Creative kids don't wait for someone to hand them directions. They just grab available items to create their own crafts. Here are some of the SIMPLE AND CHEAP things I always try to have around the house:
- Loads of recyclables (save those cereal boxes, bottle caps, toilet paper rolls, paper towel rolls and egg cartons)
- Air Dry Clay - for special projects
- Construction paper
- Glue sticks
- Kid size scissors
- Buttons
- Pipe cleaners in various colors
- Colored pom-pom's
- Googly-eyes
- Yarn
- Popsicle sticks (or craft sticks)
- Scotch tape and masking tape
- Washable paints
- Felt
- Hole punch
- Washable markers and crayons
Here's what they kids came up with COMPLETELY on their own. A clay kitty face:
My daughter has been wanting a hula ensemble - when I didn't deliver - she came up with this idea on her own. I helped with the yarn, but she had all the pieces cut out and ready for me.
On a play date at the park with a HUGE group of kids, they all decided to make a ladybug habitat! Yes, they actually called it a "Ladybug Habitat" and spent a lot of time making it cozy for the little bug.
Sometimes the kids need a little help with projects. My 9 year old wanted a Zen Rock Garden. So we went to Home Depot and came up with a solution he could help build! He used the saw and the power tools to put it together!
Here's the finished product:
Of course, my daughter wanted one, too. But she made hers into a beach for her Little Humbug dolls:
Decide what's age-appropriate and let your creative kids be crafty kids!
Disclosure: Michele is friends with the creator of the Little Humbugs dolls, Marghanita Hughes, but this photo was too cute not to post.
