Enchanted Learning or other resources to keep crafty kids happy

[East Coast Sue]

I am not crafty. I am really not a crafty mom. But, my kids really want to do crafts all.the.time.  I know about Enchanted Learning.  I need other resources or websites that work well for elementary aged kids (6 & 10 year old kids).  I'm so desperate for crafts to compliment my lessons that I could even be persuaded to change my science topic for this year.  (I planned for earth science.) My kids would love lap books or crafts- so long as it is more than a coloring page. Hit me with any and all suggestions!

 

Thank you!!!

[frugalmamatx]

Wouldn't tie in with your lessons, but the first thing that came to mind when I read your post was kiwicrate / tinker crate / doodle crate. 

[Ethel Mertz]

I can't remember, but does EdHelper have craft ideas interspersed with lessons?

[Pistachio mom]

Hi Friend,  I teach art, but crafts have a lot of overlap. What I recommend is to build a craft box of miscellaneous supplies such as popsickle sticks, sheets of foam, pom poms, glue, old paper tubes, markers, found objects, paperclips, floral wire (if appropriate for your home), beads, rocks, paint, magnets, slide clothespins, shoe boxes, colored pipecleaners, wiggle eyes..... My children are constantly constructing things out of this kind of stuff. The authors MaryAnn Kohl and Kim Solga have written several crafty kind of books for children. I have seen many of these in my library. I have not looked for these kinds of websites lately, but these ideas in books are plentiful. Many regular content area curriculae have craft ideas in them. My children hate "kits" that they  sometimes receive as gifts, but they use the supplies in their own creative ways. While I know that there are things that can be learned from following the steps in a kit, children can be creative on their own too.

 

You will need to teach specific skills such as how to glue, paint, and anything messy - and of course clean up skills. --  but this might give you a start while you are checking the web. Your older child might enjoy latch hook rugs or wooden 3D puzzles. These are usually in craft stores and a 40% coupon can apply. Michaels gives teachers (even homeschool teachers) an additional 15% off.

 

Since you are doing Earth Science, you could co crafts that coordinate. I have a book called Geology Crafts for Kids, by Alan Anderson, Gwen Diehn, and Terry Krautwurst. I bought mine used after really enjoying a library copy. Earth Science is awesome to do artistic things with!  I will think about this to see if I have any other titles that might be useful for you. Just building physical maps out of a salt/flour dough is a lot of fun. It can be very artistic and of course, educational.

 

If you do an Amazon search, similar titles would pop up too. If you are interested.

 

Have Fun! This can work out very well for you and your children!

[Farrar]

Enchanted Learning is a bunch of worksheets. I wouldn't consider those crafts that crafty kids would like. Unless they like History Pockets. In which case, they like cut and paste crafts - which is fine, but is a particular genre of crafting.

 

There are lots of good history craft books. What's your history topic this year? This is an example of a good series with lots of titles, but there are lots of others:

https://www.amazon.com/Great-Medieval-Projects-Build-Yourself/dp/0979226805/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1470018739&sr=8-2&keywords=build+it+yourself

 

This is a science experiments book that we loved that has a lot of crafty elements. It's more elementary physical sciences than anything else though:

https://www.amazon.com/Great-Science-Experiments-Neil-Ardley/dp/1465428267/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1470018831&sr=1-2&keywords=101+science+experiments+for+kids

 

I think Earth science could have a ton of crafts too though. I mean, model universe, model volcano, weather dioramas, rock collections make pretty, rock tumbler and making jewelry with rocks...

 

In general, I think having lots of supplies and craft inspiration books around is the best bet for crafty kids. We like the Art Lab series, but there's a ton of options out there for art and craft inspiration.

[East Coast Sue]

So, I wanted to update. My solution- Lapbooks from Knowledge Box Central

 

We are studying modern times this year. I've decided for my ds10 to use lapbooks (Bundle of Lapbooks: Wars) and my dd6 is doing some of the American Girl lapbooks from Knowledge Box Central. 

Both ds and dd will also start the school year with a unit on the electoral system in the US. And, of course, I have a lapbook from Knowledge Box Central for each of them!

 

We probably won't make them within an actual file folder. I have lots of colorful card stock paper, and I think they'll enjoy the creativity of assembly the lapbooks without being confined to a file folder. I also have colored pencils, gluesticks, stickers, tape, yarn, string, clasps, markers, etc...

[East Coast Sue]

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Edited August 3, 2016 by Sue in TX

[Dmmetler]

A little late, but check the stuff on the Mailbox website. Lots of worksheets, but also lots of crafts. You can download some things for free, or subscribe to a grade level version to get full access.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Wouldn't tie in with your lessons, but the first thing that came to mind when I read your post was kiwicrate / tinker crate / doodle crate. 

 

We got the tinker and doodle crates for awhile.  Those are great! 

[Cecropia]

Do you have a Pinterest account?  I find a lot of good ideas there for kids crafts that tie into our lessons, just by searching "[subject] craft", "[subject] project", "[subject] activity" or similar terms, finding pins that often lead to websites with step-by-step instructions.  We just finished up making some elaborate gold pharoah masks that I discovered there.

https://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=earth%20science%20project&rs=typed&0=earth%7Ctyped&1=science%7Ctyped&2=project%7Ctyped

 

I could offer more suggestions, but they are geared toward social studies/history, and I'm not sure that's what you are looking for.