project as a creative sensory experience and the fact that you can hang adorable "proof" of this experience on the fridge is a bonus. When planning baby art think about what babies like-noise, texture, color, and new things. For the record Sidney never touched paint directly during today's projects but I have done straight up finger painting and toe painting with tiny ones many times. (Note: Baby wipes make for quick and easy clean up.)
Here's what we did:
Project one- Add paper and paint to a ziploc baggie. Let the baby look at it, touch it, crumple it. Talk to the baby about how it feels (smooth, squishy, cold). Talk about the colors and what the paint looks like (red. blue, purple, shiny, thick).
Project 2: Add paper and colored ice cubes (water & food coloring) to a baggie. Encourage the baby to move the ice cubes around. Talk about how the ice cubes feel (cold, hard, slippery) and how they look (colors, rectangle). Explain what's happening to the ice cubes and why they are melting. (Gotta start science young!)
Project 3: Place paper, paint, and marbles in a plastic container with a lid (I used a frosting container-confession: I don't always make my own frosting!). Instead of marbles try a ping pong ball, golf ball, pennies, grapes, etc,. Talk to the baby about how the container feels (heavy, smooth, cold). As she moved is, what does it sound like?
Project 4: Lay paper on a cookie sheet (I used a disposable one only because I found it while packing and have no other use for it). Put some paint in the middle of the paper. Cover with plastic wrap. I put Sidney on her Boppy and showed her the project. She touched it. Normally she hates tummy time but she did great! Talk about the colors and the way the plastic wrap feels. Also try different textures to cover up the paint such as wax paper, cellophane, or bubble wrap (bubbles up).
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| Notice that I put a blanket down in case there were any messes. (Of course I was the one that spilled paint on the blanket, not the baby.) |
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| Normally I would take shoes and socks off for this part but Sidney was getting hungry so we improvised. |
Here are some of Sidney's finished projects!
Remember: the shape of the paper and the color of the paint can be changed in any of these projects to suit any holiday or your personal taste.
Well there you have it folks, proof that babies can do art! I hope you try some crafts with your tiny ones soon and send me some pictures!!!
Happy Crafting!
Ames
