Wanted to do something seasonal with what we had on hand, Beckett and I made a ghost out of cotton balls and a paper plate. This was Beckett's very first craft project!I've always been a little hesitant to do a craft project with Beckett. Everything ends up in his mouth. Sure most kids taste glue at some point, but I'd rather not have that in Beckett's diet. But this day I thought why not try? And Beckett never put the glue in his mouth. He was too busy being dazzled by the cotton balls.
1. Ghost Supplies . . . . .
This is what we used. If you don't have this exactly, just use what you have. No right or wrong, and who says that your ghost has to be white?
- 1 paper plate (we used round, but square will also work)
- felt or construction paper for eyes (we used green & black)
- cotton balls (we only used about 15 total)
- glue
2. Stage Craft Area . . . . .
I sat Beckett in his high chair since he can't sit at a table on his own just yet (we also don't have a table for him right now... later on we'll get him one). With the high chair next to the dinning table, I spread out all of the supplies on the dinning table. I let him watch me do all of the prep work while he had a small snack.
3. Craft Prep . . . . .
Draw out the shape of ghost on the paper plate, and cut. I kept it simple.
Create eyes, and glue on to ghost plate. I let them dry a bit before giving to Beckett to be sure they stuck.
4. Craft Away . . . . .
First I held up a cotton ball to show Beckett, and then I gave one to him. I was sure to watch him as I didn't know what he would do. Didn't want him to stick it into his mouth. To my surprise, he was so interested in studying it and breaking it apart. He didn't even try to put it in his mouth.
I let Beckett pull apart the cotton balls, and I glued them to the plate. He's only one, so he can't glue them on himself. Maybe next year.
While I glued the cotton balls down, I did this in front of him. The ghost was always within his reach so that he could touch it. A few times, he did rip up the cotton balls I had glued (glue was not dry). I would just take out of his hand, and restick to the plate. I also was sure to give him a cotton ball so he didn't get upset that I took something from him.
5. Clean It Up . . . . .
Clean up was easy. And Beckett was treated to splashing his hands under the faucet with some bubbly soap.
6. More Sensory Play . . . . .
After the glue completely dries, Beckett gets something to touch.
