But what do you do with them, you ask? Well, they are an excellent sensory manipulative for little ones. Toddlers and preschoolers love to match colors, count them, cover do-a-dot pages with them, make patterns on the fridge or a cookie sheet, and use them as game pieces (bingo, tic-tac-toe, etc.). And if your toddler is like mine, they will enjoy knocking them off of the fridge and throwing them too.
I had seen these before over at Mama Jenn's (she calls them puff balls), but didn't get the urge to make them until last week. Boy, am I glad I did! Miles and Levi love them!
They are super simple to make, especially if you use a hot glue gun. I purchased a large bag of multi-colored pompoms in a variety of sizes at Hobby Lobby for less than $4 (with 40% off coupon) and a package of 52 3/4" round magnets from WalMart for $5.97. So, for about $10, we got 52 pompom magnets and a LOT of extra pompoms for crafts and toddler activities, like transferring, matching, sorting, counting, and patterning.
To make your own pompom magnets, you will need:
- pompoms that are slightly bigger than your magnets (about 1")
- 3/4" round magnets
- hot glue gun or other strong, non-toxic glue
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| Hold a magnet in one hand and cover it with a zigzag of glue, then very quickly... |
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| squish the magnet onto a pompom and hold for a couple of seconds. |
That's it!
If you use a different kind of glue, you'll have to wait for them to dry, so keep them out of sight of your kids. They will want to play with them!
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| Of course, they are good for keeping artwork on the fridge, too! :) |
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