preschool crafts!

my little one is growing up faster than i can believe, and is not so little anymore! she is outgrowing the crafty projects i have in mind to make for her faster than i can get them made. some days i feel like a lazy mom because i want to do fun things with her like finger painting, but all i can think about is the ginormous mess there will be to clean up after probably about 5 minutes of actual painting. but she's super smart, and i do feel like she's almost to the age that she needs a little more structure [ie: learning!] to her play rather than me expecting her to entertain herself for any given amount of time with a stack of blocks or something.

so, off to google i went to see what kinds of preschool toddler-appropriate semi-educational crafts i could find. here are some things i can't wait to try with her!

sensory tubs
knowing me, i probably like this idea because you can theme- and color-coordinate them, and they look so fun! the only downside is i can see these being way more fun to dump out and walk away from than any actual sorting or "sensing."

child art quiet books
my almost-2-year old is probably a little young for this one too, but i love the idea of making a quiet book out of pictures the children have drawn themselves. you know i love me some quiet books of all kinds [i hope to one day have a little army of them] and you could even go soulemama-style on them and embroider the drawings first!

photo flashcards/word book
i think this would be a great way for a little one to learn words- by pairing them with photos you've taken yourself so that the image that goes with the word is familiar to your little one. flash cards are a great idea, and making them into a first words book would be fun too!

many of these ideas i found on a great website called the crafty crow by clicking on the category 18 months to 2 years old. seriously don't click unless you've got an afternoon to spend browsing... there are lots and lots of great ideas to be found there! the rest of the ones i liked seemed to all do with painting of one sort or another:

potato printing

magic line painting

word silhouette painting

tin foil printmaking

super sized marble painting

dot stampers

i also have a fun idea for how to display kids' artwork that i'm hoping to incorporate into a toy storage organizer i'm working on finishing up! can't wait to get that one done!

[photos in this post are thanks to each individual website. please check out their lovely blogs for more great ideas!]