Kids are magical. They see the world through a different lens than their older counterparts: Moving boxes are spaceships, salt and pepper shakers are BFF and Popsicle sticks are magic wands. If all of this is possible in the amazing minds of children, challenge their creativity. Kids learn through play; before financial experts like Don Gayhardt were running businesses, they too were running around their yards with sticks for swords. 

Toilet Paper Tubes

All those cardboard rolls are good for something besides getting tossed, right? Start saving them and when you have a good amount, hand them to your little ones with an array of paints, glue and glitter, pipe cleaners and whatever else you have lying around. Encourage them to do something with them and watch your budding artists amaze you.

Boxes, Boxes Everywhere

Much like cats, little children love boxes. There is so much that you can do with them thanks to their varying shapes and sizes! (For large-sized moving boxes, check first that there are no staples or brads at the bottoms of them.) Here are a few kid-tested favorites:

• Build a dollhouse by gluing different-sized boxes together. Cut out windows and doors using a craft knife, then let your kids decorate their basically free toy. Let them use colored paper for “wallpaper” and help them glue Popsicle sticks together for furniture.
• Poke some holes through the top and sides of a larger box and push Christmas lights through it. Your kids can lie under the “stars” and will love dragging their favorite stuffed animals and blankets in there.
• Make robots! Help your kids practice their wrapping skills by covered different-sized boxes in plain brown paper or aluminum foil, then glue them together. Give them craft supplies to decorate their robot.

Magazines

If you are a subscriber to a monthly read, then you’ve probably got several old editions lying around. Before throwing them in the blue bin, hand them over to your child. Magazines are amazing for all kinds of art projects!

• Very young children can practice their cutting skills on the pages of your old magazines. These kinds of skills are important for reading and hand-eye coordination down the road.
• Take a picture from an advertisement, cut it in half, and glue it onto a piece of plain paper. Ask your child to finish the other half of the picture and see what they come up with.
• Tell your kids to find anything related to a specific theme (autumn, dogs, bath time, etc) in magazines. When they find pictures related to the theme, they can cut them out and glue them onto a collage.

Coffee Grounds

Yes, you read that right! Instead of tossing your grounds from all your coffee this week, save them in a Ziploc and store them in the freezer. Once you have a good amount, pull them out and let them thaw. Kids love to play in coffee grounds. It’s the perfect texture for driving trucks through and digging. Plus, it smells so good and can be put to compost in the garden when you’re done with it.

Instead of spending money on expensive, brand-name craft supplies and toys, give your kiddos things that they might otherwise find in the recycle bin. It’ll shock you where their imaginations can take them!

This entry was posted on Friday, August 23rd, 2019 at 5:31 pm and is filed under Others. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.