kids crafts – Page 5 – Craft Caravan

Kids Craft Ideas: Five Easy Homemade Christmas Ornament Crafts for Kids

June 15, 2016June 15, 2016 admin

If you’re putting up a Christmas tree this year, put the kids in charge of decorating by crafting handmade ornaments and hanging them on the tree. Handmade ornaments also make great gifts for Grandparents and other family, especially if they involve a picture of your kids in the centre! Here are a few handmade ornament ideas:

1. Salt dough ornaments – we looked forward to making ornaments every year when I was a kid. If you’re not quite ready to put the tree up yet, this is a great way to channel the kids’ excitement into a Christmas project! Roll out the dough and cut shapes with cookie cutters. Place shapes on baking sheet and make a hanging hole in each, using toothpick. Bake and cool. Decorate ornaments with paints, decorating supplies, clippings of old Christmas cards, family photos. Let dry. Hang with wire or ribbon. Here’s the recipe:

1 cup salt, 4 cups flour, 1 ½ c warm water, 4 tbsp salad oil
Mix dry ingredients and then wet ingredients; combine all and knead for 10 minutes
Roll to ¼” thick and cut shapes. Prick bottoms, bake on greased pan at 350 for ½ hour to 3 hours, depending on thickness

2. Edible ornaments – no one likes ‘undecorating’ the tree at the end of the season, so make yours a tree that naturally becomes more sparse as the days of Christmas-ing go on! Before baking your gingerbread men and sugar cookies, use a toothpick to make a hole at the top for hanging. Popcorn garlands can be strung, and of course candy canes can be added to your tree as well.

3. Pinecones! A great natural addition to your Christmas tree. Go outside to collect pinecones, remove any dirt, debris, or snow, and let them dry if necessary (you can dry them in the oven at low temp ~200 degrees). Add small dots of glue and sprinkle with icing sugar, sugar, or sparkles if you have them. You can also roll them in glue and then put them in a brown bag or resealable bag full of sugar/sparkles and shake shake shake to decorate. Glue or tie a ribbon to the top for hanging.

4. Ribbon ornaments: if your child is ready to learn how to tie bows, use wide ribbon to tie several bows for the tree. You can also fold ribbon back and forth in a zig zag (about 1” per zig…or zag), and then pull a needle and thread through all thicknesses to make a small stack of ‘ribbon candy’

5. Bead ornaments: Candy canes are a simple beading project – all you need are some wooden beads and a pipe cleaner (chenille stem). Bend the pipe cleaner into a cane shape and slip on the beads! Icicles are just as easy – simply string 6 or 7 beads and buttons, and loop onto a tree branch.

If you have any special handmade ornament ideas that you use year after year, let us know about it!

What to do with Finished Crafts

June 15, 2016June 15, 2016 admin

We love all of the craft projects that our kids do, and we find it hard to part with most of their work. It seems like every little drawing or craft tells a story of a milestone that has been reached, a current interest, or their world-view at the time. However, as their finished crafts continue to pile up, there’s no denying that a little ‘filtering’ needs to be done. We asked our facebook group what they do with their kids’ finished masterpieces, and here’s what they said:

Take pictures of the finished work and make a year by year photo album
Take photos of them holding their finished work, so you can remember how big they were when they did it
Put the most special pieces into an art portfolio that can be accessed by you or your child to look at
Store them in a big bin
Clip them to an art display clothes-line
Take pictures and write about them in a blog
Hang them on the wall, by themselves or in frames

As for which ones to keep and which ones to toss? It’s fun to get the kids involved in this little sorting task. Here’s what we do to find our favourites with the kids:

Hold up two of their pieces and ask them which one they want to recycle
Toss (recycle) the one they’ve chosen, and grab another piece, comparing it to the first
If they can’t make a decision about which one to recycle, talk about why each piece is special to them. You may decide to keep both
If they’re saying ‘keep’ to most of the artwork or crafts, go through the pile with them again and ask them to find ‘X’ number of pieces to recycle, or ask them to keep their top 5 or top 10……
If one or both of you really want to keep an item that the other is willing to toss, keep it – you can always part with it later
Remember to remove bits of ribbon, googly eyes, pom poms, and other small pieces that can be re-used for other crafts. Keep them in a craft supply bin that the kids can easily access

Do you have more ideas on what to keep or toss, or how to store finished crafts? Let us know!

Father’s Day Craft Ideas

June 15, 2016June 15, 2016 admin

Five ‘Tried and True’ Father’s Day Ideas from the kids

Father’s day is quickly approaching, so it’s time to put plans in place for the big day. Here are five crafts and activities for the kids to do as a way of saying “Love You Dad!”

Bake Father’s Day Cookies – your favourite chocolate chip cookie recipe can be transformed into a gift for dad. Divide the cookie dough into several large pieces and shape each piece into a letter to spell “#1 Dad”, “We Love Daddy”, or another special phrase that describes dad. Tip: this also works well with pancake batter. Pour the batter into the shape of each letter on hot griddle, and let the kids serve breakfast
‘Little steps’ foot tracings – trace dad’s foot (or use dad’s shoe to make tracing) and then trace child’s foot. Position child’s footprint inside dad’s footprint ‘frame’, and decorate. Make this an annual ritual to track how quickly the kids grow into dad’s shoes!
Draw a picture of dad and finish the sentence “I love my daddy because…”
Get in the game picture – if the dad in your house is a world cup fanatic, get him into the game! The web has new game photos with every match. Print a picture of your favourite team in action, and replace a player’s head with a headshot of dad. Frame the picture with construction paper and a caption such as “2010 World Champion” or “Champion in our Hearts”
Yard Wide Message to Dad – if your lawn care falls under dad’s domain, get the kids outside with some washable paints and let them paint pictures and a Father’s Day message to dad, right onto the grass. He’ll smile when he sees it, and again when it’s time to cut the grass!

How to Get Ready for Craft Time

June 15, 2016June 15, 2016 admin Leave a comment

Kids come with different ages, interests, and aptitudes, so it’s no surprise that some kids would choose to spend all day working on crafts while others would prefer playing soccer or climbing on a jungle gym. But whether your child is ultra-crafty or mildly uninterested, there’s no disputing the contribution craft time makes to early childhood development – fine motor skills, creativity, and logical thinking (to name a few) are all challenged in different ways through craft projects. Knowing your child’s preferences and aptitudes will help ensure a successful craft time for everyone. Here are a few things to think about when you’re planning to get crafty:

1. Who will be doing the craft project(s)? Does your child like to work solo or do they prefer to work together with you?

Some kids like to work independently and will need minimal help getting started, while others may look to mom or dad for their contribution, as they’re using the time to socialize with their adults. If your child works independently, you can check in with them periodically, while the social child will need more of your focused attention.

2. How much structure does your child like? Do they prefer a lot of guidance before they jump into crafts, or do they just want to dive in?

If your child likes structure, you could make some suggestions for craft projects, or show them how they can use craft materials. If they prefer to dive in, it’s probably enough just to have the craft supplies available to them so they can get started

3. What is your child’s attention span? Which craft supplies should be used?

Keep craft projects simple and open ended if your child is quick to move on to new activities. If you child likes to focus for longer periods of time, more elaborate projects can be planned. Choose supplies that are easily managed by the kids – if they can’t control the amount of glue or paint they pour out, put dollops of these items onto an old plastic lid and use popsicle sticks or paint brushes for spreading. Put sparkles and decorating accessories in small bowls or plates to avoid dumping everything at once. Ensure that the supplies or ideas you provide are not overly complex for the level of attention they have – this can lead to frustration

4. What time of day works best for your child to concentrate on focused activity/fine motor skills?

If your child has the soccer ball in hand and is ready to run outside and do some dribbling, sitting down to the craft table will be a hard sell. However, if they are easing into the day, winding down from a long day, or just need some quiet time, doing crafts might be just what they’re looking for.

5. Where is the best place for your child to work?

Ask yourself this question keeping in mind your child’s needs, and your own as well. Do they prefer to stand, crouch, or sit? How messy will they get, and do they need an apron or old t-shirt? Is it better to take the craft project outside? Find a location that will work for them and for you. A little mess is unavoidable – minimize frustration and restrictions by choosing a workspace that can be messed up and easily cleaned up.

For preschool and early elementary kids, the goal of crafts is simple exposure to new activities and skills. A few minutes of preparation from a parent or caregiver will go a long way towards holding your kids’ interest in their craft projects. Choosing the right place, time, and materials is the first step in making craft time fun for your kids.

The Beauty of the Twoonie Party

June 15, 2016June 15, 2016 admin

My crafty boy had two back-to-back birthday parties on Saturday, starting at 10am. At 9:00 am we still hadn’t bought gifts for either of the parties, and he was in his pyjamas happily making birthday cards. Normally that sort of situation would send me into panic mode – no gift, kid in pyjamas, mommy still groggy, clock ticking…… BUT, this time, instead of the whirlwind of panic, I simply sipped my tea, grabbed a couple of coins, and taped them to the cards – the Beauty of The Twoonie Party.

A couple years ago, a brilliant mom in my neighbourhood hosted a Twoonie party for her child, and the idea has been passed from family to family around here, much like a favourite recipe or a clever email that begs to be shared. The concept is simple: along with all the party details, your child’s party invitations read “In lieu of gifts, please bring two twoonies – one for the birthday child and one for his/her favourite charity (name charity)”

Yep, that means the birthday child gets coins instead of gifts, and I love this idea for so many reasons, including:

Party planning is simplified – you don’t need to rush through birthday activities so that you have time to open gifts. You don’t need to worry about your child melting down when surrounded by lots of other kids who are eager to see what they got. You don’t have to worry about returning duplicate gifts or about finding more room in your overflowing toy bin.
It’s an opportunity to teach about charity and giving – talk to your child about a few charities they might be interested in, and let them choose one to support. Take your child with you if you’re making the donation in person
It’s an opportunity to talk about money and choosing– older kids can learn the value of money as they plan what they’d like to buy with their coins, and younger kids can understand that if they buy one toy with their money, they won’t be able to have the other
Your guests will thank you – they probably don’t know what toys and games your child already has, so choosing a gift could be difficult. Plus, before they even get to the choosing part, they first have to find time to get to the store with their own child in tow. Instead of looking for stuff, they can just look forward to the party
The environment will thank you – think of all the wrappings, bows, boxes, and plastic packaging that you can minimize, not to mention the actual toys themselves.
Your child can take pleasure in playing host or hostess at their party – instead of focusing on gift time, they can throw themselves into birthday activities, enjoy the spotlight during cake time, and hand out goodie bags at the end of the party, thanking their guests as they leave (instead of being distracted by new toys)

But won’t the kids be disappointed?

It’s funny, but they’re really not! The kids get excited at the prospect of collecting coins to buy that favourite item they’ve been eying up, and they feel proud that they’re donating to charity too.

Plus, having a twoonie party removes the question about when and how to open any gifts – opening gifts in front of a crowd is overwhelming for kids, but it’s disappointing for guests if the present they bought isn’t opened….so just don’t do it at all!

We’ve been to at least a dozen twoonie parties now (and hosted several ourselves), and we’ve never met a birthday child who has been pouty about receiving coins instead of gifts. In fact, the gift opening part of the party hasn’t even been missed! We’ve also seen some really creative birthday cards, with coins taped to them as part of the artwork. I highly recommend making your next birthday party a Twoonie party!