A fun and easy craft for kids in your own home!

I am a big fan of crafts and I try to incorporate that in my homeschool activities with Dumpling whenever I can. There are so many benefits to craft activities - improving of fine motor skills, focus and encouraging creativity amongst many others. 

So how can we start this easily and affordably at home? 

Here, I had a chat with Adora Tan, founder of Buggy Bee Kids, who encourages creating crafts from recycled materials. :) 

Many parents spend lots of money signing their kids up for Art and Craft lessons without realizing that all they need is to look around their home and pretty soon they’ll be able to find something to create!

When I had Poppy, my first daughter, I struggled to find activities to keep her occupied. So we started out with doodling, then painting, then pasting…Well, just making a mess actually! We’re quite prudent so instead of buying ready-made craft kits, we rummaged through our recycling bag to see what we could use.

I quickly realized that I enjoyed spending my time with her doing up simple crafts. We started hosting craft parties for Poppy’s friends and soon after, I took my passion to the next level and started my crafts-for-kids business, Buggy Bee Kids.

Both with Poppy and through my business, we use items that are either recyclable or are easily found at home. This has 2 main benefits: it inculcates the message of recycling and encourages kids to be inquisitive. I can’t tell you how happy I am when a mum tells me, “My son now says ‘Mum, we don’t throw away that empty jam jar; let’s keep it for a craft!” 

Anyone can craft with their kids, but here are some common excuses people make:

I am not good at drawing!

Neither am I. I got a C6 for O Level Art! But here’s the great thing: kids are very forgiving.  

I don’t know what to do!

Here’s where that ipad of yours comes in handy. Simply search for “crafts for ___ year-olds” and voila! Loads of ideas!

I don’t have any materials!

You don’t need anything special. Many crafts are done with the simplest of materials: paper, cereal boxes, tissue boxes, scissors, glue. 

I don’t have the patience!

That’s the beauty of home made crafts. You can make them as simple or elaborate as you want. Start off with something small and quick; you and your child will both be so proud of your end product!

Here’s an example of something that’s fun to do and takes less than half an hour to create. Recommended for 3-5 year olds with parental help, or independent 6-10 year olds. Poppy is almost 4 and I hardly helped her at all.

Materials:

1 cereal box (we used a medium sized Honey Stars box)

A pair of scissors

Coloured masking tape

Sticky tape

Thick piece of plastic sheet (we used OHP plastic)

1 photo

1 magnetic strip 

Step 1: Trim away all flaps and sides of cereal box until you are left with the two biggest pieces (the front and back rectangular pieces). 

Step 2: Place picture in the middle of one of the rectangular pieces (piece A) and trace around it

Step 3: Cut portion the portion you have traced. It should fit well over your photo

Step 4: Paste photo with sticky tape on the middle of the other rectangular piece (piece B) and set aside

Step 5: Cut out strips of coloured tape and wrap them around the border of piece A one by one

Step 6: When that is done you’ll have a very colourful frame

Step 7: Adjust piece A over piece B and paste on. Set aside to dry

Step 8: Stick a magnetic strip on the back of your photo frame and put it up on your fridge!

About Adora

Adora is mum to Poppy, 3.5, and Calla, 7 weeks.  She is a freelance writer for parenting magazines and runs Buggy Bee Kids, a crafts-for-kids business. She enjoys cheap chocolate, smelling her baby’s neck, and would really like a good night’s sleep. Adora blogs at http://www.gingerbreadmum.blogspot.com 

About Buggy Bee Kids
Buggy Bee Kids introduces children to a world of fun out of school and aims to promote creativity through crafting activities. Crafts sessions are $25 per child, per session (or $90 for pack of 4 sessions per child), inclusive of all materials. All you have to do is find a minimum of 2 other similar aged friends and give Adora a holler at buggybeekids@gmail.com 


* Buggy Bee Kids is taking a short break and will be back full force in time for the September 2012 holidays!