At our house we love to recycle. What a better way to make arts and crafts then with items you already have!
Playdough dries up quick around our house so, we’ve saved our playdough lids to create a colorful caterpillar.
To complete you’ll need:
6 playdough lids
2 pipe cleaners
Tape
Scissors
Permanent marker
First, we made a head for the caterpillar by drawing eyes and a smiley face. Then, we cut two legs for each remaining 5 playdough lids and attached them with tape. We added an additional piece of tape to the back to adhere to the window. Afterwards, we aligned the playdough lids into a fun zigzag design.
As an occupational therapist I’m always looking for ways to incorporate fine motor coordination into fun toddler activities. By incorporating fine motor coordination children strengthen their grip strength, visual motor coordination and hand eye coordination. Which are essential for hand writing development, increasing independence with dressing to manage buttons and zippers, and increasing independence with self feeding for cutting foods.
More Creative Ways to Use Playdough Lids
One of our favorite ways to use playdough lids is to create a sorting activity. We like to use different colors of playdough and then have our kids sort the lids by color. This is a great way to work on hand-eye coordination and color recognition skills.
Another fun idea is to use the lids as stamps. My daughter loves using them to stamp her name or other designs onto paper. You can also use them to stamp patterns onto playdough or even fabric!
If your kids are into crafting, they will love using the lids as stencils. They can use them to trace letters, shapes, or images onto paper or fabric. This is a great way for them to practice their fine motor skills.
Finally, if your kids are into sensory play, you can use the lids to create a fun and tactile experience. We like to fill a bin with rice or beans and then have our kids use the lids to scoop and dump the materials. This is a great way to work on hand-eye coordination and problem solving skills.
We’re always looking for toddler arts and crafts to complete at home, please email us pics and ideas your family enjoys! Also, check out some of our ideas we’ve been crafting with egg cartons.