Make-a-Monster

This is a fun and easy activity that kept Eva entertained for quite some time.  I cut out some shapes from scrap felt and let Eva go to town creating monsters.  I glued some buttons on the white circles to make eyes and the little teeth are also glued to the rectangle.

So many options for such cute monsters!

Monster Puppet

Aggle!  Blaggle!  Blahhhhhh!  We made a monster puppet!
We began with a brown paper lunch bag that Eva finger painted green.

We let it dry overnight and this morning we added eyes (Eva decided this monster needed three,

some pink fur (great scissor skills practice!),

and some teeth and a tongue.

I love how goofy looking he is!  How could a monster who looks that silly ever be scary?

Monster Math

I love how this craft evolved!  My initial plan was to have Eva make some cute monsters using her hand and foot prints.  She took it a step further and made it a counting activity as well.  To start Eva chose four color paints to use and I painted her hands and feet.  She stamped them on a piece of yellow cardstock.

When they were dry, I got out the googly eyes and Eva decided that her monsters would have 1, 2, 3 and 4 eyes.

I added the numbers and mouths and we ended up with some really cute monsters!

Monster Mania

If your little one is anything like mine, monsters aren't scary- they are friends!  The furrier, sillier and googlier (is that even a word?) the better!

Crafts
Handprint monster puppet- little handprints will help turn a paper bag into a fun puppet

Monster Mask- we'll use a paper plate to create this great pretend play aide

Hand and Footprint Painting- Eva's prints will be transformed into some unique creatures

Activities
Make-a-Monster Felt Board- eyes, ears, horns, fangs... the monsters we can create will be endless

Monster Mash- we will boogie away to some monster classics like Monster Mash and The One Eyed, One Horned Flying Purple People Eater

Books
         

Touch and Spell

In honor of the sense of touch, I made these word cards for Eva to use to help her practice writing.  Given that she is only two, this is more for exposure than anything else, but she can write her name and she can read Mommy, Daddy and Woofer so I thought it can't hurt!  I wrote the words on pieces of card stock and then traced over them with glitter glue.  When they were dry, Eva was able to use her finger to trace over them and feel the texture.

Easy to make and they sparkle so they were an instant hit.

Five Senses Exploration Station

We have a new exploration station!  I placed items that allow Eva to explore four of the five senses in the area- I left out taste because I figured a little furry friend might enjoy that a little too much.  For seeing there are magnifying glasses, a paper towel tube to use as a telescope and a fun color puzzle game.

When we were at Home Depot over the weekend I grabbed a few of the paint sample cards and then cut between the colors.  Eva has to put them in order from darkest to lightest (or vice versa).  I thought this would be a little tricky but Eva breezed right through!

For the hearing area, I have a few musical instruments, Eva's drumming Snoopy toy and some medicine bottles filled with different things- beans, pasta, rice.  For touch there is a bag full of various fabric scraps  for Eva to touch and experience different textures.

Her favorite so far though is the smelling area.  I put cotton balls dipped in extracts in baby food jars.  Eva gets to open and sniff them to see what they smell like.  (It also works on the practical skill of opening jars!)

I made five- peppermint, vanilla, orange, raspberry and garlic.  She knew the garlic right off the bat!  (Eva loves anything with garlic!)  Because it was a little tricky for her to identify the smells without help, I drew pictures to coordinate with the smells on the paper.

This made it much easier for her to match the smells to their source.

To round out the station, I added a Five Senses puzzle I found in the Dollar Spot at Target a few weeks ago.