5 Fun and Educational Crafts to Do With Kids

A young child’s creative processes have been shown to be connected to his or her developing ability to learn. The ability to think creatively is applicable in every facet of learning.

The decline of art education in schools due to budget cuts and increasing academic demands has been associated with a significant decrease in participation in the arts as adults. Now more than ever, it’s up to parents to help provide children with an education in the arts.

Crafts that help kids develop important life and learning skills and tie into their academic studies are highly recommended. Here are some great craft ideas to help your children develop their skills and creative thinking processes.

Try crafts that kids can play with when they’re done creating!

Crafts that are not only fun to make, but also fun to play with once completed are a great way to keep even the least crafty kids interested in a project. Kids that really don’t care for art projects can be motivated by the end result.

Try out this fun homemade bouncy ball activity at home with your kids! There are even links to bouncy ball kits in the article if your kids decide, after the first bouncy ball project, that they would like to create a more effective toy.

Turn trash into treasure with this fun recycled water bottle craft.

Craft supplies can be expensive, but these recycled water bottle wind spirals use materials commonly found around the house. Your kids can create beautiful art to display in the yard for all to see.

This project is very simple and quick to make. Not only will your children be flexing their artistic muscles, they will be working on their fine motor skills. A little adult assistance might be necessary to cut off the bottoms of the bottles.

Make crafts with your kids that lead to more creative play.

Play is the cornerstone of early childhood development. To encourage your children to engage in pretend play, make crafts that help develop their creative thinking skills, aid in fine motor development and inspire imaginative play. What better way to do all of that than with paper bag hand puppets?

Few kids can resist the lure of a puppet. It’s second nature for kids to put their hand inside and begin a monologue in a funny voice. With a few basic materials, your kids can create many different characters. Put together a puppet theatre to really get your kids engaged in the performing arts.

Take advantage of nice weather and move the crafts outdoors!

There are many benefits of crafting outside with kids. The biggest advantage for me is the lack of mess indoors. This squirt gun painting activity is so much fun for kids and the end product is something any mom would be proud to hang on the wall.

We’ve actually done this project with small canvases and watered-down acrylic paint, instead of watercolor paper and liquid watercolors, to create a longer-lasting art piece. I’ve found that nothing made of paper can be expected to survive long in my house!

Provide paint colors that match your décor to create beautiful abstract paintings for your home. Kids and parents alike will be proud to point out the artwork to visitors!

Craft bird feeders to encourage kids’ appreciation and study of nature.

Maybe you remember making pinecone bird feeders as a child. While simple, this craft can be a little messy, so you might lay down some newspaper on your work surface.

Scrubbing the table of peanut-buttery fingerprints isn’t at the top of my bucket list! After making these feeders, hang them in a spot that is easily observable from inside so that kids can enjoy the fruits (or birds, in this case) of their labor.

Doing crafts with your kids is both fun and educational. The memories made while completing craft projects like these are everlasting. You can find other craft ideas that are just right for your family on Remember Stuff’s kid's activity search.

And Yes, don’t forget to Remember Kids’ Artwork, too.