Crafts for 1 Year Olds

This collection of crafts for 1 year olds include sock animals, painting with recycled materials, DIY toys and more! Perfect for home or in the classroom.

Crafting with 1 year olds can be tricky! There are a couple of main points to remember, primarily, that is IS NOT the end result that matters, but namely the process! Putting materials onto glue develops fine motor skills, working on a vertical surface helps with bilateral coordination, and engaging the senses help kids retain and remember information!

10 Crafts for 1 Year Olds

We’ve identified many of the benefits of crafting with one year olds and toddlers above, and all of these crafts included will hit on some of these points.

Why is the process more important?

Process art has become incredibly popular among early childhood educators as we have come to understand just how much more important the process of engaging in art or crafting is than what the end result looks like.

Process art allows children the opportunity to be creative, imaginative, and explorative, all while learning the way they do best, through play and experiences!

Marbling with shaving cream is a really fun method for this age group. They can get their hands messy and the process doesn’t require any small parts. Simply press some paper onto colored shaving cream to create some beautiful effects. See a couple of ways we have done with this doilies below:

Marbled Valentine Hearts

Marbled Shamrocks

Make a sock animal! My kids have loved scooping and dumping rice since they were very little, it’s a soothing process and a great way to engage in sensory play. Filling an old mis-matched sock with rice can create really fun characters! We’ve made bunnies, babies, and snowmen!

Snowman Sock Buddy Scented with Essential Oils

Paint with recycled materials. We love to find old items ready for the recycling bin to paint and craft with. My little ones always loved tape – so a few strips of tape hanging off of the edge of the table and a pile of toilet paper tubes were great for making sculptures! These materials can be great to stamp with also! Here are a few fun ways to paint or craft with household items:

Paint with Bundled Q-Tips

Sensory Process Art with Recycled Materials

Make Paintbrushes with Household Items

Make a collage! Placing items onto glue is such great fine motor practice for 1 and 2 year olds! They can also help to spread a little glue with a paintbrush – a really fun exercise for them. Do it on the wall with contact paper to eliminate the glue all together and work on a vertical surface!

Bird Seed Bear Collage

Apple Picking Sticky Wall

Turn your craft into a DIY toy! Think about the toys that your children love to play with most, and find a way to craft one! Even 1 year olds can appreciate and take pride in the process of making something that they can use. And, though they might need some helping hands, this is a great opportunity to bond and connect!