This week we focused on Clothing & Dress Up. Spring is a great time for a theme like this because we are getting some wild weather -- snow one day, rain another, and even some blue skies & sun. Mia isn't really into picking her clothes out (and I'm very thankful for that extra bit of simplicity in my life) but all this week, we played a weather & clothing game. Each morning, we went out on our balcony and felt the temperature, made a note of the sky conditions (cloudy, sunny). Then we ran into her room where I presented her with 2 outfit options. Some days I made it really easy by pairing a dress up against a sweater/jeans ensemble. But others I made very similar outfits and varied only the coat weights (windbreaker vs. raincoat). Or the type of shoes. She had fun learning about and selecting weather appropriate attire. Another practical skill we worked on this week is her ability to handle different types of fasteners. Last year, I made her a fastener busy toy with a button, zipper, velcro, snap, buckle and ties. But you don't have to go that far. Melissa & Doug makes a cool wooden fastener puzzle and Buckle Toys makes several plush versions. You could also whip up your own (no sew) button snake similar to the flower/leaf one I made. Here is an easy tutorial on the Happy Hooligans website. Mia definitely hasn't mastered all of these yet but it is good fine motor practice in the meantime.
For some extra fun, we pulled out our big dress up bin and put on all kinds of funny items. Over the last year, I've slowly been stocking that bin with little finds from Target (the Dollar Spot and also the party favor aisle), H&M, and Halloween clearance. Animal ears & princess tiara headbands. Eye masks, animal noses, and clip-on bunny tails. Different types of glasses. Tutus, vests, and capes. Purses, totes, and wallets. Necklaces, bracelets, and Hawaiian leis. Mia's just shy of three and really getting into dress up so this fun lasted a long time...and branched into many different types of pretend play this week.
And there are lots of fun art projects you could do based around the clothing theme. You could make & decorate felt crowns (or even pre-made visors/hats/crowns from the craft store). You could tie dye shirts. Last year, we "screen printed" our own shirt by cutting a design out of a piece of freezer paper and ironing it to a shirt. The paper sticks temporarily while you dab fabric paint over the design and then you just peel it off when the paint is dry. So cool! Target even sells textile markers under the brand Kid Made Modern that could be used to decorate a shirt or a tote bag. I proposed a lot of these options to Mia this week but she really wanted to make jewelry. She's definitely my daughter! Ha! So I present to you beaded jewelry, 4 ways. For our first project, we made necklace charms using Shrink Film (found at Joann's). This is basically Shrinky Dinks that you may remember from your childhood except the sheets are blank and you can create your own designs. Mia wanted an ice cream cone so I googled an image and printed it. Then I placed the film over my printout and traced the design with a Sharpie. Mia colored an "m" while I colored the ice cream cone. We punched holes and cut out the designs and baked according to the package instructions. It only takes a couple of minutes but it's fun to watch through the oven window. While I added a jump ring to the charm, she picked out a few wooden beads to add to an 18" necklace chain. Here's the end result...pretty cute!
Next, we painted some wooden beads to string on a leather cord. We actually paint beads a lot and I've found this setup to be helpful for little hands...and it's less messy. You can wrap washi tape around the beads for different color-blocked effects, too. I didn't photo it, but we also made a wooden bead and plastic lanyard necklace following this Martha Stewart tutorial. If you're looking for the simplest, least messy project, then this one is it.
And lastly, we made tassel charm bracelets with some painted beads, faceted beads, clear elastic stretch cord, a charm, and an embroidery floss tassel. Pardon my awful photo, but I wanted to show you how easily you can make a tassel. One skein of floss will make 2 tassels and all you have to do is carefully remove the paper tape. Find the loose end and carefully pull out about 12-15" and cut. You'll use that piece to wrap the tassels. Then cut the skein in half. Again, being careful to keep the thread wraps intact. This is when I thread a jump ring onto both tassels carefully. Thread the spare piece onto a needle and use the opposite end to wrap the tassel 5-10 times (make sure you wrap over your loose end too). Then use the needle to feed the string back up through the middle and pull it all tight. Cut the end and hide it in the tassel head. Then you can trim the tassel itself to whatever length you desire. The end result is a fun tassel charm.
While I made the tassels, I put Mia to work selecting beads from our big stash. You don't have to get all educational with this art project but it is an opportune time to talk about patterns, colors, textures, etc. We even discussed measuring as we counted and added beads to fit her wrist. A simple square knot finishes it off (a square knot is a double knot with "left over right, right over left"). This bracelet turns out so well, that we often make them for friend gifts.
A summary of all Clothing week activities with links:
ACTIVITIES: Played dress up, Practiced fasteners with a Melissa & Doug puzzle (or a Buckle Toys plush or even a homemade button snake), Played with paper dolls and also changed outfits on baby dolls
ART PROJECTS: Printed our own shirts using the freezer paper "screen print" method, Designed & colored our own Shrink Film charms, Made tassel bracelets, Painted wooden beads for necklaces, Practiced lacing by making a lanyard & wooden bead necklace (Martha Stewart tutorial here)
BOOKS: Corduroy by Don Freeman, Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown, Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin, Millie's Marvelous Hat by Satoshi Kitamura
BIBLE STORY: Joseph and his coat of many colors
If you'd like to share a photo of your kid doing theme week activities, you can email it to me (email button in the left menu) or tag me on your Facebook photo or use the hashtag #weeklytoddlerthemes on Instagram (if you are private, just make sure I'm following you or tag me in the photo).
