Southern California Children's Museum

Here is a super fun project for toddlers to tweens! For little ones, you can explore texture and tactility.  Bigger kids can explore expressionism and abstraction.  Rather than trying to make a controlled and specific drawing, this medium lends itself well to dots, dashes, splishes and splashes!  Hope you have fun doing this with the kids, I know we did!

Level of difficulty:  Easy               

Recommended Ages:  3 and up

Mess Level: Medium

 What you will need

 ¼ cup self-rising flour

¼ cup salt

4 Tbsp. water

Mixing bowls

Plastic squeeze bottles

Tip: They can be found at cake decorating supply stores.

Card stock, tag board, or canvas board

Tip: Don’t use any canvases with staples in them.

Food coloring

Tip: The amount is up to you, depending on how saturated you like your colors.

Microwave oven

Here is what you do:

 Mix self-rising flour and salt with water and food coloring until     there are no lumps.

The mixture should be the consistency of thick pancake batter.

 Repeat the recipe for each color and pour mixture into individual squeeze bottles.

Create your image by drawing on your surface with the squeeze bottle. 

Crisscross colors, try different mark making, and try lots of patterns and pictures!

Tip: Don’t let any one area get too saturated or you will have a hard time getting the paint to puff up.  

 After your image is completed, microwave it for 30 seconds. If the paint is still visibly wet, microwave in 20 second increments till the paint puffs up and takes on a matte sheen.

Let project cool for a few minutes.

Exhibit your works of art!

Cultivating Your Child’s Skills through a Sensory Box!

By Sara Hunsucker Jerome for the Southern California Children’s Museum

Creating fun and stimulating activities for your toddler at home is probably easier and more affordable than you might have thought!  Chances are you already have just about everything you need to create a sensory box already! 

A sensory box can help children develop a variety of skills.  Scooping, sifting, stirring, pouring, and sorting can work a child’s fine motor skills. Fine motor skills are the skills need for small muscle coordination and hand-eye coordination.  These skills translate into writing, tying shoes, buttoning buttons, and all the other big little things we human have to do!

The socio-emotional benefits of a sensory box are that it may allow a child focus and to have complete control of his or her actions.  When a child is able to practice decision making and explore freely, it can greatly boost confidence.  More confidence means further exploration and discoveries.

Children develop language and cognitive skills by actually experiencing that which they cannot yet name.  For example: To really know what ‘cold’ means, it makes sense to touch an ice cube. So it goes for little ones who need an introduction to EVERYTHING in world.  Sensory boxes can help facilitate verbal development because you can introduce your child to a range of sensations, textures, colors, and actions, all while boosting their vocabulary!

What is a Sensory Box?

Sensory boxes can incorporate anything that stimulates the senses.  They can be wet or dry, brightly colored, you can add scents, and they can contain interesting objects and textures.  Get creative!

We used colored rice, funnels, strainers, ice cream scoops, plastic bugs and reptiles, and decorative rocks. We started with our colors separated, and let the explorer mix them up by moving the colors around to different containers.  Everything eventually ended up in a shoe box sized plastic bin.  We worked with a 20 month old who likes to things in his mouth.  We watched him very carefully, and we were not opposed to him using his pacifier for the activity. Be mindful of choking hazards, and make sure that if you do add scents they are safe and non-toxic.  Natural things like cinnamon or lavender are good options. 

How to dye rice or pasta

1 LB. Uncooked rice or pasta

Food coloring in desired colors

Rubbing alcohol

Sandwich sized zip baggies

Newspaper and or paper towels

Cookie sheets

  ·        Work outside or in a well-ventilated area.  It is best to dye the rice the night before to ensure the alcohol is completely evaporated.

·        Divide rice into 5-6 baggies depending on how many colors you want.

·        Add 2-4 drops of food coloring (depending on desired color saturation) into 1 baggie of rice.

·        Add 2 Tablespoons of rubbing alcohol to rice and food coloring,  seal the baggie, squish and shake to make sure the rice or pasta is well coated. If you want to make it darker, add more food coloring. 

·        When the color distribution looks even, open the bag and spread the wet rice on a cookie sheet covered with newspaper and/or paper towels.  Allow to dry completely for several hours outside.

·        Repeat process for each color. 

·        Note: when the rice dries, there is no alcohol odor and the rice is very colorfast and should not stain hands. 

Please join the Southern California Children's Museum on

1. Prepare materials in advance so there is little down time. Kids lose interest fast, so keep them stimulated! 

2. Do not offer too many options. Small kids can be overwhelmed easily. Working within a set of parameters encourages resourcefulness and creativity in your child.

3. Allow exploration and unexpected out comes.  It is key to be flexible when doing art with your child.  He or she may just show you a different or better way to do things! 

4. Accept the mess!  It's going to happen and it's not the end of the world!  Be prepared by using washable art materials.  Pick up a plastic table cloth for the kitchen table at the dollar store.  Put the kids in an old t-shirt, and go for it!  You can make clean-up time part of the overall experience.

5. Have fun! Jump in and create with your kids.  This is an excellent outlet for both of you.  It's an opportunity to not only bond, but to work on non-verbal communication skills with your child.

10 Ways to Create Stimulating Environments for Your Baby or Toddler

 by: Sara Hunsucker, Director of Art Education, SCCM

1.    Rotate your child’s toys often. Keep some on reserve and out of sight, and swap them when your child seems bored with the current selection. 

 2.     Keep toys organized and accessible; the easier they are to grab and engage with, the better!  They will also be easier to clean up. 

 3.     Bring color, light, and sound into play areas.  Safety mirrors, access to windows, art on the walls, and an IPod doc can liven up a space to spark curiosity!

 4.     Create fun new areas for exploration by bringing in pillows, couch cushions, or creating bed sheet forts.  Encourage climbing and crawling in safe areas.

 5.     Create varied crawling and walking surfaces with bathmats, throw rugs, play mats, foam tiles, and blankets.

   6.     Include an area for quiet time, such as a reading nook.  If you don’t have space for a rest area, take the child out of the room if over stimulation occurs.  Take cues from your child to know when it is time to change activities like: fussiness or agitation, staring, and disengagement. Return to play actives after a sufficient period of rest or redirected attention, (often 15-20 minutes does the trick).

  7.     Get down on the floor with them!  Create space for you and/or your caregiver to interact with the child at times.  Inversely, create a space where a child can confidently and safely maneuver alone. Alone time with supervision can build confidence and allow your child explore freely.

 8.     Stick to age appropriate toys as listed by the manufacturer.  Read instructions for proper use, and to understand how each activity can best benefit your little one’s learning experience.  If something seems like a potential hazard despite the suggested age recommendation, take it out of the mix!  Keep all areas baby/toddler safe and make sure there is always clear access to the door.

 9.     Encourage a range of different types of play activities such as pretend play/dress up, music time, art time, construction time, etc.  This will help nurture different developmental needs for your child.

 10. Provide outdoor space for physical movement, mobile toys and ride-along toys, water play, messy art projects, and exploration of nature! 

Brought to you by the Southern California Children's Museum. visit socalkids.org for more information

Resource: Kaplan-Sanoff M. 2002. Stimulating environments. In Jellinek M, Patel BP, Froehle MC, eds.,