Preschooler Crafts – Tips for Working with Young Children

Crafting with young children can be a whole lot of fun, but it’s challenging if you’re not prepared. Use these tips to keep things simple and fun for all.

• Crafting with a group of young children? Pre-cut all pieces to make assembling the craft much easier.
• When crafting with young children, don’t worry about perfection. All that matters is they have fun and are happy with the result.
• Learn to be flexible when crafting with young children. Sometimes projects are too complicated. Be prepared to modify as you go along.
• Turn your piggy bank painting craft into a money saving lesson. Talk to the kids about what they plan to save their money for.
• Kid Craft, Learning and Gift Idea – Calendars. Having children create a calendar for the family is a great gift idea and it helps reinforce the sequencing of months, days, seasons and holidays.
• Lettered beads make fun crafts and can help children develop spelling skills, so have fun with them. Kids can put together a variety of words before they make their final jewelry piece.
• Teach children scissor safety. Never run with scissors, use them only at a table and pass them by holding the tightly closed blades.
• Instead of asking children what they have drawn, engage them in a discussion. Ask them to tell you something about their painting or compliment them on certain aspects.
• Natural clay needs water, but not too much. If you’re using natural clay with young children, soak a paper towel and show the children how to squeeze out a bit of water on their hands. Then they can place their wet hands on the clay to moisturize it.
• Use washable inkpads when crafting with children. They will inevitably stamp their hands, arms and even their legs.
• By nature, most children will not wind down their glue sticks before replacing the lid. Show children how to do this and remind them when using glue sticks.
• Sand play encourages creativity and freedom of expression, understanding of shapes and cooperation.
• Turn crafting into an event. Make your own puppets and stage a puppet show, too.

If you’re looking for craft ideas for preschoolers, watch this video: