Themed Collage - Craft for Todders

Themed Collage – Craft for your Toddler

This was Miss 2’s afternoon activity. She had a tray of cut-outs from her current favourite book - Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and a window of clear contact where she can stick her cut-outs anywhere she pleases, all by herself!

Creating new things on their own can boost a child’s self-confidence and help them develop new skills they didn’t know they had. Miss 2 loved doing this and was very proud of the end result. It is now on the wall in her bedroom.

You will need:

• Clear contact
• Sticky tap
• Scissors
• An old book or book cover
• A tray for the cut-outs
• *optional confetti, glitter or sequins

You will need to pre-cut the pictures/text. Depending on how many you cut, it can take a little while so best to do it when your toddler is preoccupied or during nap time.

Find a low window (or use the sliding door) so they will be able to reach all areas. Cut two sheets of clear contact roughly the same size as each other. Peal the backing off one of them and sticky tape the corers to secure it to the window.

When Miss 2 was ready for action I explained to her that the clear paper on the window was sticky and I got her to touch it so she knew what I meant.  I told her that she can put her pictures anywhere she liked on there but once she put it down it was stuck. She carefully placed each piece (even if some were upside down) all by herself.

*This helps build fine motor skills and encourages imagination.

When she was finished I took it down and gave Miss 2 some confetti glitter to sprinkle in the gaps. Of course she loved doing this and it was rather messy but it was another good lesson for her. Getting messy with glitter and seeing how things stick together to create a picture is all part of early learning experiences and helps build a child’s knowledge base.

When she was fished making a wonderful mess I added to it by shaking off the excess confetti. I then covered the whole picture with the second piece of clear contact. I folded the sticky ends over and trimmed any bits that stuck out or looked too rough.

That’s it! It’s ready to be put up on Miss 2’s wall.

You can do this activity with anything; pictures of family members, strips of scrap paper, cards from their last birthday… anything you like!

What do you think your child would like to make a collage of?