safe art for young toddler?

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I second that idea. My DS has a small magnadoodle and he loves it. He also loves for us to draw on it (and write letters and numbers for him to name). We gave him some crayons a while back, but then he discovered a) how good crayons apparently taste; and b) how well crayons work for scribbling on the walls. So we're going to hold off on those for a while.

I wouldn't do cool-whip. I just wouldn't want DS eating it, even though it's "safe." But yogurt would be great for finger-painting in the high chair or on the kitchen table if you don't mind the clean-up -- you could put DC in a booster seat at the table and let the coloring begin! I like the bath crayon idea, too.

Have fun!
~Nick

I have some recipes from a book called Kid Concoctions that are really great. DS is almost 2, but we've been using most of these since he was about a year.

Bath Paint:

1/4 c liquid baby bath (we use Dr. B's to wash with, but it's too thin for this. Also, I prefer to use a tearless one)
1 T cornstarch
2-3 drops food coloring

mix soap and cornstarch and pour into ice trays or egg cartons. Add the color after you've divided it.

Fruity Finger Paints:

2c flour
2T (2 envelopes) unsweetened fruit drink
1/2c salt
3c hot water
3T cooking oil
freezer paper (paint on the shiny side)

Mix flour, drink mix, and salt. Stir in water and oil. Paint.

Milky Way Paint:

1/2c nonfat powder milk
1/2c water

Mix milk and water in a few bowls and add food coloring. Nice pastel colors.

Potato Dough:

2c mashed potato
1 1/2c flour
4-6 drops food coloring

Mix potatoes and flour. Add food coloring and mix well. Do not store or reuse this one.

Scratch and Sniff Paint:

1T unsweetened powder drink mix
1T water

Mix together in muffin tins or small containers using differeent flavors of drink mix. Paint and allow to dry overnight.

Peanutty Play dough:

1/4c peanut butter (if using natural, add about a tablespoon of oil)
1/2c nonfat dry milk
1/2T honey
zip-loc bag

Pour everything into the bag. Close bag and knead well. Do not reuse or store.

Oatmeal Play Clay:

1/2c flour
1/2c water
1c oatmeal

Combine in a bowl and stir until smooth. If too sticky,a dd flour. Remove from bowl and place on a floured surface. Knead for 3-4 minutes. Add food coloring, if wanted. Store in an airtight container.

Tubtime Crayons:
1c grated Ivory soap
1/4c warm water
4-6 drops food coloring
plastic cookie cutters/ice cube tray

Mix water, soap, and food coloring together in a medium bowl. Stir the crayon mixture until it begins to stiffen. Remove from bowl and knead until it is a very thick dough. Spoon mixture into cookie cutters. Place in freezer for 10 minutes. Remove from molds and allow to dry overnight until hard.

Apple Cinnamon Dough:

1/2c applesauce
1/2c cinnamon
zip-loc

Mix and knead in bag. Allow sculptures to air dry for 12 hours.

Wacky Watercolors:

3T baking soda
3T cornstarch
3T vinegar
1 1/2t light corn syrup
food coloring

Mix vinegar, baking soda, cornstarch, and corn syrup together in a small bowl. Divide the mixture into several small tubs or jar lids. Add 6-8 drops of food coloring to each and mix. Use as is or allow to dry into hard cakes of paint to use as watercolors.

Enjoy!

I found that a little table for kids just didn't work too well because the chairs aren't so study, or ds tries to put his feet up on the table and ends up tipping over but the good thing is that he likes to stand up. He does art at the coffee table, or standing at hte counter in his learning tower, or I tape big pieces of butcher paper to the sliding glass door and he paint and draws there. I have two books that have great recipes for kids paint (and one for soap crayons), playdough, etc.: Super Baby Food and the The Busy Toddler Book.

I have tried those markers that only work on certain paper but didn't really like them. There is a weird lag between when you write and when the writing appears (which is fun for an older kid, but for a kid just figuring out how to scribble, I think the immediate response to marker on paper is better, imo) and the colors are a little dull but if I had nice carpets instead of tile I might try them again.

lisalou- thanks for the suggestion and link

ds has a hand me down train table that we painted with chalk paint. he loves to play on it with the chalk or crayons or the coffee table. they are both perfect height for him right now. he doesn't have any chairs, though I doubt he'd sit down for long anyway :LOL

what about an easel? anyone have one for a toddler, or know a good place to look for one?

btw here's another activity I found and wanted to share! DH and I are going to try to do this later this afternoon with him (outside of course!) even if we don't get to the art part.I'm thinking he might be too young to do himself obviously, but I think he will like the colored bubbles in any case as he is currently mesmerized by bubbles!

Bubble Painting

Pour a small amount of bubble solution into several cups. Add 4-5 drops of food coloring to each cup (you need a good amount of coloring in the solution).

Dip bubble wands (or straws) into the colorful solutions and blow bubbles onto plain white paper. Allow the bubbles to burst and create bubble art.

We like the Crayola color wonder stuff here. It does take a second or two for the colors to show on the paper, but it's good, non-toxic stuff to learn with. The fingerpaints are a lot of fun too.

Those fat crayons are good, but still need supervision. Actually, most art supplies do, unless you don't mind having a mural on your wall. I also like the Crayola twistables crayons. They twist up, and are in a plastic case, so they're harder to bite off a chunk, or break in half, etc. And they're not sharp.

I remember playing with shaving cream with food coloring in it when I was little. My mom would cover a table with plastic wrap, and let us go at it.

There's a lot of fun stuff out there. Walk the craft aisles at Michaels and see what would work. You can also check out kids crafts online and do a search by age. www.verybestkids.com is fun, and www.familyfun.com has some fun stuff as well.

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Jennifer,

I took the kids to Toys R Us today to browse since it was raining, and they've got a sale on Crayola. Buy one, get one half off. I actually bought another package of the twistables - they had a bunch of new colors, about 18 in all, I think, and they were about half as long. Gotta pass along a sale!

Nick,

I do get bummed about buying the special paper. Especially since it's hard to find the blank paper! I don't always want the stupid coloring book sheets. We try to conserve it and use it for times like church, when we're trying to keep the kids quiet, or for road trips, or we can't watch them quite as closely at home. It's worth it for special occasions, especially if you get it on sale