Toddler Art Class: Sticky Finger Painting

Evaporated milk makes a great fingerpaint, sticky and delicious!

Art Project: Sticky Finger Painting
Supplies:
sweetened condensed milk
food coloring
heavy paper or lightweight cardboard sheets
bowls
spoons to stir
cotton swabs for the texture averse
Clear hair gel (optional, for milk-allergies)

Book:  
Although this project has nothing to do with animals, I explained that Eric Carle's style incorporated a lot of texture that the kids might be able to mimic when trying out fingerpaints.
Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see? / Martin, Bill

Summer Special: Squishy Circuits

Electricity + play dough = lights? Awesome!

Today's project: Squishy Circuits

Supplies:
conductive dough (a cooked dough with: water, flour, salt, cream of tartar, vegetable oil, food coloring)
insulating dough (a no-cook dough with: distilled water, flour, sugar, vegetable oil)
battery packs
batteries
LED lights (similar to this) (you might also try out vibration motors)
waxed paper (optional, makes clean-up slightly easier and helps define workspace)

Craft Lab: Giant (and also not-so-giant) Pom-Poms

Fluffy, fuzzy fun!

Today's project:  Giant pom-pom's
Supplies:
--yarn
--cardboard pom-pom makers (see photo above--that cardboard thing that looks like the letter C?  You need two of those, plus two cardboard circles somewhere between the size of the hole and the size of the C.)
--scissors with a sharp point (kids' safety scissors don't work so well)

Summer Special: Solar Bugs

design your own solar-powered bug that wiggles and jiggles in bright sunlight!

Today's project:  Solar-powered Bugs
Supplies:
solar cells with a vibrating motor (we removed ours from toys similar to this)
sticky-back craft foam sheets (sparkly is especially nice)
wiggle eyes
chenille stems
wire

Toddler Art Class: Water Graffiti

So much joy can be derived from simply painting large surfaces with water and a paintbrush!

Art Project:Painting outside with water
Supplies:
water
containers for water
paintbrushes (a variety of sizes if possible)

Book:
   Rain play / Cotten, Cynthia