I babysit for a little boy the same age as my son (14 months) and I was trying to think of a craft to do with him to give to his mother this Sunday. All I could think of (and find online) were footprint crafts. I must say that I am OVER the whole footprint craft idea. I’ve done my share of restraining my son and getting a perfect footprint for the sake of cute little crafts, but this time I wanted some real artwork made by a baby.
I practiced with my son ahead of time to make sure it wasn’t a totally crazy craft. It was surprisingly easy, fun and not (too) messy! The trick is to prepare as much as possible while your child is sleeping or otherwise happily occupied.
Mother’s Day Craft for Babies
Materials
- two pieces of thick paper
- glue stick and glue gun
- paint
- painters tape
- scissors
- pipe cleaner
- large pompom
- marker
- high chair
- oval shape to trace (I used an old wipe lid)
Prepare one piece of paper with a pompom, pipe cleaner and a little Happy Mother’s Day message.
Prepare the other paper by tracing six ovals. I also cut the paper in half so I could fit in nicely on a high chair tray.
Tape one paper, oval side down, on high chair tray and tape with painter’s tape (careful not to cover the spaced where the ovals would be)
Strip your baby down and put him in the high chair.
Put a few dabs of paint and watch your baby make a mess-terpiece of the paper! Watch closely to make sure your little one isn’t eating the paint!
When the first paper looks good, replace with the second set of ovals, oval side down, and repeat.
Note: If your child is timid at first like mine, take their hand and gently show them that moving their hand over the paint will make a pretty cool design. I only had to show my little man once!
When your child is sleeping or otherwise happy, cut out the ovals and glue onto the other paper to make a pretty flower.
This craft is also a fun thing to do with older children. They could participate more by gluing and cutting on their own. It would also be fun to experiment making different shapes and pictures out of finger paint art!
Written by Adrianne