Colorful No Mess Art For Toddlers That Makes A Fun Window Decoration

Inside: This no mess art for toddlers activity is super simple and fun, plus it strengthens fine motor skills. Makes a nice display for the window!

I love those moments when you already have an activity planned, not realizing just how much you’d need it.

Yesterday morning our toddlers were a combination of teary, tired and energetic.

I’m sure anyone with toddlers knows how this combination plays out. It can make for a long 3 hours.

But somehow I had foreseen this (okay, perhaps I just got lucky), because I had put together one of our favorite calming activities that just so happens to tap into the fine motor area.

An activity that saved our last 30 minutes of class with very little clean up involved.

Win-win!

Colorful No Mess Art for Toddlers

Supplies:

Contact Paper

Tissue paper shapes

That’s all you need for this no mess art.

Setting it up:

I needed an activity that could be set up in seconds, because this was happening as soon as we returned from being outside. Since we are only on week 3 in our toddler classroom, we are still working on the waiting part. (Let’s be realistic – this will be the case for the entire school year. Toddlers aren’t wired to wait.)

So, I had like maybe 2 minutes max where I rolled out the Contact Paper, sticky side up, and taped the edges to the table. I grabbed the tissue paper squares and set them beside the Contact paper.

Thankfully I did this as we were headed outside.

Because when we returned to the classroom, I almost lost everyone. That last 30 minutes can be difficult, as the children are getting tired.

When we entered the classroom, I invited the children to join us at the sticky paper table. And I held my breath for just a moment, hoping I could pull our toddlers out of what could have been a downward spiral.

It worked! Worked like a charm.

Once they realized the paper was sticky, I could not hand them the tissue paper shapes fast enough.

Their little fingers had to pinch the tissue paper, transport it, and then drop and press it onto the sticky Contact paper.

This fine motor activity was such a hit that some of the children stayed at the table for a good 20 minutes. That’s pretty amazing for this age group!

Oh, and this fine motor activity has a nice result, too!

After we were finished placing the tissue paper onto the sticky paper, I removed the entire piece from the table, carried it over to our dramatic play area, and pressed the sticky side onto the glass of our window. No additional tape needed. And it’s easy to remove.

We love activities we can display in the classroom!

I think it adds some fun color to the area!

And there you have it. A quick way to strengthen toddler fine motor skills. Easy peasy fun!

17 Activities to Strengthen the Hands

If you are looking for the best collection of fine motor activities, here you go! Each of these involves squeezing, which strengthens the hands and fingers. A free printable is included with more ideas to get the hands ready for writing.