There's nothing like the joy and love that comes with parenting. Bringing up your tiny humans and watching them grow is both exhilarating and challenging at the same time. As parents, we often struggle to strike the right balance between work, chores, feeding them, managing their playtime, and ensuring they learn something new every day.

 

 

Crafting with our kids could be the perfect answer to all of these struggles. Crafting helps kids develop their senses and motor skills, provides a sensory experience, and promotes cognitive development and creativity. Moreover, crafting is easy, fun, and doesn't require any special skills or tools. In this blog, we'll discuss some innovative and fun crafting activities that parents, grandparents, or caretakers can do with their little ones.

 

  1. Finger painting – This activity is particularly enjoyable for kids aged 1-3 years. Finger painting allows children to explore colors, texture, and develops their fine motor skills. All you need is some washable non-toxic paint and a few white sheets of paper. Place the paint on a tray and let your child dip their fingers and make a mess. Try making shapes, letters, and even animals with the colorful paint.

 

  1. Dream Catcher – For this craft, you'll need to take your child on a nature walk, and collect leaves, flowers, twigs, and pebbles and feathers. Once you've gathered all the materials, use a sheet of paper as the base, and arrange the items in a circular binding them with some yarn. This activity offers children a chance to explore nature, learn about shapes and patterns, and develop their creativity.

 

  1. Clay sculptures – Clay is an excellent tool for promoting sensory exploration and fine motor development. Let your child mold the clay into different shapes and objects. Encourage them to use their imagination. You could even make an ornament, miniature garden, or a fairy house together.

 

  1. Popsicle stick house – This activity is ideal for older children as it involves cutting, gluing, and painting. You'll need some craft glue, popsicle sticks, and some paint. Together, create a house or a castle with the popsicle sticks, and decorate it with paint. This activity encourages children to work on their focus, spatial awareness, and creativity.

 

  1. Sensory bin – Sensory bins are one of the best ways to promote sensory exploration and the development of motor skills. It's easy. Just take a plastic container and fill it with raw rice, beans, sand, water beads, or any sensory material you prefer. Add in some fun items like small toys or plastic cups and let your child explore and play.

 

 

Crafting with your child is an incredible bonding experience that not only encourages creativity but also helps promote sensory exploration, cognitive development, and fine motor skills. As parents, we can incorporate crafting activities into our daily routines. 7 Days of Play is amazing website I found when my son was little and have been using it for years, we’ve found some really fun, creative and cost-effective projects here.

 

 

Crafting allows for fun, bonding and engaging quality time with our kids and helps them to learn and grow, plus you’ll be making memories together. Remember, crafting is more about the experience and less about the outcome. So, don't worry about the mess and just have fun creating with your little ones, you might just have some keepsakes for generations to pass down.