Coffee Filter Bats
What you need
- a round paper coffee filter
- washable felt tips
- a spray bottle of water
- a clothes peg
- a tray
How to do it
- Flatten the coffee filter on the tray and let your toddler scribble all over it with felt tips.
- Hand them the spray bottle and let them spray the filter until it is damp, then watch the colours spread into each other.
- Leave it flat to dry.
- Pinch the filter in the middle like a bow tie and clip the clothes peg over the pinch to make the bat's body.
- Draw two eyes on the peg and hang the bat in a window.
Why it matters
Any scribble turns into something lovely once the colours run, so there is no wrong way to do it, and squeezing the spray bottle is great work for small hands.
What they're learning
- Holding a pen
- Scribbling over the whole filter gives them lots of practice gripping and moving a pen.
- Hand strength
- Squeezing the spray bottle trigger works the same muscles they need for scissors later on.
- Noticing colours
- Watching two colours run into each other is a chance to name them and the new one they make.
What to look for
Watch their face when the colours start to run. Ask what colours they can see and listen for new words.
A tip
Only washable felt tips spread with water. If the spray bottle is too stiff, a wet paintbrush dabbed on works just as well.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: drip the water on with your fingers instead of the spray bottle
Harder: make a family of bats in different colours and peg them along a string
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Fine motor activities · Activities for 2 year olds · Toddler activities with a tray · Toddler activities with paper · Toddler water activities