Easy Crafts for Kids

What will you do if your SRP performer doesn't show up? Do you have your plan B in place? Here's a website with some AWESOME easy craft ideas, and a lot of them don't require much more than paper! http://www.easypeasyandfun.com/ This is one of my favorite things right now:

I've made a frog puppet before using a similar technique, but I hadn't seen a shark puppet! This is a fairly simple craft that could work for multiple ages, so a great plan B if you need a quick program! Also, some of the activities could work as passive programs. Check out the site and let use know what crafts you are excited about trying at your location in the comments!

-Sara

Origami Boxes

Paper crafts are one of my favorite things to do  with my kids at home. You can create this box and lid  to be a card that opens out when the lid is removed. Or you can glue or hot glue the flaps to the inside of the box and have a nice sturdy little box. The box template can be printed out on 8.5x11 paper and the box itself measures about 2 inches tall when it's completed.

 I've included the instructions for both the box and the box lid above the templates for cutting out. The nice thing about that is  you can print these out and the teens or (elementary age kids)  have the instructions with pictures right in front of them so they can follow along as you all do the craft together or try it on their own. I recommend using cardstock and not regular paper. It makes for a sturdier project.

Once the box is done, they can decorate it as they like. I used heavy card stock and paper flowers in the photos you see here. But the possibilities are endless.

This could make a great card or gift  for Mother's Day or even Father's day (with the right paper choices--comic book pages glued onto cardstock?)

For anyone who replies in the comments section, I'll create a box similar to the one pictured (but with different themes and paper) so you have a sample of your own. Don't forget to put your name and location! I'll get your little boxes to you at the next Youth Services Meeting in March. 

-Michelle Johnson

If you want to conserve paper and print out the box and lid on the same page, here’s the template for that. It’s a slightly smaller box (2 inches instead of 2 ½ inches) but is a nice alternative when doing this for a larger group.

Kids Craft Idea: Shell Craft

We are having a weekly kids craft at Collier this summer, and our first day, painting shells, went great!

Setup: 
I put out shells, paints and paintbrushes, pipe cleaners, scissors, googly eyes, sharpies, pom poms, popsicle sticks, and foam sheets. I wrapped the tables in brown craft paper. I should also have started out with paper towels and cups of water to rinse paintbrushes, but I figured out we needed those real quick and went to get them.

Execution: 
Everyone got a paint tray (I used paper plates when we ran out) and got to choose a couple colors to take to their table. I had two glue guns plugged in at the front that I explained were only for grown-up use, and that worked pretty well. I think the hardest part for the older kids was that the paint takes a long time to dry (and hot glue will not stick to wet paint!). I sent wet shells home on paper plates and that seemed to work for everyone. One girl decided to color her shell with sharpies in lieu of dealing with paint.

Reflection:
What I loved about this craft was that it was great for all ages: from the toddlers to the grandparents, everyone had fun. As you can see in the photo, we had a wide range of skill level and a lot of imagination. I had put some examples to get people started, and you know every time you put out examples there is that worry that kids will just want to do exactly what you did (or their caregivers will want them to do exactly what you did)? Well, I was happy to find that the kids went way above and beyond my examples, and everyone had their own ideas for their shells. If I were planning this craft again, I would maybe try priming the shells ahead of time with some mod podge or primer or something (if I had the volunteer power!).

You can order shells with your craft order:
Discount School Supply
S&S Worldwide
Oriental Trading

Or if you have petty cash they have some really nice bleached ones at Dollar Tree. I also was able to find some small ones that were left over from What’s the Big Idea.

If you have improvements or questions, I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

-Angela