Crafts are a great way to spend some time with your child. And just because your child is young doesn’t mean that they can’t participate in some wonderful arts and crafts activities!

It will, however, probably require a bit more preparation on your part to ensure that your child can be creative and have fun while while crafting while preventing a giant mess, as well as a potential temper tantrum.

Tips for Prepping Your Space

Choose the Right Space

A craft space should be the kitchen, the verandah (weather allowing), or another room in your home that can easily be cleaned after any unforeseen crafting disaster, most likely including glue, paint, or glitter.

Cut and Prep Beforehand

Get things ready first. This way your small child won’t get upset when he or she isn’t allowed to use the scissors or tape, and it will allow them to use the entire time for the creative activity at hand as opposed to trying their patience with a lot of waiting.

Use Craft Paper for Easy Cleanup

Placing craft paper (or something similar) on and below any surfaces that you may be using for craft-making saves you from having to scrub glue or paint from any vulnerable surfaces.

Use Non-Toxic Materials

Double check to ensure that any materials, particularly glue or paint, that you are using is labeled non-toxic. This way, you don’t have to worry if it happens to find its way into little mouths.

Set Up At a Low Table

If you can, make it as easy as possible for your child to easily work. Low tables or surfaces allow children to sit comfortably while crafting away!

Give Space to Make a Mess

One of the ways that children learn best is by freely exploring their environment- including the messy, spillable items in it. Messes will happen and if, of course, it doesn’t affect your child’s safety, give them some space to explore and make a mess.

Have Wet Wipes, Paper Towels, and an Extra Set of Clothes Handy!

Spring Crafts

Bottle Cap Caterpillar

You’ll need:

  • Bottle Caps (5 or more)
  • Green Construction Paper
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Crayons or Markers
  • Pipe Cleaners
  • Googly Eyes

Instructions:

Cut a leaf out of the green construction paper, place some liquid glue in a small bowl, and pre-cut the pipe cleaners into small (about 1”) pieces.

Lay out the rest of the materials for your child.

Allow your child to dip each bottle cap in glue and arrange them on the leaf. Assist your child in dipping the googly eyes and pipe cleaners in the glue and arrange them in the shape of a face (eyes and a smile) on the first bottle cap. Don’t forget antennas!

Your child can finish the project by drawing legs and other decorative elements onto the construction paper leaf.

Coffee Filter Butterfly

You’ll Need:

  • One Coffee Filter per butterfly (basket variety)
  • Markers or Stamps or Stickers (or all of the above)
  • One Clothespin per butterfly
  • Small Googly Eyes
  • Pipe Cleaners
  • Scissors
  • Glue

Instructions:

You’ll be making the structure of the butterfly and allowing your child to decorate the wings.

Glue the eyes to the long part (the part that your grip) of the clothespin. Set aside and allow to dry.

Allow your child to decorate the coffee filter however they would like with markers, stamps, or stickers.

Fold the finished coffee filter (after allowing some time to dry) accordion style, pinching the middle once you’ve finished folding.

Use the clip end of the clothespin to hold the middle portion of the coffee filter.

Take a trimmed pipe cleaner and clip it into clothespin as an antennae.

Summer Crafts

Rainbow Decoration

What You’ll Need:

  • Coloured Cereal or Rainbow Coloured Candy or Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Purple Paper Cutouts
  • A Piece of Cardboard or Construction Paper
  • Glue
  • Cotton Balls
  • A Pen or Marker
  • Scissors

Instructions:

Cut the cardboard or construction paper into a semi circle. Draw lines to make 6 different areas on the surface (each will be designated for the colours of the rainbow).

Place your coloured objects (cereal, candy, or paper) onto a plate.

Fill small bowl with glue and another bowl with cotton balls.

Help your child separate the coloured objects into piles of the same colour. This is a great way to teach children about different colours and how to place like with like!

Once the objects are separated into their colours, help your child dip each piece into glue and place them on the correct section of the cardboard or construction paper.

Once the areas have been appropriately filled, add some fun clouds by dipping cotton balls into the glue and sticking them onto your rainbow!

Summer Souvenir Bowl

What You’ll Need:

  • A Wooden Bowl
  • Pieces of Colourful Paper and Memorabilia from any other Summer Adventures (maps, brochures, etc.)
  • Child Scissors
  • Glue
  • Modge Podge

Instructions:

Spend a month or so collecting pieces of paper, such as a brochure or map or menu, from your summer activities.

Once you’ve collected a good amount of paper memorabilia, sit down with your child and help them cut the paper into fun shapes. This is a great time for you to talk with your child about the fun experiences you’ve already had this summer.

With your child, paste the paper cutouts, one at a time, to the wooden bowl (it’s easiest to do this if the bowl is turned upside down).

Once the paper cutouts are dry, brush Modge Podge all over the bowl.

The rest of the summer can be spent putting souvenirs from vacations or playdates, or any summer adventure!

Autumn Crafts

Puzzle Tree Craft

What You’ll Need:

  • Toilet Paper Roll
  • Thin Cardboard or Construction Paper
  • Glue
  • Scissors
  • Coloured Cereal, Coloured Paper Cutouts, or Colourful Tissue Paper Scraps

Instructions:

Cut the cardboard or construction paper into a circle or treetop shape. Cut two slits into the top sides of the toilet paper roll.

With your child, dab glue in dots onto the treetop shape.

Assist your child in placing the colourful objects such as tissue paper, paper cutouts, coloured cereal, or all of the above onto the tree top shape.

When the tree top has dried, slide it into the slits in the toilet paper roll. Voila! A tree with autumn colours.

For an added educational component, you can try to count each piece that you glue onto the treetop, practicing counting skills as well as visual skills and dexterity.

Autumn Spices Greeting Card

What You’ll Need:

  • One Piece of Cardstock, Folded
  • Glue Stick and White Glue
  • Markers
  • Ground Spices, including Dill, Cumin, Turmeric, Ground Mustard, Paprika, Cinnamon (or Anything Colourful!), placed separately in small bowls.

Instructions:

The autumn spice greeting card is a great way to practice taking turns with your small child.

First, take the glue stick and glue a line at the bottom of the page (this is your turn). Allow your child to take the dill and sprinkle it onto the line, in effect making grass from the dill.

Next, use the glue stick to make tree trunks coming out from the grass. Now, it’s your child’s turn to take the cinnamon and sprinkle it over this round of glue.

For each tree trunk that you’ve made, individually take white glue or a glue stick to create dots or swirls for treetops. After each tree top has been created from glue, your child can choose a different coloured spice to create lots of beautiful different tree tops.

Once the glue has dried, feel free to write a fun greeting or message, such as ‘Hope your day is filled with colour!’

Winter Crafts

Noisemakers

What You’ll Need:

  • Clear Plastic Cups
  • Paint Markers
  • Tape
  • Dry Fusilli or Bowtie Pasta

Instructions:

You can practice your counting skills by placing one cup on the work surface and counting as your child places each piece of pasta into the cup.

Once you and your child have about ten pieces of dry pasta in the cup, place the other cup on top and use tape to secure the two cups together.

Now your child can decorate the cups however they would like with the paint markers.

After the paint has dried, help your child practice their rhythm with this homemade noise maker. It’s not only a great way to spend a winter day, but will turn into a toy that they can continue to play with during those months cooped up inside.

Learning From Crafts

Crafts are a great way to spend an afternoon bonding with your child and teaching them all sorts of different skills, including colours, counting, shapes, and how to take turns and follow instructions.

Even if your child is quite small, they will learn so much from crafting with you!

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