When the sky turns dark, the air turns cold, and the snow starts to fall, I always pull out winter crafts for kids. Many parents neglect kids crafts, figuring that they get enough of that in the schools. They might get craft supplies for their kids and allow them to go do work on their own, but many adults believe that their dignity is above working on artistic projects themselves.
To me, this is a pretty disturbing mindset. Crafts and hobbies are not only fun, but they are a great way to bring families together. They encourage creativity, and they allow kids to try out new things. It is not enough to allow your kids to use crafts for children themselves. If you want to be a good parent, you have to participate too.
Finding the best crafts for kids is largely a matter of trial and error. Obviously, some of it depends on age, but some of it also depends on the kids individual temperaments. Some kids crafts work well for everyone at a certain age. For example, young children all love to glue glitter to paper. At a certain age, all girls and some boys love to make friendship bracelets.
Besides these simple generalities, however, there are no hard and fast rules for crafts for kids. The best thing to do is to give them some time to play and some time with directed activity. I like to meet with my kids at least once a week and propose a new craft for kids. One week, for example, we will do candle making. We will boil different pots of wax, dip the wicks in them, and make candles of all different colors. The next week, we might make candlesticks out of clay. The rest of the time, they get supervised free time. They can try whatever crafts for kids we have already done, or come up with their own.
Of course, with some crafts projects for kids, you need especially good supervision. Wood crafts for kids, in particular, can be very dangerous. Most wood crafts for kids involve either hammering, wood burning, cutting, or some other hazardous occupation. No matter how responsible you may think your children are, you need to watch them carefully every moment. Crafts for kids are only fun so long as no one is getting hurt. It is amazing how quickly a trip to the emergency room will ruin everyone's day!
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