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5 Easy Craft Ideas for Kids

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Crafts help kids show their creative side. Doing crafts with your kids can help develop their coordination, improve visual processing abilities, hone fine motor skills in the smallest kids, and allow children of all ages to express themselves. You might be surprised to learn something new about your little ones when they make a card for a friend at school you hadn't heard of, or paint a picture of something you didn't know they loved. Crafting is also a flexible activity that can be started and stopped whenever your child wants. Crafts are not weather dependent, so your child can make their own creations whenever they like. Craft activities can also have a calming influence on even the most energetic of kids.

Crafts for Preschoolers

Preschool kids love to explore. They're interested in whatever is put in front of them, but their attention spans are very short so crafts for them have to be quick, colorful and enjoyable. Keep in mind that the smallest preschool kids don't have full control over their motor skills. One idea that works well for preschoolers is baggy painting. As the name suggests this involves putting an object your child wants to paint into a bag and then filling that bag with water-based paints. Let your child squish the bag and shake it too and then take the object out and allow it to dry.

Invisible Ink

There's something special about keeping secrets for children. They love whispering games like the Telephone Game and when they get to school age, they love to share secrets with their friends as a form of bonding and enjoyment. Making invisible ink is the sort of craft that school-aged children will love. You'll need paper, baking soda, water, a paintbrush and a lemon. Begin by mixing a quarter cup of baking soda with a quarter cup of water in a small container. Now mix lemon juice with food coloring in a separate container. Now write on a piece of white paper using the soda/water mixture and a thin paintbrush. To reveal your message, paint over the message with the second mixture.

Bubble Wrap Rug

How much fun does a bubble wrap rug sound? You don't need a step by step guide to figure out how to put that together because there's nothing to it except sheets of bubble wrap stuck together with duct tape. Lay it out over a hard surface, like the kitchen floor or outside in the backyard, stick the sheets together with the tape, which the kids can help with, and then let those bubbles burst as they jump up and down and get rid of any excess energy.

Egg Carton Seed Growing

You'll need empty egg cartons, potting soil, seeds, a spray bottle, scissors and a trowel to make these crafty egg carton seeds which could be used to introduce your child to the joys of growing food or flowers at home. All you need to do is to cut off the top of the egg carton and then fill the cups with soil. Poke a hole in the middle of each cup with your finger and drop a seed in. Cover the seed and then lightly spray with water. Place it on a tray and then take it outside so the sun can do its job. When they're ready to be put into the ground, you can transfer to the ground without having to remove from the carton which will decompose in the earth.

Bookworm Pencil Topper

If you'd like to get your kids into reading and writing, why not start by making a bookworm pencil topper? You'll need googly eyes, pencils, glue and a pipe cleaner, which you tightly wind around at one end to create the head for the bookworm topper. Now you twist the rest of the pipe cleaner around so it can wind around a pencil. Now put on the googly eyes and you're done. Try different colors or add extras to the head of your bookworm to personalize this craft idea.