First, lay aside perfectionism. Limiting yourself into believing there is only one right way to create an object will makes every decision on which craft to tackle harder on both you and the children you’re in charge of. Believe me children will have their own ways of doing things, regardless of any directions you give them, and therein lies a large part of their development. As long as you’ve taken account of their age and skill level your choice will be sufficient.

Next, consider your budget. When choosing a craft idea for kid programs, you need to be aware that some of them are expensive. Prepackaged kits to make a fun foam picture frame or a craft stick cross are affordable for a few kids, but if you are needing to do a craft with a lot of kids, these kits might cost too much. It’s often easy to do almost exactly the same project by just looking at the craft kit components and buying the same materials in bulk at the discount store. You may have to do some preparation, like cutting out shapes ahead of time, or at least making cardboard patterns for the kids to use in cutting out their own. The savings will be worth it, however.

Another consideration is this – boys and girls have different likes when it comes to craft activities, especially once they’ve passed the age of four years. If the craft seems a little girly, don’t attempt to gain your boys’ attention. Stick with lace-up billfolds, dinosaur related artwork or Indian artifacts. Girls will like beads, cookie decoration, and anything that is pink or purple. For a craft idea for both sexes, keep it on the boyish side and add some girly twists to make everyone happy.

An aspect of creativity that some non-creative types don’t realize is that one idea will launch from other ideas. If you get the children talking and listen to their thoughts you can receive feedback for making a similar craft in a different way on your next day at the table. Craft ideas books are excellent for this type of lateral crafting as well. Use what you can and change what you must. For instance, the craft may have a slogan to be written across the front of an item the children just made. Change it up for the age of the group, the common element, to turn the item into a gift for a special person – whatever works.

Finally, realize that you don’t have to change the instructions or create something new to have a good craft idea for children. The kids will have a great time either way. Just pick a craft idea and let the children lead you into more creativity – they are naturals at it.

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Of course crafts always fit in the homeschool environment as we foster creativity and working with hands to make objects early in life.

We are going to make a glasses case, out of foam, that can be used by the child or given as a gift to someone special – no special day required, but Mother’s Day, Easter, birthdays or Christmas are all suitable for this craft theme.

To make the glasses case, you will need the following simple materials – one set for each child:

• a square of craft foam,
• plastic or large blunt needles,
• lanyard lace or thick yarn.

That’s it! Here’s how to make this or direct the children:

1. Cut two rectangles from the foam, each 3-1/2 inches (9 cm.) by 6 inches (15 cm.).
2. With a hole punch, make holes on three sides of each rectangle, leaving one short side unpunched. Make the holes 1/2 inch apart and allow at least 1/4 inch between the hole and the edge of the craft foam. The holes need to line up so that the two pieces can be laced together. If you are preparing the craft for small children, you should make the holes yourself.
3. Get your crafting kids to cut decorative shapes from other colors of craft foam, or choose which pre-cut foam shapes they’ll want to use. Let the kids glue on the shapes as desired. You might also like to provide beads or sequins to glue on as well, especially if the crafters are a little older.
4. The next step in this kids’crafting activity is to thread the plastic needle with the yarn or lanyard lace. Yarn might be a little easier to handle, but lanyard lace is shiny and attractive. In a pinch, some teachers of small children use a bobby pin as a needle as a safe alternative. Simply loop the yarn through the opening and use the open end of the bobby pin as if it were the point of the needle. The children can now begin to lace the front and back of the glasses case together.

Fast, easy and at the end of the hour your children will have a completed project to be proud of!

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