I have loved crafts my entire life.
Now that I have children, I want to pass on my love of crafts to them. They are finally old enough to be able to do crafting activities with minimal supervision. I want to give my children options to entertain themselves on long car trips or on school breaks. I appreciate all the crafting skills that my mom taught to me and now I want to pass along those skills to my own children.
Latch Hook
One of my favorite childhood crafts was latch hook. A latch hook kit is a color-coded grid that comes with coordinating colors of short lengths of yarn. You use a latch hook tool to pull the yarn through the grid and make a knot with long tails of yarn that hang down to create a picture. Finished latch hook kits can be made into wall hangings, pillows, or rugs. I bought my seven-year-old daughter a kit over the February school break. I showed her how to make the knot once and then she was completely fine on her own. She asked if I can buy her another latch hook kit when this one is finished. Absolutely!
Model Car Kits
Model car kits come designed for different skill levels. For the youngest kids, you can buy fully assembled wooden cars and let them just paint it. For kids a little bit older, there are kits that snap together and don’t require any tools. If your child is a little older or is more experienced with assembling models, you can buy intricate kits that require cement and paint to create the final product. Model kits are fun because you can choose whatever vehicle interests your child, such as a tank or a fire truck.
Knitting and Crocheting
If you know how to knit or crochet, those are both great skills to pass on to your children. If you don’t know how to do either of these crafts, it would be fun to take a class with your child so you can learn together. Knitting and crocheting are great hobbies because they only require knitting needles or a crochet hook and some yarn. If knitting and crocheting are too difficult, you can use a round loom to knit a hat. It’s actually quite simple. Some libraries offer round loom kits to check out, so ask your local librarian before buying your own.
Plastic Canvas Sewing
A plastic canvas offers a great introduction to the world of sewing. It’s just a sheet of plastic filled with square holes. Children can use a plastic needle and yarn to thread through the holes of the plastic canvas. Some easy projects include making placemats and coasters. If you need some crafts for younger children, you can let them thread pasta onto a string to make a necklace or let them thread round cereal onto string to make a tree garland.
Weaving
My children love weaving and there are so many options! An easy way to weave is by stringing yarn through slots on a piece of cardboard. Then use up any leftover yarn to weave horizontally through the vertical yarn on the cardboard. You can also buy looms if you want something sturdier. As a child, I loved weaving potholder loops onto a square loom to create way too many potholders. You can also buy smaller bands to weave into bracelets and necklaces.
Origami
Origami is another fun craft for kids. I checked out an origami book from my library and my family had lots of fun. My kids could follow the directions for the simpler projects on their own and only needed my help for more complicated projects. You can also look up instructions or videos online. The sky is the limit!
Ceramic Painting Kits
You can get all sorts of varieties of ceramic figurines to paint. My favorites are holiday decorations and toy tea sets. The kits come with the ceramic figures, the paint, and usually a paintbrush. Younger children usually enjoy painting their own designs. My kids painted their own cups over the spring break and had a blast. Older children can use more complicated kits with directions on what color to paint each part. I still enjoy ceramic painting kits!
Friendship Bracelets
I loved making friendship bracelets when I was in school. The easiest way to start is simply braiding yarn or embroidery floss. My favorite bracelets use a whole bunch of knots to create a diagonal stripe pattern. All you need is embroidery floss, scissors, and either tape or a safety pin to anchor down the end of the bracelet while you work on it. If your child loves making bracelets, you can look up more patterns either online or in a book.
What were your favorite childhood crafts? Will you pass on those skills to your own children?
