...With Kid Crafts
Have you ever heard those familiar words, "I'm bored,"
coming from the mouth of your child? If so, then kid crafts
are the answer. Provide the kids with craft materials and
boredom will be a thing of the past. Read on for ideas about
kid crafts.
Kid crafts essential materials include paper, crayons, safe
scissors, and glue. Paper for kid crafts can include
construction paper, plain typing paper, cardstock of various
colors, and many other options. Even junk mail and old
magazines can make interesting art projects. Crayons are
nice for younger children, but the stores are now filled
with other options, such as washable dry-erase markers,
watercolor pencils, and gel pens. Kid crafts supplies can
run into money, but even on a budget there are many
possibilities.
Other materials kids can craft with include recycled junk
and found objects. By recycled junk, I'm referring to empty
cereal boxes, toothpaste boxes, cardboard from packaging,
plastic containers, and even tin cans. If you let kids craft
with tin cans, however, you need to make sure the open edge
of the can doesn't have any sharp edges. Simply file these
off or squeeze them flat with a pair of pliers.
Found objects include leaves, twigs, rocks, snake skins, and
other natural item a child might find. Perhaps there is a
sheep farm nearby. If so, wool scraps can often be found
stuck to the barbed wire fences. Any or all of these items
can be used in kid crafts.
One of the most fun and popular kid crafts is making a
collage. Kids can glue anything down when making a collage.
Use heavy paper for the background, and then let the
creativity begin! For an extra challenge, a collage can be
built around a theme, like food, animals, or babies. Old
magazines can be searched for just the right pictures, which
can be cut out and glued to the background. The older child
might wish to cut out details from magazine pictures and
reassemble them in new and interesting ways. They might cut
out interesting words and headlines and add them as well.
Younger kid crafts can include collages made of glued down
pasta, beans, popsicle sticks, leaves, and many other
materials. Don't forget about glitter, too. If the budget
allows only a few kid crafts splurges, remember that kids of
all ages, particularly girls, really enjoy crafting artwork
that includes glitter. But whether your kids are boys or
girls, young or older, suggest some kid crafts the next time
your kids are bored!
|