DIY Projects to Start This January

DIY Projects to Start This January 04Jan

January is the month to start new habits, traditions, and, most importantly, projects. 

With no major holidays ahead to be prepping about, get your toddler into the making of exciting experiments and learning new knowledge and skills.

 

1. Snow cookies


Source: A Little Pinch of Perfect

Make use of those cookie cutters that you have left from the Christmas baking. Take them outside and have fun learning all the different shapes while making imprints in the snow. Prioritize the main shapes first, then incorporate the rest. Decorate with watercolor paint.

If there is no snow in your area, have a look at how to make some at home.

 

2. Which two colors make green?


Source: Adventure in a Box

Does your little one know how to make the color green?

While decorating the snow cookies with paint, mix two of the shades and watch them turn into a whole different color. That’s right, yellow and blue make green, red and blue make purple, and red and yellow make orange. Learn how all of them change when combined and awaken the artistic side in your little one.

Guarantee promised - this experiment does not cease to occupy.

 

3. A bean in a cup


Source: My Bored Toddler

Plant a bean in a small cup and reflect on the process together. Ask your toddler about his expectations - How does he think the little bean will change, does he believe that the seed can grow big. 

Task him with the quest of documenting the change he witnesses with drawings every two days. This activity will help him understand where food comes from and what happens outside once the winter ends and the spring starts approaching. 

If you have enough time and space at home, you can even dedicate a corner for you and your toddler to plant and nurture different flowers. Bamboo, Hibiscus, Jade Plant, and Peace Lily are among the ones that grow fast.

 

4. A letter a week


Source: My Printable Worksheet

A letter a week can become a project for the entire year ahead.

Prepare different worksheets with the chosen letter to start from and give one or two to your toddler every day. K5learning, Education.com, and All Kids Network have some good designs that apply from ages two to five. Learn new words and spelling and repeat as much as you can.

Magnetic letters might be a good investment which will be a good assistant in this project, too.

 

5. Visit outer space


Source: Eating Richly

It is never too early to start learning about space, is it?

Form mountains and build your very own castle on the moon by making some moon sand. All ingredients needed are:

  • 3 cups of regular sand
  • 2 cups of cornstarch
  • 3 cups of water
  • 3 tablespoons coconut oil

Scramble everything together. If the mixture feels dry, add a bit more water or another tablespoon of the oil. Food coloring and glitter are optional, but they do insert a little bit of magic into the whole project. And then, it's all done and ready for playing.

 

6. Trap stars in a jar


Source: Fireflies and Mud Pies

Hop on your intergalactic spaceship and go stars hunting. And with the universe being that vast, just imagine all the different start you will find. All you need to capture the fascinating interstellar dust is:

  • A clean jar with a lid
  • Tempera paint (three or four colors)
  • Cotton
  • Glitter
  • Water

Start by filling a quarter of the jar with water. Next, put tempera paint and glitter in the liquid, stir, and set some of the cotton to soak in the cosmic color. Repeat this process until the jar is filled to the top, and voila, your magical nebula is seized for you and your little explorer to enjoy.

 

7. Walking water


Source: Fun Learning for Kids

This easy project exhibits the capillarity of water in a creative and entertaining way.

The supplies needed are a few transparent cups, paper towels, food coloring, and water.

Fill the cups with water and arrange them in a shape of your own choice. Add drops of the food coloring in the liquid and stir. Next, take the paper towels and fold them in half lengthwise. Place the towels in the cups as displayed in the picture above and watch what will happen. The colored water will begin to crawl up and mix with the water in the cup next to it. So amazing, right?

 

8. Salt dough volcano


Source: Little Bins for Little Hands

What was the Earth like when dinosaurs roamed around?

Kids often play with dinosaurs, but they rarely know what they are and when they lived. Why not learn about that now? Create a real prehistoric environment by making a salt dough volcano ready to erupt.

Prepare a batch of salt dough and shape it into a volcano by using an empty plastic bottle as a pillar. Build around the bottle, but remember to leave the orifice uncovered because it will be the opening of the volcano.

Once shaped, leave the volcano to dry for two to three hours. Then, you can paint and decorate it. After the paint has also dried out, you are ready for action. Fill the opening with four tablespoons of baking soda and slowly add vinegar to it. The eruption will start, and magma and lava will begin streaming down the volcano.

 

9. Become a palaeontologist


Source: Little Bins for Little Hands

Make use of the leftover salt dough and transform it into fossils. 

Form the dough into flat circles and press toy dinosaurs into it to leave different imprints. After that, leave the fossils to air dry for a few hours until they turn hard and cover them in sand. Then, hand your little palaeontologist a brush and leave him to explore the dinosaur dig.

You can even create alien fossils and hide them in the moon sand tray discussed above.

 

10. Who said cooking is just for grownups?


Source: My Kids Lick the Bowl

The breakfast egg muffins are the perfect recipe to do together.

First, pre chop all ingredients you would like to include - peppers, ham, olives, mushrooms, and onions go very well with eggs and are ingredients rich in vitamins and fiber. Then stir a few eggs and allow your sous-chef to put everything together into the muffin tray.

It is an excellent way to engage with food and its importance. Also, if you are dealing with a picky eater, this cooking project might be of assistance to you.

Bake, top with cheese and sour cream, and enjoy. Delicious!

 

Take inspiration and expand on the projects throughout the year. Make them a learning curve, which will encourage your little one to ask questions, be curious and explore the world and its wonders.

With this January to remember, we are sure that many more will follow.