Three Easy Back to School Crafts for Toddlers

It's easy for your little ones to feel left out when their older siblings return to school in the fall. To keep them in the back to school spirit, introduce them to a few school-inspired crafts.

These crafts will keep little hands busy throughout the day and will give them something to show off to their older siblings too, who are bound to be bringing home goodies and crafts from the first week of school.

Best of all, you should have all the materials needed on hand. So, let's get crafty!

I CAN COUNT TO TEN WITH CEREAL

Materials:

2 Styrofoam Cups

1 Straw (A coffee stir stick will work too)

Fruit Loops, Cheerios, or similar "O" shape cereal

Scissors

Instructions:

Turn one of the Styrofoam cups upside down so that the bottom is facing upward.

Use the sharp point of the scissors to poke a very small hole in the center of the bottom of the cup.

Insert one end of the straw into the hole in the bottom of the cup, leaving most of the straw visible.

Fill the second Styrofoam cup with Cereal.

Have child slide the cereal over the straw to stack them. Count each cereal piece as it slides down. Stop at 10 (or twenty, whatever your child is able to count to.)

Turn the cup to let the cereal slide back off and let your little one eat the rewards!

Repeat the steps over an over again, as long as your child wishes to continue to play.

MAKE YOUR OWN COLOR MATCH GAME

Materials:

White cardboard, construction paper, or plain index cards

Crayons or Markers

Scissors

Instructions:

Cut paper or cardboard into twenty equal size small rectangles (about the size of a playing card.) If using index cards, the first task is already done, just count out twenty cards.

Give child two cards at a time and one color marker or crayon to draw with. Have them either color one side of the card completely or encourage them to draw matching shapes, numbers, or pictures.

Repeat step 2, giving the child a different color crayon to work with each time, until all twenty cards are completed.

Shuffle the completed cards. Place cards color-side down. Have child turn over cards, two at a time, until a match is found. When they find a match, they can move them to a separate pile. Once all the matches are found, the game ends and may be re-started by repeating the steps.

Tip: You may also use the cards as flash cards to test your child's knowledge of the names of colors, shapes, letters, or numbers to re-enforce their learning skills.

FIND THE HIDDEN TREASURES

Materials:

Clear Plastic Soda or Juice Bottle (Washed)

Uncooked Rice

A variety of small items such as pennies, beads, buttons, plastic toys, jewelry, hair clips (must be small enough to fit through the top of the bottle.)

Instructions:

Remove any labels from the bottle and make sure both the bottle and cap are washed and thoroughly dry before starting.

Pour rice into bottle, filling it to approximately 2/3rds full.

Add small items to the bottle (around 12-15 items works best.)

Place cap on bottle and tighten.

Shake bottle well to conceal the items you added.

Have child twist and turn the bottle to discover the hidden treasures. See if they can spot all of them. Have them name the items and for extra learning, have them name the colors and purpose of the items too.