We recently received this question about time-crunched families and crafts, and thought it worth sharing!
Q. If my family only has time for crafts every so often, which crafts are most worth our time and why?
A. The best thing we can do as parents is to offer our kids a range of craft supplies, projects, and tools to explore. Kids learn new skills and make new connections every time they have a new experience. If you’re short on time, try to focus on a different activity every craft time. For example, one week can be painting, another week can be beading, another week is drawing or modeling with clay.
If your child is confident with a particular activity, such as building or painting, make the supplies for that activity accessible, so that your child can work independently while you are focusing on other tasks. A simple supply of scissors, paper, pencils, glue and crayons will be enough to get them started.
If your child is reluctant to do crafts on their own, encourage him or her by picking up on a theme they’re interested in. Calendar themes are a common interest for every child, so take advantage by suggesting they make birthday cards or decorations for special events. This way, you’ll save a trip to the store to buy a card or decorations.
Crafts don’t need to be complicated for kids to have fun with them. Know your child’s interests and abilities, give them a few supplies and creative control, and watch them learn through hands-on fun!