My girlfriend and I are big crafters. Mine is usually costume design (glitter paints, painting t-shirts, using rhinestones, etc) and my girlfriend's is beading of all types and using polymer clay to make figurines and charms. We are wanting to get our children into some kind of crafts, but they aren't really into what we do. What would be some crafting ideas that you would have that we may try with our kiddos?
The children are 11, 7 and 5. Oldest are boys and the youngest a little lady.
Same children and by the time of the visit they will be 12, 8 and 6. As of right now they are 11, 7 and 5. They all have birthdays coming up shortly. We're trying to put our heads together and come up with ideas. That's why I posted. Yes, I consider them as mine even though we've only been together long that long. I don't want to treat them as anything different even though biologically they are not mine nor the length of the relationship status.
We decorated masks (we got some at Michaels) for my daughter's 6th birthday party. My son, who is almost 9 decorated one too. They are white cardboard like ones. I had them use markers, stickers and glitter. They all had a blast!
Or you can decorate pencil cases or a box for them to keep things in.
I have also made stuffed animals my kids have designed. Just have them draw something, cut the fabric, stitch it up and have them stuff it.
Are these the kids you haven't met yet? I'm concerned that you are already calling them "ours" when you have been with their mom 6 months and won't be meeting the kids til summer. also - you have different ages listed on your other post.
I don't know many boys that are *into* crafts.... have they expressed an interest? I would provide them some options and then let them pick if it's something they want to learn / do. if not, don't push them.
however -my daughter doesn't like to scrapbook.... but we found she was quite the photographer. So, she would take pictures for me and I would make a book. Not "crafting" but working "together" all the same.
So, they may not want to "craft" but may want to separate all the beads etc. or choose the music you play while your working.
Sewing? We did a sewing project with our local youth group last summer and the boys loved it. We were all surprised at first, but then we realized that it was the sewing machines that captured their interest. A power tool with pointy needles that we were encouraging them to use? How could you go wrong! We made basic quilt tops and pillow cases. Since then I've found tons of cool useful sewing projects in quilting magazines that kids can construct - things they can actually use.
My other idea is pinewood derby cars. Even if they aren't in boyscouts. They can play with saws, sandpaper, primers, paints, decals, etc. For that matter, plastic models is a great crafty hobby.
LOL... i used to homeschool.
Art has 10 zillion forms.
Many if these overlap
Many can be in more than one group
(suturing = both sewing & science)
There are literally HUNDREDS of options in how to CREATE,
In every interest group
Just as some examples
Some obvious & some outside the box
Painting
- Skateboard decks
- Spray painting/ tagging wood panels
- Skin art (not tattoos, but using NuSkin & markers)
Photography
- scavenger hunt
- theme project
- album
- family tree
- pictoral map
- Instagram
- Videoblog (also actors / hams)
- screen grabs
3D
- Molecule building
- Duct tape wallets / ties
- sand candles
- cake or frosting sculpting
- Sand castles
- Rube Goldberg Machine
Sewing / textile
- Surgical sutures
- punk'd up rips/patches/frays
- tying flies/lures
- hair wraps
- friendship bracelets
- Hemp (bracelets/chokers/belts)
Music
- Playlist creation
- instrument making (think "stomp")
- playing (its literally called crafting songs when one writes )
Sport
- plastic bag "balls"
- skate ramp building
- dummy building (football, martial arts, etc.)
Science
- Agar Agar (there's lots of types)
- slide creation
- star mapping
- home science kits (TONS, in all disciplines)
- skeleton modeling
- rock polishing
- rocket building
- molecular gastronomy
Mechanical
- Rube Goldberg
- Car maintenece
- Snap circuits
- k-nex
Gaming
- character design
- plotting
- level building
- mapping
Crafting may not be the boys' cup of tea. Consider offering up some sketchbooks and markers, watercolor pencils... Amy RB had some good ideas,esp. the miniature robot. There are some kits for building robots out of items you might find in your recycling, so plenty of room for improvising/imagination. (My kiddo wants one of these!)
If you do the rockets, the 6year old girl will probably want one too. I was always jealous of the boys. Would have traded a suitcase full of barbies for a rocket!
The younger ones may want to make little fairy houses and then make a spot for them in the garden. They can put down stones and shells and moss and plant some flowers. You can make fairy houses in different ways but keep them natural of course.
Ol' fashion paper mache' (sp) is fun for the older ones, younger ones too it the project isn't too big. They can make landscapes, masks, planets, baskets like bowls, heads. Paint them of course
There are all kinds of painting techniques you can look into. They can do pictures with Q-tips and paint, dipping the ends in paint and form a picture with dots. This is just one of many
They can make paper dolls and clothes with paper and card stock. They can then make house from boxes or a castle with cardboard and cylinder type boxes for the corner towers - like from Pringles or oatmeal boxes. They can be cover with felt and glue or painted and fitted together. If they paint them be sure to put a coat of primer or white dull paint on them first.
They can do wood crafting of all sorts even small simple things like cutting a branch a few inches round and cut it in slices and sand and varnish and drill a hole for a tiny chain for making key rings, nice little gift.
They can make prints of leaves from trees onto a muslin banner size and tack it onto a tree branch and hang it with some jute attached or a knitted chain or something of the sort as a Summer banner/flag. You can do the same with flowers - deep shades of flowers and lay them down in a pattern you want, put a thin sheet of paper or cloth over them and pound them. Lift and see the pattern of the flower. These are nice.
You can make your own stamps with potatoes, cut different designs and use paint or ink to stamp onto paper or cloth. You can make a stamp by wrapping string around a block of wood any which way and painting it and then stamping onto paper or cloth.
Some kids love making books which they write and draw in and then sew together. Make a nice cover. Show them how the paper has to be put together as a small stack and then folded and sew down in the fold.
Well, these are some things off the top of my head, I'm sure you can find lots of things. Have Fun!
For the boys, maybe look into Estes rockets. You build them, paint them, and can buy engines to launch them. Quite a hit with our 11 year old son, and fun for the others to watch. Model cars and planes are also a big hit. There are also lots of robot kits available now where they can build their own miniature robot. These can range from very simple and relatively inexpensive to very complex and extremely expensive, but it's a good outlet for mechanically inclined kids.
Origami, calligraphy, and simple woodworking projects might also be some avenues to explore.
Boys aren't really into crafting, per se. They like to build things, though. There's model kits they would probably like to have, my nephew (almost 12) loves to go into crafting stores with me, I always have to hunt him down and he's looking at models trying to decide which one he's getting. We go into Target I find him on the Lego aisle.
My granddaughter, a whole different ballgame. She has always crafted with me, made bracelets and necklaces, painted t-shirts and shoes, made door wreathes, etc., and at 11 is a master with duck (the brand of duct tape she uses so we must call it such) tape. She makes and sells purses and wallets she's made.
One thing the kids all love to do is tie-dyeing t-shirts, whatever their age. The other thing they all like to do, a craft of sort, is cook and bake.
Buy tiny canvasses to have them paint. (They can be painted to look
masculine or feminine.)
Car kits.
Wooden figures to paint (Race cars for the boys, flowers & butterflies for
the girls.).
Have the girls make their own jewelry from bead kits.
Stamp art.
Girls can make their own fleece blankets.
I found wooden figures (baseball plaque, basketballs etc) for the boys to
paint.
You can get a small plastic tool boxes at the Dollar Store for the boys to
decorate w/cool race track stickers.
Have the girls make their own jewelry boxes. Wood boxes you buy at
craft stores that they paint & affix rhinestones.
Have the boys iron on a team name to a baseball shirt.
The girls can paint their own tee shirts or have pretty iron-ons (flowers,
butterflies etc) in pretty colors.
Have the boys pick out a cool patch to iron onto a baseball hat.
Tie dye.
Using fabric paint to paint canvas sneakers.
Do sculpting.
Just use other mediums.
Gardening or make pottery someplace.
I am a huge crafter person and have dabbled and even sold in pretty much everything. SO to that I say, what are their age ranges?
Paper crafts are really fun, watercolor pencils are really fun, building sets, assemblage jewelry, mosiacs... art stores have tons of cool beginner kits for kids. Rock tumbling, pottery wheels, tie dye kits, sewing... all that stuff looks fun.
