Crafting Secrets

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Are you a camp director, teacher, or home school mom looking for a new arts and crafts idea for your kids? Or maybe you are a recreation director at a senior center or nursing home and could use a new project. Either way, this arts and crafts idea will be interesting and fun for all. This glass case can be used, given as a gift, or converted into a necklace purse.

To make the glasses case, you will need the following simple materials: a square of craft foam, plastic or large blunt needles, lanyard lace or thick yarn. Cut two rectangles from the foam, each 3-1/2 inches (9 cm.) by 6 inches (15 cm.). With a hole punch, make holes on three sides of each rectangle, leaving one short side unpunched. Make the holes 1/2 inch apart and allow at least 1/4 inch between the hole and the edge of the craft foam. The holes need to line up so that the two pieces can be laced together. If you are preparing the craft for small children, you should make the holes yourself. Otherwise, the crafters can do this step if you have enough pairs of hole punches.

At this point the crafters can cut decorative shapes from other colors of craft foam, or you can buy sets of ready-cut foam shapes. If you are doing the craft at a special event, like vacation Bible school, choose shapes that echo the theme of the event. For instance, if the Bible school or camp has a cowboy theme, find shapes that fit well, such as boots, cowboy hats, and stars. Let the kids choose the shapes they like and glue on as desired. You might also like to provide beads or sequins to glue on as well, especially if the crafters are a little older.

The next step in this arts and crafts idea is to thread the plastic needle with the yarn or lanyard lace. Yarn might be a little easier to handle, but lanyard lace is shiny and attractive. In a pinch, some teachers of small children use a bobby pin as a needle. It is certainly a safe alternative. Simply loop the yarn through the opening and use the open end of the bobby pin as if it were the point of the needle. The children can now begin to lace the front and back of the glasses case together.

To turn this arts and crafts idea into a necklace purse, simply attach a piece of lanyard lace to each corner making a long handle. Kids will enjoy using this case as a place to store secret notes and small objects. If they’d rather, they can give the glasses case to a parent, grandparent, or friend who wears glasses. Either way, this arts and crafts idea will be interesting for all.

Break free of the winter doldrums with some hands-on crafting fun geared toward preschoolers. Rare is the child who does not delight in glue and paint, so snap on the smocks and get started. The four easy winter crafts below will keep preschoolers occupied and learning at the same time.

Puffy Snow People

Combine a handful of fluffy white cotton balls, a stick of glue and a snowman shape cut from construction paper for this fun and easy craft. Children will enjoy gluing cotton balls on their snow person and teachers will enjoy the low-mess glue sticks. For a jaunty cap cut a top hat from black construction paper that can be glued on after the cotton balls are adhered. Small circular pieces of construction paper can be used for buttons if so desired. Use the puffy snow people as a tie in to a discussion about the science of snow.

Symmetry Snowflakes

Teaching symmetry starts in the preschool years. It can be made easy with a simple snowflake craft that will allow the children to practice their fine motor skills. Have them take a sheet of white construction paper and fold it in half lengthwise (like a hot dog bun) and then again in half widthwise (like a hamburger bun). Prepare a snowflake quarter template for them to trace onto the folded paper after it has been neatly lined up along the folded sides. Safety scissors will help them cut out the pattern. Once the snowflakes have been cut out, open them to see the symmetry. Add coloring, glitter or glue on sparkles to make the snowflakes stand out.

Silly Seedling

Bean plants grow year round and are a great craft activity turned science lesson for the preschool set. Have the children decorate a Styrofoam cup with a silly face using magic markers. Fill the cup about 3/ 4 of the way full with potting soil and place a dried bean into the dirt. Place the cups in a warm place that receives light and watch for the beans to sprout. The children love drawing the faces on their cups and getting dirty in the soil while the teacher has an instant lesson plan in hand.

Mitten Memories

It is never too early to have children tell of things that they remember, and the winter is full of fascinating memories and stories. In this simple craft the children will trace from a pattern and cut out two mitten shapes from construction paper. On each mitten they can recite to the teacher a fun winter memory that she will write onto the cut out. After a memory has been written on each mitten the child can decorate them on the blank side and tie a length of yarn to connect the two pieces. For very young preschoolers assistance may be required with tying the yarn. Hang the mittens around the room or on a classroom bulletin board for display. This activity is great to integrate into story time or show and tell. Consider sending the completed mittens home with a note asking parents to share their favorite winter memories with their children.

Crafts provide a wonderful opportunity to integrate other subjects into a lesson. They do not have to be overly messy or expensive to be effective and fun. Allow children the freedom to express their ideas and memories this winter with the easy craft projects above.

How to teach young children to make a clay Stegosaurus dinosaur arts and crafts project;

get expert tips and advice on arts and crafts for kids at preschool through elementary

school ages in this free instructional video.

Kids can benefit greatly from their own creativity, if you allow it.

While some people mistakenly classify creativity as the possession of specific types of skills related to artistic expression, that’s only part of what the term comprises. Creative people typically are better problem solvers because they are able to seek out unique approaches and solutions that others may not recognize. This can be a useful skill for any career, for their education, and for their future.

To help children reap these rewards, parents can use arts and crafts for kids and other efforts to encourage creativity.

Encourage Free Creative Exploration

Handing over arts and crafts for kids is just part of the process. If you’re standing over your children and passing judgment on their results, they are not going to feel comfortable with their creativity. Children will eventually develop the ability to evaluate their own work and others’ work but now is the time for them to feel relaxed and free to use arts and crafts for kids as they see fit.

When children are given an environment that makes them feel free to be creative, they are going to open up their imagination and produce their best results.

Adapt to the Child’s Ideas

In many classrooms, kids are being reprimanded when their creative vision does not match the vision of the teacher. When you’re giving arts and crafts for kids to your children, you should make sure not to stifle their ideas or to force those ideas to conform to your own. For example, if the child draws a picture of the park and uses unusual colors for the trees don’t criticize the child’s color choice. Instead, begin talking about the choice and give the child freedom to express their creative ideas verbally as well as with arts and crafts for kids.

Encourage Children to Use Creative Problem Solving

Providing arts and crafts for kids is only one part of the process. You should also encourage your children to apply that creativity in other ways. For example, you could present your child with a problem and asked him or her to come up with a creative solution. Remember this requires thinking outside of traditional thought patterns. Not only can this be fun but it’s a great extension to what your child is learning from the arts and crafts for kids. It’s also a good way to work on creativity together and to express your encouragement for creative thinking.

Look for Schools that Share Your Appreciation for Creativity

If you have a chance to choose your child’s pre-school, kindergarten, or even primary school, make sure to look for schools that provide high quality arts and crafts for kids but that also have other methods of using creativity in the daily activities. You also want to work with teachers who share your vision about the importance of creativity and the appreciation for the role arts and crafts for kids can play in your child’s future.

We all love crafts!

They are a great way for kids to learn fine motor skills, and express themselves creatively, but being crafty can put a strain on your pocketbook at times.

Going to the store to buy supplies for each and every craft project, just isn’t practical. Which is why, it’s important to learn how to come up with kids craft ideas on a budget. Consider using items and supplies that you already have on hand, for fun and simple impromptu projects.
There are so many items that often get overlooked when it comes to crafting. Think back to your own childhood. The days of toilet paper roll projects and egg cartons, should come rolling back. Remember how fun it was to create something beautiful out of something so plain? Help your kids relieve that same joy and pride with these simple tips and craft projects.
Recycle and Re-Use
Teaching your kids about recycling is a really good life lesson, so why not integrate craft time and science by re-using common household items? Paper bags, egg cartons and other goodies get a second life when they are forever treasured in the form of a craft project. Encourage your kids to come up with other household items that can be used for craft projects, you may be surprised at the things that they come up with!
Here are just a few of the materials that you can recycle, discover, or re-use for your own craft projects:

-Egg Cartons

-Grocery Bags (paper or plastic)

-Cardboard inserts from packaging and boxes

-CD’s

-Old denim or fabric swatches

-T-shirts that no longer fit

-Used birthday cards or bags

-Wrapping paper

-Toilet paper and paper towel rolls

-Plastic soda bottles

-Cans (use caution with sharp edges)

-Things found in nature: A rock, leaves, sticks, etc.
Gravel Art
Here is a great little project that uses items that you should have lying around! Enjoy!
Materials Needed:

-Large Cardboard Box

-Small pieces of gravel (You will need quite a bit)

-String or Yarn

-Pencil

-Simple Coloring Book or personal drawing

-White glue in squeeze bottle

-Scissors

-Crayons (optional)
Instructions

1. Wash and rinse the gravel in a kitchen strainer. Spread out on towels to dry.

2. On your cardboard, use the pencil to make an outline of a simple drawing.

3. With the glue, trace over the outline.

4. Press string or yard onto the glue lines, cutting where necessary to form corners and angles.

5. Glue gravel onto the picture filling the spaces. You can use all one color, or use different colors for different areas.
6. If you wish to have a background, use crayons to draw and color one in.
Use Your Imagination
Once you get the hang of coming up with kids craft ideas, you will never go back to the store bought kits. There is so much more creativity and freedom that goes along with recycling and re-using common household items.

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Kathleen Frances Shares HandMade Dolls

Get set for an Amazing and Fun project my daughter just loved…

There is always some fun part of a project for almost any age.

Some folks just like store bought items and that’s okay too.

Last year I gave these handmade dolls to Lily.  I thought a cute idea might be to make one that looks like her and then sew one that resembles Lily.  I have this idea where they are happily playing make-believe with their respective dolls (quietly of course, it is a dream).

Choose the yarn for the hair with care; alpaca works for straight hair, and bouclé has built-in curls.

For shorter curls, embroider mohair yarn directly to head and brush slightly.

Fold a 10-by-18-inch piece of washable fabric (for body) end to end, right sides facing; lay template on fabric with dotted lines of shoulders on fold, and cut out along solid lines; pin.

From a nearly 10-inch square of cotton jersey (for skin), cut a 3-by-7-inch strip (for head) and four 2-inch squares (for hands and feet).

Starting at the fold, stitch a curved shape across short end, as shown, and continue stitching down open side; snip away excess fabric, keeping 1/8-inch seam allowance.  Cut three 2-by-7-inch strips of wool or polyester batting; lay in star shape, as shown.

Bring strips up and around ball; use a chopstick and your fingers to push batting inside head.

Use pins to mark placement of features. For features, insert a needle threaded with embroidery floss through the back of the head and out at a pin.

Get the Whole article with step-by-step instructions at:  Handmade Dolls by Kathleen Frances (Thanks Kathleen;)