Arts and crafts are beloved activities among children of all ages. From following a tutorial to exploring their creativity freely, there’s something creative to be discovered at every age level – from smush painting to crafting their own pom pom shooters – these DIY craft ideas are sure to please.
Help kids learn to organize their toys with this easy craft idea for labeled bins! Plus it makes a fantastic present!
1. Paper Umbrella Wreath
No matter their age, DIY crafts offer endless entertainment for children of all ages – toddlers to teens! Plus they help develop fine motor skills as children become comfortable using scissors or paintbrushes!
Children will love making this easy paper umbrella wreath craft project for their front door with this fun craft idea! Once completed, kids can add colorful ribbon or string for hanging. Perfect as spring craft activity or summer celebration activity! Use red, white and blue straws for an eye-catching festive look or choose colors to coordinate with party themes!
Kids of all ages will delight in painting and embellishing wooden bracelets using acrylic paint or Paint pens, then either display them at home or give them away as gifts to friends. This project makes an excellent craft activity for sleepovers or rainy days!
2. Paper Plate Frogs
Crafts related to frogs have long been popular among kids, and this Paper Plate Frog craft project makes the activity fun and accessible for home or school use. Plus, its educational value in helping children understand more about the life cycle of amphibians is unsurpassed!
Prep for this activity by painting a paper plate green (regular or construction paper works just fine). Print or have kids draw a frog template from the link provided, or have them create their own masterpiece! Once the paint is dry, drench your paper plate in glue sticks and attach a square of light green tissue paper on every dot of glue for extra flair!
Add a black mouth and long red tongue cut from paper strips. Curl one end around a pencil for curling; glue to frog’s mouth for final touch! This cardboard frog puppet can now be used as a puppet or added to a DIY pond and lily pad creation!
3. Lily Pad Baskets
Lily pads form the core of any pond ecosystem and serve as homes to all sorts of aquatic life. Help children visualize this vital plant’s role by creating some lily pad baskets!
This simple craft uses plant leaves as petals for this beautiful flower craft and then threading a piece of wire through them for its stem. Use this small flower as an opportunity for children to learn how to press flowers for cards or art projects!
Kids can easily add decorative flair to any area of the house with paper flowers crafted from dyed cupcake liners. Making these beautiful blooms is simple; simply cut off and turn egg carton peaks into petals before adhering them together as petal shapes.
When the sun’s out and children are spending most of their day outside, having some simple summer crafts at home to keep them busy until dinner is ready can keep their minds occupied. Handprint frogs or popsicle stick ferris wheels are great projects to keep little hands busy until dinner bell rings!
4. Boats
Children love playing with boats and these fun DIY boat crafts for kids provide them with the opportunity to discover how shapes, sizes and materials influence buoyancy. Kids can experiment by adding or removing weight to see how that impacts the ability of their boat to float – a fantastic way to teach children physics as well as problem-solving skills!
Milk cartons make great craft vessels for kids and this simple milk carton boat craft is the perfect example. Easy enough for young children to construct, it makes a fun addition to the classic song “A Sailor Went to Sea.” To add an imaginative element, kids could even add sails for imaginative play!
Recycle your family’s old pool noodles into an eye-catching ship by upcycling them into this fun craft for kids to make! Not only is this project great fun, but it also helps children develop motor skills while shaping the pool noodles into boats and paper scraps into sails – adding even more functionality as your ship makes its journey through water!
5. Paper Flowers
Paper flowers make a beautiful addition to any room – both decorative and gift. Better still, their low costs and non-wilting nature makes them much less costly than fresh bouquets. Plus, these DIY projects include templates and instructions so children can experiment with designing their own flower arrangements!
Crafting with kids requires using materials you already have on hand; so we love this creative solution: turning old paper into an art canvas for children to paint on.
Paper can be manufactured from various materials such as wood pulp, rice, cotton, water plants and even used coffee grounds. Children can recycle paper by creating butterfly windsocks from scrap tissue paper and pipe cleaners.
Start off by printing blank pictures of toys or toy categories and encourage children to draw, color, or recreate the picture using markers and colored pencils. They can then use these labels to organize and store their favorite toys in bins, shelves or drawers as part of this fun craft aimed at teaching organization while simultaneously strengthening fine motor skills.