Craft Activities for Kids

Getting the kids creative over holidays, weekends, and during after-school time is a great way to nuture their artistic flair and keep them occupied. In fact there are so many different craft activities for kids it can often be hard to know where to start. We offer some expert advice and some great activities so you and your kids can roll up your sleeves and get crafting!

Child development experts tell us, and we all know instinctively, that creativity is good for our children's mental development, their self-esteem and their self expression.  We also know first hand-one of the great pleasures of being a parent is seeing the joy and pride on our children's faces as they stick their latest creation from school or playgroup on the fridge or bedroom wall.

Children's craft activities

To find out we talked to Crafts4Kids.co.uk, the online company set up by two frustrated working parents, who specialise in offering high quality creative gifts, kits, party ideas, unique projects and inspiring arts & crafts materials. They were able to tell us the most common worries parents have about getting creative with the kids consist of things such as "I'm creatively challenged myself - I'm not able to help my children produce anything good!"

Creativity is like singing - most of us can do it even if we don't think we can, furthermore experts are unanimous in identifying that it is the creative process that is the key benefit not the output. Remember, creative activity is the opportunity for self-expression. If you are nervous, choose products or projects that are realistic for your child's age and ability level and that come with full instructions. Take pride in your parenting skills at jointly considering and working on a project rather than focus on the output. You'll find out it's a lot of fun and will probably be surprised at the quality of the finished result!

But what about the mess?

Lots of parents assume creative activities mean lots of extra work for them! The truth is many involve little mess - firstly products have moved on a lot since we were young (there was no ready-to-mix papier mache then!) and there are so many easy to tidy away options - sewing, woodcraft or paper modelling, jewellery making, card making and drawing for example. What craft activities do require is time so you need to set it aside. 

In Crafts4Kids experience most parents are surprised how much fun they have when they do get involved and how much their children value it. In our busy lives undertaking some family projects like having a go at capturing cartoon likenesses of each other, making models of each other and the family pets out of colourful bake in the oven polymer clay or doing a craft kit together can produce plenty of family giggles! Where mess is likely, it always seems worse if it's made by someone else so get in on the action and share the cleaning load with the kids.

Keep craft simple

It is easy to forget what you've got so keep basics well organised and try and be adaptive with materials. Most kits have just the right amount of materials and check out Crafts4Kids.co.uk's projects - they supply the right amount of unique materials for a creative project but leave the basics as optional purchases so that you do not have to buy the things you already have.

Creative craft activities for kids

my child has come up with some great ideas to get you and your kids creative:

• Egg Heads - With Easter just gone, you might have some eggs left over. Try cracking the eggs at the top and draining out the white and yolk. Once your egg is hollow, put some compost or soil inside (you could even use damp kitchen roll instead as long as you keep it moist), but only fill halfway. Then sprinkle some cress or mustard seeds evenly over the soil, and trickle some water over them. Whilst the seeds are growing, get some felt pens and draw funny faces and colourful patterns on the eggs to decorate them. Place on a window sill, and wait for the hair to grow.
• Masks - Masks are always a fun way to keep kids occupied both in the making and then the playing afterwards. Find some card (not too thick) for them to use, and either lolly sticks or a length of elastic for them to use to wear their masks. Make sure you offer to help with the cutting as it can often be tricky for younger children especially when cutting out the eyes. There are plenty of mask-kits in the shops, or you could use scraps found round the house.
• Garden decorations - Christmas aside, there is always time to add decorations to the trees and bushes in your garden to make them look even more picturesque. The tree decorations could be made out of natural things found in the garden (be careful they are not poisonous though) such as flowers (remember to use what is on the floor - don't pick them off the plants), twigs, berries, and seeds. Things like pine cones make excellent decorations. You can use string and glue to assemble them, and try using paint and glitter to make them even more colourful.
• Boats - Most children have a real interest in boats, so why not get them to make their own and see how they can keep it afloat. You could provide cork, pieces of wood, twigs, lolly sticks and general scraps of fabric, with glue and string, and really encourage them to experiment with different materials and designs. They can launch their boats in ponds, streams, puddles or even in a basin of water. You could encourage them to make brightly coloured sails and get them to paint their boats.
• Making your own costumes - Encourage your children to make their own costumes for parties or plays or role-playing games. They could use a variety of different materials such as fabric, felt, card, tissue paper and papier mache, and use different techniques to assemble it all. It might get messy, so remember to put plenty of newspaper down.