Creative Play In Art And Craft

Children love getting crafty – and providing them with art and craft toys is the perfect way to let them be playful whilst creating! If you’re looking for creative activities to do with your child, here’s some tips and ideas from Kiddit.

Do you struggle to come up with creative activities to do with your child? It’s a fairly common complaint – which is why many parents tend to instinctively reach for the paints, pop a bit of paper in front of their child, and leave them to it!

However, there are a number of other ways your child can get creative with arts and crafts, and many activities offer a lot of educational benefits. For example, painting, drawing, sculpting and sewing all help to develop fine motor skills. Art enables them to explore mathematical concepts, such as color, shapes, patterns, symmetry and form.

It can also introduce them to science-related ideas, such as gluing (finding out what glue can hold on to the paper, and what it can’t!), drying times, and the properties of different materials. And, of course, art is wonderful for encouraging self-expression. Through making independent artistic decisions, your child can express emotions and ideas, not to mention develop their imagination.

Getting Creative With Art And Craft

If you find it difficult knowing how to approach arts and crafts with your little ones, here’s some great tips to get you started.

• Don’t force it – If your child isn’t interested, don’t push them. Instead, try to find out what they are interested in, and go from there
• Don’t overcomplicate things – It’s easy to come up with a variety of amazing arts and crafts activities, only to realize they’re too complex for your child. Start with the easy stuff, then progress to more challenging tasks.
• Don’t rush it – Remember, the artistic project doesn’t need to be finished within a certain timeframe. It’s easy to continue another day.
• Don’t get frustrated – Your child may decide to adopt a different artistic approach to the one you’ve suggested. However, this shouldn’t be seen as a problem. Instead, recognize that your child is creatively exploring, which is a positive thing!

Kids Arts And Crafts Activities

As a parent, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut when it comes to thinking up exciting new arts and crafts activities. If you’d like to try out some new activities with your child, here’s some suggestions.

1. Themed crafts – If there’s a special event coming up, like Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Halloween or a birthday, undertake some craft activities to link with it. This works really well in terms of creating focus, and your child will feel pleased that they’ve created something for a real event, rather than just a random piece of artwork! Make cards, sew a basic Easter bunny with scrap fabric, decorate a gingerbread man, paint some ghoulish Halloween masks… the possibilities are endless.
2. Use alternative materials to paint with – Remember, painting doesn’t have to be limited to a paintbrush. Use different materials to create different effects, such as dried pasta, potatoes with cut-out shapes, cotton wool and bottle tops. Dip a marble in some paint and roll it across the page. Mix some water into the paint, pour some on to paper and then blow it with a straw. Go on a nature walk and let your child gather some materials to use in their next composition. In short, there’s no limit to what you and your child can use in your next artistic composition.
3. Tell a story – Children love stories – Read a favorite story together, then use it as inspiration for some creative work. Make a sculpture of the Big Bad Wolf out of modeling clay. Draw a comic strip, narrating the story of Cinderella. Create a collage of a fairy kingdom. Allow your child to come up with some ideas too – you’ll be amazed at what they suggest (some ideas will be more realistic than others…)!

Arts And Crafts Toys At Kiddit

If you’re seeking new ideas for craft-related activities, visit the Kiddit website today. We’ve got a wide range of art supplies for children, plus some fantastic craft kits to provide some much needed inspiration!