As a teacher, my brain is full of great activities for the school-aged child, but when it comes to thinking of things to entertain my toddler, I’m often at a loss. I recently remembered a fun activity that we do with our kindergarteners that is just as appropriate for my 19-month-old… Puddin’ Painting.
Finger painting is tons of fun for children who are old enough to understand NOT to eat the paint. But, my little one hasn’t met that mark yet! So, we made up a batch of vanilla pudding (you can use any flavor) and made our own edible paint.
We used Jello instant vanilla pudding and Judah loved that we whipped it up and could eat it right away. He helps me bake all the time and loves it, but the hardest part for him is when whatever we are making has to go into the oven. (Patience is something we are working on – LOL). I am really looking forward to trying this with homemade pudding. Of course, you’ll have to wait to use it. But, you could make it a day ahead even.
Once the pudding was all whipped up we spread out a sheet of waxed paper at the dinner table and placed a dollop of pudding right in the center. Judah loved smearing it around on the waxed paper and eating the Jello was even better!
I liked that the pudding was made with whole milk … so its yet another way I can squeeze a little dairy into my child who doesn’t want to drink enough milk!
If you are doing this activity with the older set, it is a fun way to practice writing spelling words, sight words, or practice writing letters as you call them. Anything you would write with pencil and paper is way more fun to write in pudding!
Here’s a recipe for homemade chocolate pudding. I’m hoping to use it next time!
Chocolate Pudding:
2 cups whole milk
5 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa
pinch of salt
1 bar (4 oz) milk chocolate (or dark, or bittersweet – depending on what you like)
1 tsp vanilla
Whisk milk, sugar, cornstarch, cocoa, and salt in a medium saucepan to blend. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir often with a whisk, going into corners of saucepan.
Boil 1 minute, whisking, until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in chocolate and vanilla until chocolate melts and mixture is blended.
Scrape into bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, gently pressing wrap against pudding. Chill at least 2 hours or until cold.
What do you do to entertain your children under 2?
