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5 Fun Craft Ideas to do with the kids

Why should we do arts and crafts with our kids?

We have found 10 fun and simple craft ideas for kids that are easy, DIY, and can mostly be done with everyday items that you have around the house. Not all of us are ‘crafty’ people and that sometimes can be a barrier when trying to do creative activities with the kids, there are hundreds possibly thousands of different craft ideas that are really easy to make and require very little resources, at the end of the day none of us want to go out and spend lots of money on different types of scissors, glues and paper.

Due to most arts and crafts activities consisting of your kids moving their fingers and hands, arts and crafts help in developing fine motor skills. Simple actions like holding a paintbrush and coloring with pencils help strengthen muscles and improve their control. Arts and crafts activities can also enhance your children's dexterity and agility.
Not only this but, a parent and child relationship is the most important bond your child will have. Children who have a healthy relationship with their parents are more likely to develop positive relationships with other people around them. They are better at regulating their emotions when faced with stress and difficult situations and children who have a secure and positive relationship with their parents learn essential skills and values that set them on a path for success.

How do I make sure the kids don’t make a mess?

We all know that it’s unavoidable for our kids to make at least some mess, however, we have some useful tips and tricks to avoid any damage or tough stains.

Firstly, go outside!

As we are heading into summer, it’s the perfect time to get the kids out of their rooms and into the garden. Worried about any outdoor furniture getting covered in ink or sticky stuff? No danger, try using a wipe clean tablecloth, should there be any mishaps you can just grab a cloth and some spray and wipe the muck away leaving your furniture underneath childproof and good as new. You can even add a parasol ring to your cloth to keep your kids protected from the sun and in the shade.

DIY Lava Lamp

Our first idea is incorporating science into a fun craft with a mesmerizing lava lamp using items found in your kitchen.

For this activity you will need:

  • an empty water bottle or jar
  • Sunflower oil
  • water
  • food colouring of your choice
  • Bicarbonate of soda
  • Torch

The instructions are so simple and are as follows:

  1. Open the jar/bottle and pour the sunflower oil into it to about halfway
  2. Add some drops of food colouring into the oil
  3. Top it up with water
  4. Switch on your torch and put it behind the jar/bottle
  5. Put in a spoonful of bicarbonate of soda into your jar/bottle and put the lid back on
  6. Enjoy watching your new DIY lava lamp fizz!

Balloon Powered Lego Cars

Here’s one for both the adults and kids to enjoy, it’s so entertaining to build LEGO and creating a balloon, technology, engineering powered car is a perfect example of this. It’s also a great way of introducing  STEM - (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) to your kids. After all, they could be the future technology or engineering leaders of the world!

For this activity you only need a few materials:

  • Basic LEGO bricks and LEGO wheels
  • Balloons
  • Small tape measure

The method is as follows:

  • There is no method!

What makes this craft so unique is that there’s no actual way of doing it, just give your kids a balloon each and some bricks and wheels and see where their creative mind takes them. Once you have all finished building, blow up the balloon and have a race!

DIY Slime

Homemade slime has become a very fun and popular activity to do recently and we thought you might want to jump on the bandwagon with your kids and give it a go. The different types of slime you can make is endless, you can add glitter, different colours, sequins, just about anything!

It’s a great idea for your next birthday party, or just to keep the kids quiet for a bit. The method only takes 10 mins and all the materials are things you most likely have at home already.

You’ll need the following materials per 1 small ball of slime:

  • 100ml PVA white glue (children’s craft glue or CE marked glue)
  • ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • gel food colouring
  • 1 tsp contact lens cleaning solution
  • glitter (optional)

The method is as follows:

  1. Squeeze the glue into a mixing bowl (look for a bottle in a 100ml size if possible so you won’t have to measure it out). Add the bicarbonate of soda and mix well.
  2. Add a drop or two of your chosen gel food colouring. Less colouring gives a pastel colour; the more you add, the brighter the colour. Mix until well incorporated.
  3. Add the contact lens solution and mix. The slime will begin to form, going stringy before coming away clean from the bowl into a ball.
  4. Once it has formed, take it out and knead it with your hands. It will be sticky at first but after about 30 seconds you’ll have a smooth and pliable ball. Add glitter at this point, if desired, and work in with your hands. Store in a pot with a lid.

Cupcake liner animals

Most of us in the cupboard have some unused cupcake cases, so why not give them a purpose other than for baking? 

We came across this really fun idea to make some animals out of our unused cases, certainly another nice bit of art to stick on the fridge!

All you need is:

  • Cupcake cases in different colours
  • Felt-tip pens
  • Googly eyes
  • Paper in multiple colours
  • Glue
  • Scissors
  • And finally, an imagination!

Jellyfish Salt Painting

For our final craft idea, we’re experimenting with salt, glue, and food colouring to create some fantastic ocean art. Salt Painting! This is such a fun process that will mesmerize the kids while they watch the paint colours mix and travel along the lines of salt and glue.

 

To get started, you’ll need the following materials:

  • PVA Glue
  • Card Stock Paper
  • Paint Brushes or Pipettes
  • Food Colouring mixed with water
  • Table Salt

The method is as follows:

  1. Squeeze out your design onto your card stock paper with the glue. We have suggested a jellyfish but, you don’t have to. Use your imagination!
  2. Sprinkle your design with salt until it is covered and then shake the excess salt off.
  3. Take some plastic cups filled with some water and place a few drops of food coloring into each cup. You’ll then dip your paintbrush into the paint and gently touch the salt covered glue lines and magically watch the paint travel and mix colors.
  4. If you’d like, a medicine dropper or a pipette would work well for this activity too. Once you’re finished painting you can set it aside to dry for a day or two.
Philippa Walker

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