Handicrafts for Younger Kiddos

[shinyhappypeople]

Can we brainstorm some ideas of inexpensive handicraft ideas for 5-8 year olds?

 

I want them to be activities that are inherently useful, make something real and aren't typical arts & crafts (e.g. macaroni and bean pictures - though we still do those sometimes for fun :) )

 

I've come up with:

 

Making simple jewelry / beading

Friendship bracelets

 

And, not really a handicraft, but helping with baking and cooking and cake decorating.

 

Any other ideas??

[Guest Dulcimeramy]

I started to type out some ideas, but then I remembered this list:

 

Handicrafts and Life Skills---Simply Charlotte Mason

[Crimson Wife]

Loom knitting- my oldest could do it when she was 5. My DS doesn't have the same level of fine motor control but I would imagine that by the time he's 7 or 8 he will. I have a set of the round & a set of the oval Knifty Knitter looms. If I had to pick just one set for a child, I'd go with the round ones. They can be used to make quick projects like hats & scarves. My DD hasn't shown the patience required to make a lengthier project like a blanket.

[Jayne J]

How about knitting, crocheting, weaving, or leatherwork? Woodburning, macrame, or basketweaving. Embroidery, crewel or tatting. Stick work (wherein one uses various lengths and thicknesses of sticks to make anything from picture frames to furniture.) Sewing. The American Boys Handy Book and the American Girls Handy Book are great resources for ideas for real handiwork projects for kids (although some of them are rather...bizarrely over the top. Add a secret room to your house? Really?:lol:) Woodworking is another good one. Many of these might need a bit of supervison, but can likely be done by kids in your age range. The younger ones may need modifcations, but the olders should be ok. YMMV of course.

[shinyhappypeople]

I started to type out some ideas, but then I remembered this list:

 

Handicrafts and Life Skills---Simply Charlotte Mason

 

Oh wow, what a great list. Thanks for sharing :)

 

Loom knitting- my oldest could do it when she was 5. My DS doesn't have the same level of fine motor control but I would imagine that by the time he's 7 or 8 he will. I have a set of the round & a set of the oval Knifty Knitter looms. If I had to pick just one set for a child, I'd go with the round ones. They can be used to make quick projects like hats & scarves. My DD hasn't shown the patience required to make a lengthier project like a blanket.

 

Thanks for sharing about loom knitting. I've been wondering if that would be a good project for my 7 yo. She wants to knit with needles, but can't quite wrap her brain around the rhythm of it. Is loom knitting easier?

 

Add a secret room to your house? Really?:lol:)

 

Um, well, actually we have plans for that (sort of). :D Their bedroom closet shares the wall with their playroom closet, so when we finish organizing the playroom, DH is building a 'hobbit hole' for them so they can crawl from their bedroom closet to their hideout. I would have loved something like this when I was a little girl.

[Jayne J]

Um, well, actually we have plans for that (sort of). :D Their bedroom closet shares the wall with their playroom closet, so when we finish organizing the playroom, DH is building a 'hobbit hole' for them so they can crawl from their bedroom closet to their hideout. I would have loved something like this when I was a little girl.

 

 

LOL! Well then, The American Boys Handy Book will be right up your alley!! :D If you are feeling really adventurous, try Field and Forest Handy Book. It will have you building boats, docks, and cabins in the woods. Those are handicrafts, right?

[Crimson Wife]

Loom knitting is way easier than knitting with needles. I'm too uncoordinated to knit very well with needles but I can make all kinds of things with the Knifty Knitter.

[Halcyon]

I started to type out some ideas, but then I remembered this list:

 

Handicrafts and Life Skills---Simply Charlotte Mason

 

What a wonderful list.

[BBG580]

Almost anything in the Little Acorn Learning monthly curriculums would be good, meaningful handicrafts and suitable for little hands. It is Waldorf based, though.

 

http://www.littleacornlearning.com/

[AppleGreen]

Um, well, actually we have plans for that (sort of). :D Their bedroom closet shares the wall with their playroom closet, so when we finish organizing the playroom, DH is building a 'hobbit hole' for them so they can crawl from their bedroom closet to their hideout. I would have loved something like this when I was a little girl.

 

Oh, my kids would *love* that! I wish we had a place we could do that in our house. It would be so loved.

 

My 2 oldest have always loved finger knitting around that age and it kept them busy. I think Counting Coconuts blog has a way to make finger knit flowers, which is a nice thing to do with the knit chains. My boy likes to finger knit his finger knitting to make way strong ropes. You should be able to YouTube a video on how to do it.

 

Also, keep at the knitting. My #2 is working on it for the 2nd year now and it is starting to click a little more and she will happily do it for an extended period of time. It just takes lots of practice. I don't knit, but find Kids Knitting very helpful when I need to help her.

 

Also, I bought an American Girls book on felt at Target and it has some fun, simple sewing projects w/ felt. Check out WeeFolk Art blog for Waldorf inspired ideas to do w/ kids. You may have to look around, but there is lots of inspiration there!

 

Happy crafting! :)

[sagira]

What a wonderful list.

 

I agree - thank you :)

 

I would like for ds to learn sewing and cooking next.

[stripe]

Lowe's and Home Depot both have kids' workshops that are free. You can see what project they'll be making ahead of time. They're pretty simple. But it's a way to learn basic construction techniques, hammer in some nails, and follow directions. ;) Some of the projects are especially useful or cool.

 

Also there are some old books on Google Books with neat ideas, all with the title "When Mother Lets Us...."

such as

When mother lets us sew

 

When mother lets us help

 

When mother lets us cut out pictures

 

When mother lets us garden

 

When mother lets us play

 

When mother let us act

 

There may be others! Alas,When mother lets us carpenter doesn't seem to be available yet (it does exist, though!).

[Aoife]

they have wood working kits at lowes for young kiddos to make things like bird houses.

 

You can also get premade wooden things at michael's craft store and paint them. Like stools, bird houses, plaques ect.

 

decorate picture frames

 

make stepping stones with cement mix, glass beads, little mosaic tile pieces and pie plates.

[Terabith]

I would love these. I am, however, stymied by MY complete inbility to do any of these things. Sigh.

[stripe]

they have wood working kits at lowes for young kiddos to make things like bird houses.

 

If you attend the workshop, all the supplies are free. And you can get a cute apron and patches for each project.

[BatmansWife]

I'm not sure if this is the kind of thing you are asking about. But, when my oldest was younger, we had several "craft"-type projects that we loved making. We often made them to give as gifts. They are easy enough to make. I don't know what you call them, so I'll just number them 1, 2, 3, and 4. :001_smile:

 

1. Cut off the back pockets of an old pair of jeans. If you cut right along the outer edge of the pockets you'll have a pocket that's enclosed on the sides and open at the top; no sewing needed (hope this makes sense). Try to keep a little extra at the top, so that you can fold it back and use fabric glue to keep it down. The plainer the pocket, the better. Then take fabric paints and decorate (make hearts, flowers, butterflys, write your name, etc). Glue on magnets on the back and you have a cute little pocket for the fridge or wherever you can hang a magnet. Keep notes or whatever inside. If you know how to sew, you can sew on a strap (made from the jeans or wide ribbon) and make a little purse.

 

2. Get clear glass beads (those pebble-like things that are sometimes in fish bowls...I don't know what they are called other than glass beads). Use small rubber stamps and stamp little pictures on paper. Color them in, if you want. Use clear craft glue and glue the pictures to the back of the bead. The bead will magnify the picture a little. When dry, glue a magnet on the back. Note...if your magnets are really thin ones, they may not be too functional for holding anything. But, they look pretty all by themselves.

 

3. Collect some clear glass jars (jam jars are good). Take the label off. Thin some glue with a little water. Cut tissue paper of different colors into squares. Use a paint brush and brush sections of the jar with glue. Put the tissue paper square on. Kind of overlap the tissue squares. Completely cover the paper with more glue. Let dry overnight (be careful...sometimes the paper can start to slide if the glue is too thin). When dry, add a small candle inside. The flame makes the jar look like stained glass. Very pretty. You can dress these up a bit more by adding thin ribbon around the top and tying into a bow. We've given many, many of these as gifts when my dd was young.

 

4. Braided Ribbon Barrettes. Does anyone else remember these from the 80's? I was too old to wear them when they were popular....but, I remember making them with my sisters. I've made them with my oldest dd too. You can add beads to them too.

 

Time to start making these things with baby girl now. :001_smile:

 

ETA: I just found the website where I had printed off the ribbon barrette instructions years ago. These are the same instructions that we used and had great success with.

Edited December 21, 2010 by ~AprilMay~

[Jen in PA]

Lowe's and Home Depot both have kids' workshops that are free. You can see what project they'll be making ahead of time. They're pretty simple. But it's a way to learn basic construction techniques, hammer in some nails, and follow directions. ;) Some of the projects are especially useful or cool.

 

 

My kids love the workshops at Home Depot. They are 5 and 7, and both learned to needlepoint a few weeks ago -- DD really loves it. She also enjoys finger knitting but found knitting with needles to be too frustrating.

[Sahamamama]

I haven't read the other threads yet (I will come back later). :D Here's my list to work on for the next 2-3 years with the girls:

 

 

1. Burlap embroidery on a hoop (with a BIG needle, pre-cut lengths of colorful yarn, burlap pieces, and an embroidery hoop) -- this will teach them the over, under, over, under pattern of stitching
   
2. Burlap embroidery with "embellishments" -- which means, colorful bric-a-brac pieces, the girls will sew over, under, over, under these pieces to anchor them to the burlap
   
3. Bean bags -- cut squares, pin them right sides together, sew around three sides, fill with beans/lentils, Mommy will sew shut on the machine (Mommy will also secretly sew around the other three sides, to keep the lentils from spilling out). ;)
   
4. Baby doll pillows -- same concept as bean bags, with polyfill instead of beans.
   
5. Baby doll quilts/blankets -- same concept as bean bags, but with a batting layer on top, then turned-in, then the fourth side sewn shut
   
6. Pillowcases -- there are patterns/directions online (regular size pillow cases for bed pillows). I'll let the girls choose their fabrics, measure their pieces, pin in a few places, then I'll probably do most of the sewing.
   
7. Placemats -- on sturdy cardstock, the girls can paste cut outs, magazine flowers, pressed flowers, etc., then we will laminate them
   
8. Woven pot holders -- for my 6 year old only, this is one of those little plastic pot holder looms, but it's actually hard to use than we thought it would be. She'll manage, though, she's very eager to try.
   
9. Needle book -- made out of felt pieces, sewn together to hold a few needles
   
10. Sock doll -- my daughter wants to try this. I think it'll be a bit complicated for her, but we'll do it together.
    
11. Christmas tree ornaments -- trace a circle (canning jar lid) onto a pretty spot on a used Christmas card, cut out, glue to the inside (white side) of the canning jar lid. On the metalic side, you glue a piece of folded ribbon (for hanging), then glue on either another picture, or a solid red or green circle (wrapping paper, other cards).
    

 

[Robin's Song]

My daughter likes to make handmade cards. I purchase blank cards inexpensively at Michaels' and she will stamp, add embellishments, paint the cover, etc... She regularly sends cards to family in other states and her little friends at church. Not my thing (I am NOT crafty :tongue_smilie:), but she enjoys it and makes lovely cards.

 

Embroidery

 

Hand sewing- they can make small felt animals, finger puppets, simple dolls, bean bags, play food

 

Learn to sew buttons, patch holes, repurpose clothing