Cork stamping: Christmas ornaments with toddlers

Age: 2+ · Time: 20 min · For: Ages 3–5

Corks make perfect stamps for little hands: easy to hold, light, and they make a neat round print every time. Dip, press, lift, and there is an ornament. Toddlers can keep going for ages, filling a whole sheet with colorful Christmas ornaments.

What your child does, where you help

Your child: chooses the colors and does all the stamping.
You: prepare the paint, draw the strings or the tree, and write the name and date.

Tips

Thin paint gives clearer prints than thick blobs.
One cork per color keeps the colors bright.
Big paper gives toddlers room to move.

Safety

Corks are small. Stay close by with children under 3, and use non-toxic, washable paint.

You need

3 to 5 bottle corks (natural or plastic)
paint in a few Christmas colors (washable tempera paint or finger paint)
a few flat plates or lids for the paint
a sheet of thick paper or cardstock
a marker or brush for the strings
an old T-shirt or apron and a tablecloth

Steps

Cover the table, put on an apron and pour a thin layer of each paint color onto a plate.
Show your child how to dip the flat end of a cork in the paint and press it onto the paper. Each round print is an ornament.
Let them stamp ornaments all over the paper, in different colors. Overlapping is fine.
Leave the paint to dry for about 15 minutes.
Draw a little line and a hook from the top of each ornament up to the top of the paper, so the ornaments hang from strings, or draw a Christmas tree around them.
Older toddlers can add dots, stripes and zigzags on the dry ornaments with markers.