Choose paper art projects that toddlers can succeed with at their developmental levels.
Give your toddler a few pieces of colored paper and the possibilities are endless. Abstract, holiday, animal or everyday art can be constructed from paper. Allow your child to use his imagination and creativity to add personal ideas to paper art projects for proud display on your refrigerator. Be sure to use washable and nontoxic materials, as toddlers are prone to putting things into their mouths.
Holiday Projects
Celebrate the Fourth of July making fireworks on a piece of paper with toddlers. Hold the child's hand over a bottle of glue to assist with creating lines of glue in a firework design. Toddlers can sprinkle glitter from a shaker bottle to avoid dumping, and shake the paper onto a layer of newspaper to return unused glitter to the bottle. Allow it to dry, then display the "fireworks" on the refrigerator.
Adults can assist in the creative art process by cutting out five heart shapes from pink and white pieces of paper. Arrange the hearts in a line, overlapping each slightly. Toddlers can practice glue dabbing while pasting them onto a piece of red paper to create a Valentine's Day caterpillar. Encourage the child to draw legs, eyes and antennae for the finishing touch.
Animal Ideas
You can transform traditional paper lunch bags into hours of excitement with paper bag puppets. An adult can cut dog ears from a piece of dark brown construction paper while the child glues one to each side of the bag's bottom, while it is worn by the parent for spacing purposes. Encourage the child to draw puppy facial features and whiskers on the bag.
Dip your child's foot into washable black paint and dab it onto a piece of white paper. Attach a yellow paper triangle and a white oval onto the dried print to create a paper print penguin. The child glues wiggly eyes onto the penguin with a dab of nontoxic glue as the finishing touch.
Wearable Paper Art
Use scissors to cut a brown paper bag into a vest for a toddler. The toddler can decorate the paper vest with markers or washable paints, or glue foam and paper decorations onto the wearable art. Adhere a star sticker onto the vest to become a sheriff or cut slits into the bottom for a fringed cowgirl vest.
Make use of old coloring books to create a crown. Cut a band of construction paper large enough to fit around the toddler's head while he colors his favorite characters from the coloring book pages. Print free coloring sheets from the Internet as a second option. Help the toddler learn cutting skills by holding his hand with safety scissors, and cut out each colored character to paste onto the headband.
Recycled Masterpieces
Save your old holiday or birthday wrapping paper for use in toddler-created gift bows. Instruct the child to rip the wrapping paper into strips or, for a more professional-looking bow, you can cut evenly measured strips of wrapping paper. On a 3-inch square of cardboard, cut by you, the toddler can fold each strip in half, creating a loop, and tape the end to a corner of the cardboard base. Repeat loop creation and tape loops onto the other three corners, and one on each edge. More loops are taped in an inner circle between the former loop placement. Layer the loops over the entire cardboard piece in rings inside the former and tape one loop for the center.
Allow children to paste paper shapes over an empty paper towel tube, and you can poke holes into it with a pencil. A toddler can place her most used crayon colors to create a crayon tree with paper.
