Great stART: Piep Piep Piep or making watches with toddlers

Welcome to another story+ art = great stART (for more on “start projects” visit the original A Mommy’s Adventure). I was fretting a little about this week’s story & craft project, as I have a couple of “complicated ones” up my sleeve, but also want to keep encouraging everyone to have a go. Mess is good. But no mess is also good.

And then Red Ted pulled this book from the shelf! And inspiration came!

Piep, Piep, Piep: Das Buch der Töne und Geräusche, by Soledad Bravi. Originally in French, so get that if German is no good for you! A lovely (soft?) board book – it has many images of different every day things and all the sounds that they make. I particularly like it that the “plug says – no no no!” and that the christmas tree sings “oh tannenbaum”. Fabulous. Simple. Red Ted (2.5 yrs) always make me sing to the christmas tree, but also likes many of the other pages. It is really nice that we can enjoy this book with Pip Squeak (8mths) too, as she loves the bright colours and the fun noises. Depending on the month, Red Ted has a different favourite page. Currently, we get stuck on the watch page (tick tack), mainly because I showed him an old Swatch Flick Flack that used to be mine and told him once it has a new battery he can have it.

We were also given a read the time activity book which he loves drawing in.Needless to say, he hasn’t got a clue and cannot tell the time. He is not a wonderchild, but the point is, he is taking an interest in time. And we talk about time. And I tell him what time we do what.

So. The craft project. This is super easy.It took 2 min per watch. We made them more on a whim than anything else. I just realised that, I made them all. Mmh, I guess Red Ted gave me instructions (mainly “more”), but we did discuss time (what time shall I do next, Red Ted?) and he did want some for his friends. And you do learn through watching?! Below there are some more crafty suggestions.

1) Materials: Loo Roll, Scissors, Paper, Pen, Sellotape

2) Cut a strip of loo roll: the armband

3) Cut a circle and draw a watch face

4) Sellotape on (you can glue it, but takes a while to dry!

DONE!

Variations:

let your toddler decorate the wristband and watch face:
decorate loo roll: with feathers, fake gems, paint, pens, whatever takes your fancy (avoid glitter with this one, you will have it ALL over the house)
instead of loo roll, cut a strip of coloured card and sellotape it – good for older childrenwith bigger wrists.
Maybe you can be SUPER crafty and with a pin make a moving clock arms