What are some good ART activities for 2 year olds?

Question

What are some good ART activities for 2 year olds?

Answer 1

Well, at this stage, as I'm sure you understand, it's the process and not the product that matters.  

* painting with different tools--fingers, (even mittens), rollers, chubby brushes, skinny brushes etc.  1 color, 2 colors and so on.  I find that most two year olds are interested in color changes.

*  collage materials- any and everything.  Organize it so it's appealing ( I use veg and dip trays).  It won't stay organized, of course but it's good to start out that way.

*  Sand art.... let them go with a glue bottle.  If they are "puddling" encourage them to move around the whole paper.  Then provide cups of colored sand for them to sprinkle on it.

*  chalk- chalk on paper, chalk on side walk, chalk on chalkboard, chalk and water,

*  Imagination paper... a shape cut out of the paper or vice versa...glue the cut shape onto a contrasting color.  Use the first letter of their name.

*  I start scissors at about 2 years old.  I provide various media to cut.  Straws are really fun!  Foam,  heavy paper etc.  Then I provide a cardboard shape or collage board for them to glue it onto.  Can make it theme related.

*  Washable Markers and water spray bottles

*  Marble painting---supervised of course.  I've even exchanged marbles for golf balls.  I've used a very large box and had more than one child do it for a cooperative painting.  I've also place the shape inside of an oatmeal canister w/ the dipped marbles and rolled the canister back and forth.  

*  This doesn't dry but is a great sensory experience.  The children really did some amazing things.  I covered cardboard with aluminum foil and helped them spread Vaseline on it and gave them foamies to place onto the cardboard.  Once they put it on their board they can even move them around.  One child even stacked them on top of each other.

*  We read a version of the three pigs and then attached masking tape pieces to our chin to represent the hairs on our chinny-chin chin.  They took them off and placed them on black paper.  Then I provided markers for them to color.  Most of them focused on the tape which made the project turn our really neat.  Even if they didn't keep it on the tape...the black paper "soaked" up the color.  You could even simply use the colored masking tape that is out.

*  Squishers.  I hot glued film canisters onto margarine tops.  Then the children used them to 'squish' their paint onto the paper.  After a few times they figured out the "technique" and got neat looking swirly circles but sometimes they just slid it across their papers.  

*  You can find a home made water color recipe.  I like these best since 2 yr olds do not understand the concept of color, paint, rinse.  These home made paints are put in individual juice caps.  They tend to be more "powdery" when dry and the color doesn't last as long but it's the process that matters.  It looks great on darker colored paper.

Hope that maybe one of these is a "new" idea for you.

Answer 2

Ask yourself what you want them to learn from the activity, what materials you want them to use and how long you would like for them to work on the project.  This will give you an idea of what would be a good art activity.  

Let's say you want them to enhance eye-hand-coordination.  Then they may need to use glue sticks to put items in certain areas of a poster board.  You can plan that activity around the holiday at that time, the weather, or a famous person, or a theme for the week.  

What I am say is that the activity does not matter as much as what learning you are trying to enhance.  2 year olders will enjoy almost any art activity that allows them to make a mess and have something to take home to their parents.  (smile)  Try to stay away from creating fake food.  They don't understand that they really can't eat it.  (LOL)

Here are some reading lists that you might use to get ideas and a couple other links that will help you with your learning objectives.

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

Check Usborne Books for some amazing art and project/activity books and ideas.  http://www.ubah.com/g2687

Answer 4

playdough - kool aid play dough is cool - you can google the recipe

Answer 5

at the daycare i work at we have a few activities we do all the time with the children:

1. shaving cream on the table

2.basic coloring

3. finger painting

4.chalk on black paper



and we play with bubbles all the time. kids that age LOVE bubbles for the most part.

Answer 6

felt figures that they can stick on a fuzzy background. I've seen kids  play with them for hours.

Answer 7

finger paint. Definetely! I remember doing that!

Answer 8

Once at a kindy I worked at one of the children was interested in the kindys budgies we got talking about them (I was extending his observations using art terms) - the colours textures etc. He decided to paint a picture of the birds and with the feathers that had falled out of the cage he stuck them on his picture. He was really proud of his painting and in terms of art and language development and experience it was very rich and grew in a very natural way from discussion.

Maybe get discussing about something special like birds or rabbits using a live example to touch and talk about - very exciting, modeling good descriptive language and offer suitable colours and textures to create their pictures of the animal. Soft rabbit - soft - cotton wool etc

Answer 9

Mine's 2 and loves:

1. playdough with platic silverware and cookie cutters

2. Painting with brushes, sponges and fingers

3. cutting paper and making confetti

4. coloring with markers, crayons etc

5. glue gold fidh onto paper andmake an underwater scene

6. cotton balls for clouds and make a sky scene

7. tracing hands and feet

Answer 10

Pudding finger painting, its messy but fun.

Answer 11

Anything hands on-holding things and coordination might still be developing so anything they can do freely without having to stick to it looking like something in particular...

Painting on a large piece of paper with hands...if you're brave feet as well!

Get a range of brushes and also 'other' items such as pine cones, lolly sticks, toothbrushes to paint with.

Outside: Water painting on the floor and walls!

Shakers: children fill tub with rice or pasta-stick on lid (firmly) and then you have a musical instrument!

Bubble wrap-paint on it-feels different and children can pop them!

Gluing: Range of random materials (Supervised) which children can glu on boxes,paper etc to make own models/collage.

Printing: sponges, fruit, vegetables.

Weaving: either make our frame using string, or use lots of sticks sticking out of a base-children can weave different materials through it such as ribbon, string, tinsel and hang things off it.

Make a mobile: Each child decorates a small bit of paper and adult can help to hang these off coat hanger. So can be one bit mobile or you cna make individual ones.