Kids Craft Projects

Why should we encourage our kids to paint, draw and make?

Kids craft projects give children of all ages the opportunity to learn many important skills in a fun, practical and creative way.

Even if the end product of a kids craft session is slightly squashed or has bits falling off of it, the lessons learnt through the crafting process are still invaluable to the kids themselves.

A crumpled tissue paper butterfly or a wonky pirates hat, proudly presented at the end of the day, will certainly be treasured as a finished article. But it is through the making process itself that the kids will gain real value.

A good craft project will help kids to develop in all sorts of ways. Whilst they think they are just having fun, making a mess with the paints and glue, they are learning and developing an amazing variety of different skills.

Craft projects for kids help to:

develop fine motor skills and hand-to-eye coordination
be creative and imaginative
express themselves without using words or language
build self-confidence and self-esteem
develop practical problem solving and decision making skills
see their projects through to the end and be persistent
learn about shapes, colours, materials and textures

A good kids crafts project can also enhance your kids learning in other less obvious ways:

talking with your children whilst you are helping them with their crafts develops communication and language skills
if your kids make crafts in a group setting (at toddler groups or at school) they will learn to take turns and to share
kids craft projects based on a particular theme (maybe pirates or butterflies for example) will allow children to explore and learn about that theme through the craft process
using reclaimed and recycled materials can teach children about green issues and sustainability (A good book to show you just how wonderful creating with found objects can be is Beautiful Stuff!: Learning with Found Materials)
if you take the time to make sure that your pen pot has various skin-tone colours (plenty of different browns and peachy colours) you can teach your children about cultural diversity through their crafts

A chance to learn

Craft projects for kids provide fantastic learning opportunities for our children. And they will undoubtably learn best when they make their own decisions and produce their own individual work.

All you have to do is let go! Obviously they will need our support and encouragement along the way, but it's really important to let them have their own ideas and work as independantly as they can.

kids craft projects

A generic 'paint-by-numbers' craft kit might entertain them for a little while but it won't really allow your kids the chance to explore and develop their own ideas. I know from experience that it can be tempting to 'tidy up' their paintings or help them cut in a straight line, but you won't be helping in the long run if you do.

A brilliant book which echoes everything I've said here is Scribble Art: Independent Creative Art Experiences for Children (Bright Ideas for Learning). It's has some fantastic ideas for really simple projects and shows how to encourage your kids to be independant when they are working on creative projects.

Another book by the same author First Art : Art Experiences for Toddlers and Twos has some fabulous arts and crafts projects designed for younger children. The philosophy of these books is very much "the process, not the product" and I really couldn't agree more!

Given the freedom to explore their own creativity, our kids can learn so much even through the most simple kids craft project. Let them make mistakes, let them express their own ideas and most importantly let them learn!

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