How To Keep Your Kids Crafting All Year Round

We all remember what it felt like to have a bright blue feather stuck to your elbow, glue in your hair, and a masterpiece on the table to rival the work of Da Vinci?

It’s great to encourage creativity and a passion for the arts in children from an early age. Kids love getting stuck into things, so crafting is a perfect hands-on activity that helps them learn more about self-expression, experimentation and indulging in hobbies just for fun. With art, there is no ‘correct’ answer, anything goes, and it’s a mindset that should be encouraged as much as possible.

That said, developing and maintaining a hobby all year round outside of schools and childcare centres is difficult no matter what it is. So with that in mind, this article is going to give you some suggestions to keep crafting fun and fresh for your kids all year round. 

Keep it financially sustainable

If you’re passionate about keeping your kids crafting all year round, you must consider how you’re going to afford it. Brand new craft kits can be expensive to get your hands on, especially for raw materials that are going to end up chopped into pieces anyway. Shop at eBay whilst earning Qantas Points via Qantas Shopping to look for recycled craft kits, or better yet, to make them up yourself. 

You’ll be able to collect coloured paper and other bits and bobs, and your kids will never know the difference. What’s more, you can lean into their favourite colours and fabrics so they can create with their favourite materials.

Make it a learning experience

It’s important that crafting doesn’t feel like homework or a chore, but that’s not to say you can’t blend elements of the wider world into your crafting tasks to help your child learn more about what’s around them. A perfect example is the use of recycled materials – old newspaper and wrapping paper – to explain the importance of sustainability and re-using what’s already out in the environment. 

If there are causes you feel passionate about and want your children to become involved with, spend some time teaching them about it whilst you are crafting together. You can create posters for important events, and banners for any protests you plan to attend.

Create a craft corner

If you make space for a ‘craft corner’ somewhere in the house, a designated place to store glitter and paint and all things messy, your kids will feel encouraged to be able to tap into their creative side whenever they want. It’s also a perfect go-to activity for a rainy day if you don’t have the energy to entertain the kids yourself. 

Set up a box of colourful fun, get your glue sticks and sellotape in order, and who knows – you might find yourself tucking into the craft corner on a quiet day off to release some steam when the children are in school. 

Be inspired by seasonal activities

There’s always a public holiday around the corner. Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Halloween, Christmas and the New Year to name a few. Add birthdays, anniversaries, engagements and graduations into the mix, and there’ll almost always be something to celebrate or pull out the craft box for. Family members will appreciate the time taken to create a personalised, home-made card for whatever the occasion may be.

Try nature-inspired crafting

Spending time outside in nature is proven to be beneficial for children’s development, and crafting is a great way to incorporate artwork into precious time in the fresh air. As your children start to become more independent they may find simple walks in the forest ‘boring’, so by adding tasks like small objects to identify or collect, they will start to see it as a fun challenge. Once you’re home, you can get your children to trace leaves, press dried flowers, or make sketches and drawings of animals they spot in the woods or forests.

Turn crafting into a family activity

If you spend long hours at work away from your children or have grandparents and relatives who love to visit but live far away, sometimes it can be difficult to strike up a conversation with a child or find a common interest that both parties will enjoy. Crafting together can be a great way to facilitate bonds between relatives, as children will be distracted with their hands, and you’ll have a project you can both work on together whilst sharing stories and forming stronger relationships.

Explore different places

Crafting doesn’t have to be confined to your kitchen or playroom. You’ll find lots of opportunities in places where children can discover other interests too. Go to a pottery painting session, explore the science or design museums in your area, and look out for local market stalls and community activities near you. 

Meeting other kids with a similar interest is an easy way for your child to make friends and meet new people. You can turn these experiences into entire day trips on weekends or school holidays, and use crafting as your starting point to try new things.

There are many ways to keep your kids crafting with a little ingenuity and foresight. 

Above all, listen to your child’s preferences. Whilst it’s good to keep expanding their horizons and challenge formulating opinions every once in a while, if your child makes it clear they have little to no interest in a pot of colouring pencils, don’t force them to keep picking one up! On the other hand, if they show real enthusiasm, ask them what they’d like to try next, and involve them in your future craft planning activities.