6 ideas for easy and fun manual activities for a 2-year-old

As Maria Montessori said, "the hand is the executive organ of intelligence". As such, manual activities are excellent for the child's motor skills. From the age of 2, it is possible to do crafts with the little ones with simple and funny DIYs. Here is our box of ideas to make at home!

Halloween candy bag




This fall, get started with making a paper candy bag for Halloween with your little one. In writing, we fall for this adorable witch theme. To do it with your loulou, you will need a paper bag (typically the bags you get on the plane), orange and green water-based paint. The first step is to paint the paper, a task that you can give your child. Next you need to pop in crumpled newspaper, another easy task for a two-year-old. After you have stapled half of the bag, you can help your child cut the top part to make fringes. All you have to do is fold them back to make the witch's hair, then clip her pointed hat. Last mission: stick the nose and eyes!

> To see all the steps in video, it's here! (Do not hesitate to visit this site, other tutorials are available to make funny little animals, paper flowers, a beautiful card and many other things)

A snowman




For Christmas, you can make him make a snowman with wooden ice cream sticks. To do this, start by painting the stick white. Then cut out a model of Santa's head (there are plenty of them on the net). Let your child color it with their crayons and stick it on the stick. Take two caterpillars to twist them to create the snowman's scarf and wrap it around the snowman's neck. Glue the buttons on the stick, then hang a small ribbon to hang your snowman on the tree. An adorable little decoration!

> To discover all the steps in detail, go to the 10 fingers website

Christmas ball




Another manual activity that could not be more classic for kids: the Christmas ball to decorate the tree. And why not do it with a pine cone? If you want an ultra-simple DIY, this one is for you. All you have to do is pick up pine cones with your boutchou and then spray them with a sparkling spray. Then, you plant a small hook there to place a piece of string with a large knot.

The Christmas tree




To put on the living room table as a decoration, here is a pretty little Christmas tree to make with four hands from the website Le Carnet d´Emma. First, get a cardboard plate that you cut into quarters to form a small cone (just staple it). Then have your child paint it green. Once the paint is dry, it will suffice for him to finish with the gluing of small pompoms of all colors (stickers can also do the trick). One of those little crafts perfect for the little ones!

> To find out all the steps in detail, go to Emma's website. You will find plenty of DIY there, including advent calendar ideas.

The Easter Bunny




To create these adorable Easter bunnies with your child, nothing could be easier! Take a toilet paper roll and paint it white. Then cut the ears out of a piece of white cardboard, which you can then color in color before gluing them on the roll. The next step is to glue the rabbit's eyes on, followed by a caterpillar's whiskers (you can find this stuff quite easily in creative art stores). The final touch: a pompom to make the nose, and a stroke of a pencil to finish the mouth!

> To see all the steps in video, it's here!

The salt dough heart




It is often THE first Father's Day or Mother's Day gift for your baby: the salt dough heart. To do this, start by making your salt dough with your loulou (find the salt dough recipe here). Then use a roller to flatten the dough. Then let your loulou put his mark. Using a cookie cutter, you can shape the shape of the heart. Write the name of your child (ren) on it, then cook the dough at low temperature (75-100 degrees). Check regularly to avoid overcooking: take it out as soon as it is hard. Finally, once it is dry and cooled, you can have it painted to offer it to mom or dad. A great activity to develop your touch!

Video by Catherine nowak