Kids craft ideas for the non-crafty parent

Do you struggle to get your craft on? Yup, us too! Here are some great kids craft ideas for all the non-crafty parents out there!

The first step is to keep things simple and seriously lower your expectations, accepting that whatever you create will never look quite how you imagined. And that is totally fine. This is one situation where it is really all about the journey and not about the destination. The time you spend together creating something is all that matters.

If you like to have a reasonably organised house then you might dislike craft activities simply because of the mess they make. This can be solved by creating a ‘messy corner’ of the house. Cover an old kids’ table with a vinyl tablecloth (cover the floor too, if you like), and this becomes where all painting, gluing and creating happens. Grab some old shoe boxes and create some ‘bits-and-bobs’ drawers filled with pens, pencils, paper, bits of ribbon and stickers. All the mess is then contained to that one area of the house.

If the thought of Pinterest makes you go cold, there is absolutely nothing wrong with heading down to the nearest craft shop and grabbing a few ready-made craft kits. They provide everything you need without you having to plan or design anything in your head.

 

LoveAvery early learning toys

3 simple kids craft ideas

Life-sized portraits

What you need: One large roll of paper (big enough to lie on), felt tip pens, any decorations you can find.

Instructions:

  1. Roll out the paper.
  2. Take turns to lie on the paper whilst the other traces around your outline.
  3. Then stand up and decorate the life-size drawing. You can colour in clothes and features, stick on string hair, and add pasta jewellery.

Nature collage

What you need: Coloured pieces of card, glue stick, coloured pencils.

Instructions:

  1. Take the card and glue sticks into the garden (or to the local park).
  2. Gather sticks, leaves, and stick in a pattern to the card.
  3. You can use coloured pencils to draw around the leaves, add patterns, or turn them into a picture.

Crayola free preschool activities

Tissue paper stained glass windows

What you need: Clear contact, different coloured tissue paper, torn into small shapes.

Instructions:

  1. Take a square of contact, remove the backing, place on a table sticky side up.
  2. Stick the tissue paper onto the contact in different patterns, leaving a small space around the edge of the contact.
  3. When happy with the design, stick the contact onto the window for the light to shine through the tissue paper.

Related Stories

11 ways to keep kids entertained with cardboard boxes
Fun indoor activities for kids (that will help their literacy too!)
Why art and craft REALLY matters


 

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By Angela Sutherland
After spending many years hustling stories on busy editorial desks around the world, Angela is now mum of two little ones and owner/editor at Kids on the Coast / Kids in the City. She is an atrocious cook and loves cutting shapes to 90s dance music. Angela is the editor of Kids on the Coast - a free family magazine whats on guide for Kids: things to do, school holiday fun and free activities for kids... Fun attractions, family food & travel, kids health & wellbeing, kids parties venues, parenting, pregnancy & babies, guide for parents. Servicing Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and beyond, Kids on the Coast is an online guide for parents with kids things to do with kids, schools and education and lifestyle news located on Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast & Brisbane, QLD.

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