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Cotton ball snowman: a calm craft for toddlers
Age: 2+ · Time: 20 min · For:
Cotton balls is soft, fluffy and wonderfully calming to work with. Pressing it onto glue one piece at a time is slow, peaceful work that toddlers love, and the white snowman looks beautiful against dark paper.
What your child does, where you help
- Your child: presses on the cotton balls, chooses the scarf color and adds snow.
- You: draw the circles, spread the glue and help with the face.
Variations
- Snowman family: make a big and small snowman side by side.
- 3D snowman: use whole cotton balls for a bumpy, touchable snowman.
- Card: make a mini version on a folded cardstock for Grandma and Grandpa.
You need
- a sheet of dark blue or black paper or cardstock
- a bag of cotton balls, or cotton balls pulled into tufts
- white school glue in a bottle, or in a tub with a brush
- a white crayon or pencil
- markers in a few colors
- a scrap of colored paper or a strip of fabric for the scarf
Steps
- Draw three circles on the paper with a white crayon, a big one at the bottom, a medium one in the middle and a small one on top.
- Spread glue inside the bottom circle.
- Let your child press cotton balls or tufts onto the glue until the circle is full.
- Do the same for the middle circle and the head.
- Glue on a scarf made from a scrap of paper or fabric between the head and the body.
- Draw eyes, a carrot nose, buttons and stick arms with markers, or glue on little twigs as arms.
- Finish with dots of cotton balls or white paint as falling snow.
Questions
The cotton balls will not stay on. What can I do?
Use plenty of white glue and press each piece for a moment. Let the snowman dry flat for an hour before you hang it.
Is cotton balls safe for toddlers?
Stay close by and make sure little ones do not put tufts in their mouth or nose.
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