Think a 1-year-old is too young to do crafts? Think again! There are so many activities that toddlers can begin enjoying, and they are great for their brain as well as small-motor development. Even though a 1-year-old is a long way off from learning to write, the crafts you do today help build the muscles they need in their hands later!
1. “Water Painting”. On a sunny day, take out a small container of waterand a paint brush and let your little one “paint” the sidewalk. My 13-month old LOVED it!
2. Easle Drawing/Painting. I got this great Imaginarium Easle from a local thrift store for $5. 
You can buy in on Amazon.com for $99 (or I bet you could find a similar one atyour local thrift shop). The chalkboard part can be use for drawing (using large chalk). There are lots of super cute ideas on Pinterest for making your own chalk in fun shapes like this (from Princesspinkygirl.com).
A definite key to the success of painting with a 1-year old, is using Melissa & Doug paint jumbo paint brushes and spill-proof paint cups. These
things are amazing! I fill the cups just about 1 inch with watered down paint, so when he turns the cups upside down and shakes them, they still don’t spill. Amazing, really. Also, I like to really water down the paint so when he paints his shirt or head (which has definitely happened), it’s not a worry. It washes off easily because it’s so light.
3. DIY Edible Play-dough – Thanks to Welovebeingmoms.com, I got the best ever play-dough recipe. It really is 
the best too! And since it’s made from edible ingredients, I don’t have to worry if my little one tries to eat it. *Although mine just loved pounding cookie cutters into it.:-)
4. Bubbles! This may not seem like a craft, but making cool shapes can be
a great pre-curser to other creative endeavors. We went through a store-bought jar of bubbles in 2 days (not kidding!). Thank goodness it only cost about .20 to make a large mason jar of DIY bubbles to use for months! I used this easy recipe from Artfulparent.com, and it turned out great. We used these 
Munchkin Caterpillar Spillers Stacking Cup bath toys as additional bubble blowers (the purple & yellow cups were the best) and had a blast in the sunshine making bubbles of all sizes.
Enjoy!
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