Keeping your children entertained can sometimes be a huge challenge; it can be hard to make sure they are stimulated mentally and physically for the day. But there are plenty of fun art and craft activities that are and easy to do from home, that your children will love to play around with. Here are some easy art and crafts you can enjoy with your children…
Make finger puppets
Finger puppets are a classic for any child to make, and they can be made in two different ways. Firstly, you can cut the fingers off some gloves and then allow your children to add some googly eyes and glue on some fake string hair etc. Or, you can cut a semi circle out of coloured paper and roll it to form a cone, which can then be painted, drawn on, and glittered. This is a super easy and affordable activity for your children and it can keep them occupied for hours.
Create cute yarn decorations
If you want to create something a little different for the home this year, one easy trick is to make some simple decorations using yarn and cardboard. All you need to do is cut a shape out of cardboard, for example a star, and then grab some yarn of choice. Wrap some yarn around the shape and tie a knot to secure it, and then continue to wrap yarn around the whole shape until it is looking colourful and fun. Once you have covered the whole thing, cut the yarn a few extra inches from the end. You can then find the ‘top’ of your design and thread your end under one of the pieces of yarn, then tie a loop and knot so it can be hung around the house. You can do this craft with any design and at any time of the year!
Design your own playing cards
One fun art and craft idea you can try with your children this weekend is to make your own custom made playing cards and get them printed online to make a new family set. This will not only be a fun way to spend a few hours of time but it will also be a cute keepsake you can keep in the future for yourself and your family. All you need to do here is cut out 52 pieces of card and also lay out the real cards on the table to help the children guide their ideas. Of course, you’ll likely end up with some wacky designs and not a lot of numbers, but it will still be super fun and your children can even come up with their own games to play using them!
Try finger painting small canvases
If you have a young child and you want to teach them about colour and patterns, one great idea is to buy some small canvases and acrylic paint and allow your children to create artwork using their fingers. To help guide their drawings and keep them within the lines, consider drawing a faint pencil line shape before they start and this will help them to make some colourful artwork to a certain theme. This is a super easy craft and they can even have their canvases on display in their bedrooms once they are finished!
Make bath bombs
If you fancy making something a little bit different this week, creating your own bath bombs at home is super easy and it can be a great way for children to play around with colours and smells. All you need to make your own bath bombs at home is:
100g bicarbonate of soda
50g citric acid
20g cornstarch
30g Epsom salt
2 tbsp olive oil
A few drops of Essential oil (any you like)
A few drops of food colouring
Dissolvable glitter, rose petals, orange peel for decoration
Once you have gathered your ingredients you can mix the dry ingredients into a bowl along with some olive oil and then split it between your children, and at this point they can add their scents, colours, and decorations. This is a wonderful exercise for sensory development and it will also be a great way to allow children to be creative. Once mixed, you’ll need a bath bomb mould to help push it all together and form it into a dense ball for use.
Build Lego
Lego is always a winner with children and you can keep them occupied for hours by buying a bag of random pieces online or from a charity shop. There will always be random sets of Lego with all the offshoots of sets to play around with – and this will allow children to use their imagination to the fullest and come up with their own totally unique designs.
Decorate plant pots
Now that spring is on its way, it’s the ideal time for you to get out some small terracotta plants pots and ceramic paint for the children. Painting plant pots is a fun craft but also afterwards you can plant seeds into them and your children can look after their seedling while it grows. We recommend using a seed such as a marigold or sunflower as these are easy to germinate and grow from seed, and they won’t take long to grow.
There are so many great art and craft activities you can try with your children this year, and we hope that our list gave you some inspiration for art and craft activities to enjoy as a family.
*This is a collaborative post