Our DS has really been enjoying making things lately, and I thought I'd like to branch out a bit. So I'm taking suggestions!

Thanks!

Bella really only does coloring and painting.
Therefore, I'm officially watching this thread for ideas! :)

Drawing with water: outside on the sidewalk with brushes, or some other acceptable place that will darken but dry well. (Aquadoodles are good for this age too if you want to buy.)
If you are purchasing, that is also when someone gave us the Crayola markers that only color on their special paper. Have to ration the paper, and it's a little odd, but very satisfying for them if they have older siblings coloring but are not yet trustworthy with regular coloring stuff.
Homemade playdough. (Read: edible! Very salty, but not dangerous.)
Feeling spendthrift? Scotch tape and scrap paper.

Hmm. More ideas if I think of them. (I have younger and older right now, so I'm trying to remember....)

journey likes to "maint" (her word for paint) the house (outside) with a paint brush & a bucket of water. she also loves playdoh & drawing with a pen or pencil.

paint, chalk, marbling, embroidery, cut and paste, modeling clay, fingerweaving

She mostly enjoys markers on paper (or herself), but would paint more if I let her.
I know ds did some interesting craft projects when he was 2, but what, I'm don't remember. Mostly stuff involving paint.
Oh dd has used fabric markers to color a small stuffed animal.
I think ds liked to use a gluestick & glue little pieces of tissue paper at that age.
Oh yea, dd enjoys sticking stickers on stuff as well. She also does sidewalk chalk.

What kind of fingerweaving? Actually talk to me about embroidery too. I would love those for a two or three year old. My just-turned-four is suddenly fascinated with the idea of knitting, sewing, embroidery, etc. and I'm still trying to figure out what to use. Thanks!

oh....not quite a craft, but lacing cards. we have M&D animals & she loves them......

paint, chalk, marbling, embroidery, cut and paste, modeling clay, fingerweaving

What kind of fingerweaving? Actually talk to me about embroidery too. I would love those for a two or three year old. My just-turned-four is suddenly fascinated with the idea of knitting, sewing, embroidery, etc. and I'm still trying to figure out what to use. Thanks!

oh....not quite a craft, but lacing cards. we have M&D animals & she loves them......

YES! Ok - please elaborate for the clueless... DS has suddenly taken an interest in my crocheting, and I would love to get him started on something involving yarn. So what exactly is a lacing card, and what exactly is fingerweaving - and what other options remain? I KNOW I could go to Michael's and spend money on kits, but how might I go about such things - maybe putting together a kit myself? Maybe that's impractical. We're just REALLY low on the spending money lately... So just fill me in! Thanks!

lace & tracing cards like these.......

http://db.stuffkidslike.com/mas_assets/full/116082.jpg

Amazon.com: Melissa & Doug Lace and Trace Vehicles: Toys & Games (http://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Lace-Trace-Vehicles/dp/B0007OF1S0)

& i think i've seen some at walmart in their school supply section that is near the stationary (their "homeschool-ish" area).

a lot of the crafts i mentioned are in the oakmeadow prek and k (with supples and instructions)

for sarah i just give her a large tapestry needle (blunt) with yarn as thread and some openweave cloth (like burlap or cheesecloth) and let her go to town

heres my sig form a couple of weeks ago when both lyl and sarah were playing at embroidering

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0803/branwyn/emrboidery2.jpg


fingerweaving/finger knitting

How to Finger Weave - wikiHow (http://www.wikihow.com/Finger-Weave)

Finger Weaving by Sue Robishaw (http://www.manytracks.com/Art/Fingerweaving/finger_weaving.htm)

Finger Knitting (http://www.waldorfhomeschoolers.com/fingerknit.htm)

hth!

oh also get chalk, oil pastels, crayons, markers, finger paints, water colours, acrylics, colour pencils etc and then get canvas or canvas board and let them go to town.


sarah also likes using safety scissors on foam board and felt to make her own shapes and dolls

sand art! get coloured sand, put glue all over a canvas, etc and let them throw the sand on it.

nature collages - you know those flowers, seeds, pieces of grass etc they collect when they are outside? have them glue them to some foamboard. or tie them on string and hang them from a hanger for a nature mobile.

tearing out pictures from magazines and gluing them

gluing tissue paper to make suncatchers

i have some more ideas but the children are wanting lunch :D

Thanks, Y'all!

And Branwyn - I appreciate those links... some of those links led to other links... and I got all excited about some new possibilities!

I think I'm going to start building a craft bin for DS to work out of...

So today we took a family trip to Michael's to see what we could see. We saw a very simple model truck kit for a BUCK! Yeah... made in China... hard to stomach what they could have possibly paid the people that helped make this if they are selling it for a buck. But, couldn't resist! We were very impressed with how well, how hard, and how consistently DS worked at this until it was all done!

http://inlinethumb09.webshots.com/8968/2199497220101185630S425x425Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2199497220101185630NPZSNh)

http://inlinethumb30.webshots.com/10077/2329765580101185630S425x425Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2329765580101185630KaziHe)

http://inlinethumb08.webshots.com/11847/2288585900101185630S425x425Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2288585900101185630CItFfi)

http://inlinethumb15.webshots.com/9230/2568384720101185630S425x425Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2568384720101185630YZywRa)

aww - sully would paint everything BUT the truck:lol: it looks like Levi really enjoyed that!!

there is a great book called FIRST ART that gives lots of ideas for toddler art, it's all about the process (not the product) at that age for most kids...

later we liked PRESCHOOL ART by the same publisher.

Amazon.com: First Art : Art Experiences for Toddlers and Twos: Books: MaryAnn F. Kohl,Renee F. Ramsey,Dana Bowman,Katheryn Davis (http://www.amazon.com/First-Art-Experiences-Toddlers-Twos/dp/0876592221)

books like those were vital for me because it took a bit for me to de-school myself. i studied art and unfortunately, when you study art in college, it's not just about the process anymore :joker: it took a while for me to learn to let go and just let the boys play with art supplies and let go of the "wastful" worries about the supplies. (yes...ducking head...i was a bit uptight in that department when my guys were wee littles.)

I first learned finger knitting with those loopers you use to weave pot-holders. They are much easier to keep track of with little fingers, and if something slips, it isn't as catastrophic as it can be with yarn. I would knit and un-knit for hours; in fact, I can still imagine the feeling of the cotton loops sliding over my hands.