St Andrew's Day Toddler Activities

Why not help your child celebrate Scottish culture in fun ways using these St Andrew's Day toddler activities?

Toddler Art

St Andrew's Day crafts won't be complete without making the Scottish flag!

You'll need:

• An A5 (half of letter size) royal blue card/paper
• Two strips of white card/paper long enough to be placed diagonally to form a cross
• Glue-stick
• Three ice lolly (popstical) sticks or a stick from your garden (backyard)
• sticky tape

Show your toddler a Saltire flag or a picture of one. Let her stick the strips where they see fit. Then tape three ice lolly (popsicle) sticks slightly over-lapping at the ends or find a stick on the ground in your garden (backyard). Tape the stick to the back right side of the flag.

Loch Ness Monster

Since no-one actually knows what the Loch Ness monster looks like this is great toddler project! Provide your child with a piece paper or card, paint and paintbrushes and let him create the Loch Ness monster.

St Andrew's Day Toddler Cooking

Scottish Shortbread

INGREDIENTS:

• 455 g butter
• 220 g packed brown sugar
• 560 g all-purpose flour

Parenting tip for your toddler: Playing the 'your turn, my turn game' is particularly useful during toddler cooking activities. It teaches an important social skill too!

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Wash both your and your toddler's hands and pull up and chair or stool to your kitchen counter top. Wearing an apron makes it feel even more special to a toddler.
3. Measure out the soft butter and let your toddler transfer it to a large mixing bowl and do the same with the brown sugar.
4. Cream butter and brown sugar. Let your toddler give it a stir too (or the toddler version of stirring which is poking).
5. Measure 420 grams of the flour and ask your toddler to pour it in. Take turns to stir again and mix well.
6. Sprinkle the kitchen counter top with the remaining flour. Give your little one a small piece and knead the rest for 5 minutes and encourage your child to copy. Keep adding enough flour to make a soft dough.
7. Roll to 1 ¾ cm (½ inch) thickness. Cut into about 7 ½ x 2 ½ cm (3x1 inch) strips.
8. Prick the biscuits with a fork. This is something your toddler can be in charge of! (Of course still with supervision.)
9. It's up to you who places them on ungreased baking sheets. But an older toddler could probably manage it using a fish slice or spatular, after a demonstration.
10. Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes.
11. Cool on a wire rack (the one from the grill pan works well) and the whole family can enjoy this Scottish treat.

Here's the source of the recipe which can also be converted into US measurements if needed.

Other St Andrew's Day Toddler Activities

Show your toddler this video below of the bagpiper and let him create his own Scottish dance. Or you could even give him a demonstration. :-)

A Scottish Children's Poem

As the Scots are famous for their poetry, listening to the one below is a perfect little activity to help calm your toddler down after the dancing.

The Wee Rid Motor
By Sandy Thomas Ross

In my wee rid motor,
I can gang for miles,
Up and doon the gairden,
Through the lobby whiles.

Mony a bigger motor
Gangs tae toons afaur.
Nane can gang whaur I gang
In my wee rid caur.

Here's a recital of The Wee Rid Motor you can both listen to together.

Have a Blue Day

Even though it's part of our society for pre-schools to 'know their colours' it is a very abstract concept. Keep in mind that, with all the many shades of the same colour, it's harder learn than it first appears.

This St Andrew's Day activity is a perfect way for a toddler to absorb and link many different shades of blue to that one word in fun ways throughout the day. You can do as much or as little blue things as you like, just continually point them out to your toddler. Feel free you substitute blue for another colour as a learning activity on any other day.

Here's some blue toddler activities:

1. Wear something blue
2. Eat blueberries
3. Go on blue hunts around the house, community, park or even in books
4. Provide blue in a variety of art media and a piece of large sheet of construction paper or leftover wallpaper. Click here for toddler art ideas.
5. Play with blue play dough, water, shaving foam or spaghetti. Click here for more tactile activities.

I hope you and your toddler enjoy these St Andrew's Day toddler activities. Happy St Andrew's Day!

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