Scissors, stickers and glitter can add flair to any children's project.
Children like to do things that keep them occupied. One of the easiest ways to keep children engaged is to set them to making something. Be it cards, puppets or holiday decorations, doing crafts with your kids is a great way to give them something to do while at the same time getting the opportunity to spend time with your child. If glue is involved, make sure the children are wearing clothing that can get messy, and have warm water and sponge ready for cleanup. The good thing about children's craft supplies is they're easy to clean up. Scissors should be used only with adult supervision.
Holiday Cards
Card making is an easy craft for children of all ages. The materials you will need are construction paper and colored pencils or markers. The simplest card is made by folding the paper in half and writing on it. To add variety and fun, show your child cut shapes out of construction paper (like hearts or Christmas trees) and paste them to the card. Glue sticks or Elmer's glue normally work best for this. For a bit of shine, sprinkle glitter on the glue. Just make sure to have a sponge handy for the cleanup afterwards.
Paper Chains
This is an excellent craft for young children. The directions are simple--cut strips out of construction paper and glue the ends together. Once one circle is made, you pass a strip through the circle and glue those ends together. The benefits to this project are that cleanup is very easy, most of the construction paper will be used and children's glue is washable, and multiple children can get involved. Kids can learn the basics of teamwork by having one child cut out the strips and another child glue them together. The chains can be used as decorations for any holiday by having red and green for Christmas, white and pink for Valentine's Day and red, white and blue for the Fourth of July.
Paper Bag Puppets
Paper bag puppets is another great craft to get involved in with your children. Materials you'll need are brown sandwich bags, construction paper, glue, and markers or crayons. When making a paper bag puppet, the bag will be upside down, with the opening at the bottom for the children to stick their hands into and the flold at the top to serve as the face and mouth. Have children cut out the features of their favorite animal (like mouse ears or a pig's nose) and glue them to the top flap of the paper bag where they'll be putting their hands to make the puppet "talk." They can use the markers or crayons to decorate the body of their puppet. For an added bit of creativity, get google eyes and pipe cleaners. The pipe cleaners can be used to make features such as a cat's whiskers or a pig's tail. Children can make their puppets and put on a show with their friends, which keeps the fun going long after the puppets are completed.
Tags: construction paper, with your, child glue, construction paper glue, ends together, glue them