CREATE // CEREAL BRACELET

Last week while boiling pasta if you follow me on Instagram you'd know I was using said pasta's steam to pretend to be at the spa, but that's for another day I was greeted by a hungry and curious toddler, that was Taylen. Frazzled and tired I did the only thing I could think of, I gave him dry pasta. Not the end of the world, no, but not my finest move either. He loved it, and that's great, but I'm writing about it because it reminded me of being a kid myself. I had flashbacks of girl scout crafting tables making "necklaces" and "bracelets" for myself and my mom out of colorful penne pasta, fruit loops, and any other empty-middled dry foods we could find.

 

So today, amidst the mumbles of my husband and I stating "the kids are crazy" I had an idea- let's try that homemade jewelry with the kids! I expected the to be interested for a moment and then run around eating crunchy bits. But I was wrong. They were SO intrigued that they crafted right up until meal time, set it aside, and resumed after they ate! AH HA! Cue me feeling like a genius right about now. I was particularly proud of Taylen who, unlike his brother and sister, didn't eat all of the gems right away, but instead carefully strung them and at least pretended to care that he'd made jewelry. Dayr strung his cheerios and ate them off the twine, and Ayara just ate her decor.

 

I got such a sense of satisfaction watching their little brain gears go 'round! Here's how we made it work:

 

What you Need:

 

string we used leftover twine

food with holes pasta, cereal, candies, etc.

scissors to cut a string

 

To Do:

 

Tie a knot in the string at one end, so food doesn't fall off.

Set out pieces to thread and let your child go to town! It's that simple!

Oh, and eat the mess.

 

Here are 50 more fine motor activities you can do with the tots, too!