SALT ART

This three-step project pulls off what might be considered the hat trick of the toddler art world: your child will get to smash, smear, and sprinkle in the name of creativity. When she's done making her creation from dyed salt and glue, you'll be left with some truly eye-catching artwork that features texture as well as color.

Step 1: Tint the Salt For each color, put approximately 1 cup of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of liquid watercolor or 20 to 25 drops of food coloring in a ziplock bag. Seal each bag, removing as much air as you can. Outside, let your child shake, smash, and knead the contents until all of the salt is dyed. Next, pour the salt onto newspaper-lined trays to dry for about 2 hours (or just open the bags and let the grains dry overnight). When it's no longer wet to the touch, pour the salt into clean, dry spice shakers, one color per shaker.

Step 2: Make a Pattern Offer your child a glue stick and some stiff paper or a paper plate. Encourage her to scribble all over the paper with the glue.

Step 3: Add Color Hand your child the shakers of dyed salt and show her how to sprinkle it onto the paper. Once the glue has dried, simply shake off the excess salt.

Water Park

Along with several shallow containers of water, set out such items as funnels, clear plastic tubing (available at hardware stores), cups, and pipettes and encourage your child to experiment. For a twist, add a little color to the water.

Car Wash
Roll out your child's collection of ride-ons and other vehicles, then offer sponges, spray bottles, and no-tears soap.

CRAZY MIX
This mystifying blend of cornstarch and water a liquid? A solid? Truth be told, it's both! When kids apply pressure -- as when rolling it into a ball -- the mixture magically firms up. But release that pressure, and it will dribble right back out through their fingers. Here's how to easily whip up a batch of your own, because in this case, feeling really is believing.

To Make the Mix
Pour 1 cup of cornstarch into a shallow bowl or pan. Add 3/4 cup of water a little at a time, stirring as you go.

To Play
Show your toddler how to scoop some of the mixture into her hands and then roll it into a ball, much as you would roll a handful of cookie dough. The consistency is key here, so if your magic goo doesn't firm up when you roll it, add a little more cornstarch. Likewise, if it doesn't melt back out of your hands when you release the pressure, add some water, about 1/2 teaspoon at a time.

To Store It
When your child is done playing, leave the mixture sitting out for several hours. Once it's dry, crumble it into a sealed container. Just add water to play again another day.

CRAFT MATERIALS:

Roll of candy (we used Life Savers)
Colored tape
Foil party picks (we got ours at gourmac.com)

Time needed: 30 Minutes or Less
1. For each firecracker, remove the outer wrapper from a roll of candy. Wrap the inner lining with colored tape.

2. Insert foil party picks into the center of the roll, snapping off part of the pick if needed to get the correct length.