PLAYDATE ARTS AND CRAFTS
Home Playdate/Playgroups Playdate Themes
These are some simple activities that can be customized to almost any theme. See the Links page for more craft ideas. I like crafts/arts that are very simple and short, as I am craft-impaired.
Painting
Shapes. Cut out the theme related shapes out of paper prior to the playdate. Watercolor paper is good for this. Let each child decorate or paint the shape using whatever craft materials you have at hand. This creates a recognizable object regardless of your child's art skills. You can also buy little wooden shapes to paint and decorate from a craft store.
Shaving cream painting. Use shaving cream mounds with a little tempura paint poured on top and let the kids finger-paint with it.
Glow in the Dark Painting/Stickers/Crayons
Decorating dress up items. Any fabric/felt item that you or the kids have
created for dress up or activities, like vests or hats can be decorated using
fabric paint, glue, sequins, glitter, and little craft jewels. I keep a box of
this stuff all the time to use. I like to save this for the very last activity
so that the kids are seated and calm when the peer's mom comes to pick up. The
glue takes overnight to dry, so I give the finished product to Mom for
safekeeping until the morning.
Pỉatas--these
can be created and painted for any type of theme
Theme related rubber stamps
Theme Related Puzzles
Almost anything can be made into a puzzle. One way is to laminate a picture and cut it into puzzle pieces. Another simple puzzle is made by gluing a picture onto aligned popsicle sticks. Then cut the picture along the edges of the sticks and have the children put the picture back together.
Theme Related Coloring Pages