As we are headed for even more snow this week in Wisconsin, I thought it might be timely to share one of my biggest Nanny tips: The Magical Giant Roll of Paper!

Simple enough, I know, but the possibilities for creativity here are endless. Our specific roll was purchased at Target and was Elmer’s Brand, however I found this roll available on their website which could work well too: Pacon Easel Paper Roll

Here are 7 fun things we chose to do with it!

1. Tiny Town Fun

For this activity we rolled out the paper across the kitchen floor and used some colored pencils and crayons to draw some of our favorite places around town. The kiddos had fun seeing their favorite places on the page and helped to draw some creations of their own. After sketching out our town we grabbed some of their LOL dolls, plastic animals and cars, and other little toys and had fun making our town come to life!

2. Countertop Paint Exploration

The kids loved how the paper roll took the simple activity of paint to the next level! We rolled the paper out across the entire kitchen island, rolled up our sleeves, and let creativity take its course across the expanded blank page.

3. Glue and Pasta Exploration

This was pretty fun because we had character shaped macaroni noodles but you could also use regular pasta shapes to create different designs.

4. Foam Shape Sticker Garden

You can purchase a large tub of geometric shapes stickers made of foam at pretty much any local craft store or Target. These were great because we were able to talk about what shapes we were using and the kids were also able to see how those shapes fit into other creations. We chose to create a rather large flower garden with ours and the extra large space the roll of paper provided added double the fun.

5. Outdoor Painting

This activity we did in the spring time when the temperatures weren’t so frigid here. We rolled out the paper across their picnic table and worried less about mess and more about the pretty glitter paint artwork we were making.

6. Body Tracing/ Measuring Activity

There are many different ways to engage in this activity. My favorite though is to first have the kiddos lay down on the paper and trace their outline. Then measure with a tape measure how tall their outline is. After that, allow the kids to take over measuring and tracing different toys or stuffed animals from around the house.

7. Race Tracks

This one is really fun and flexible. Just grab a paper plate and put enough paint on it that the kids can roll the wheels of their toy cars through it. Roll out the paper across the floor (preferably a floor that will be easy to clean after!) and let them roll their cars down it. They love seeing the different tire tracks! You can also turn this into an animal tracks activity if you have plastic animals instead. Or for a third option, paint the bottom of the kiddo’s feet and let walk down the roll of paper to see their own tracks!

There are probably a million more things you could do with this! But these ideas have all been tested and approved by a few cute kiddos I know.