Winter and Indoor Crafts for Kids, Preschoolers, and Toddlers

Many of you are stuck inside right now and have been for a while.  So I thought this would be a great time to do some craft ideas.  These crafts can be used for all ages, just adjust how much you do for the ability of the child.  Older kids can do more; younger kids can do less.

Chalk Snow Scene

(Some of you might remember that I did this last year too, but I figured it was worth the repeat.  Both boys got into this although they made blizzards.)

Things you need:

• White chalk
• Blue or black construction paper
• Hairspray (optional)

Have the child draw a snow scene on the construction paper.  Spray hairspray to “glue” on the chalk if you want to keep it around for a while.

Variation:

The child can color with all colors of chalk on white paper, teaching him/her about impressionism.

Epsom Salt Snow Scene

(So why not make a 3D snow scene?  This can be messy.  Tornado S really didn’t care to participate, so he just did a few dots.  Tornado E went crazy.  The scenes turned out very cute.)

Things you need:

• Blue or black construction paper
• Glue
• Epsom salt
• Glitter (optional)

Have the child make a snow scene with the glue.  Let the child pour Epsom salt onto the glue.  If you want to make it extra special, let the child add glitter.

Variation:

Using silver glitter glue, let the child create a starry scene with blue or black construction paper.

Shells

(Some of you are sick and tired of snow, so let’s pretend to be on a beach with shells.  These were a lot of fun and clever.  The boys enjoyed them.  I only tried markers and glitter glue as mediums, but I’m sure you can do so much more.  I’ll try more and let you know unless you beat me to the punch.)

Things you need:

• Large pasta shells (uncooked)
• Markers
• Glitter glue (optional)

Have the child decorate the shells, telling him/her how each shell is different.

Another fun thing to do is allow your child to color on a window with dry erase markers.  As an added bonus, my boys love to clean windows, taking turns spraying the window with window cleaner and rubbing it down with paper towel.

Advertisement

Christmas crafts for kids, preschoolers and toddlers part 2

Here are a few crafts we’re working on at Faemom’s.  All crafts are kid friendly.  Depending on the age and the ability of the child will depend on how much the child can and how much you do.  Stay tune because I’m still working on hot coco mix, dipped cookies, shell ornaments, pine cone ornaments, and decorative candles.

Applesauce Cinnamon Ornaments

I know.  I know.  I published this last year, but I never got around to doing them last year.  I did do them two years ago.  So I did them this year, and I learned a lot more. Tornado E (4) and Tornado S (2) helped mix the clay, roll the clay, and cut the clay with cookie cutters.  This is an easy recipe to multiply or divide.

Things you need:

½ cup applesauce

½ cup and 2tbs of cinnamon (this doesn’t have to be exact.  I just found I needed a little more cinnamon to make it less sticky.)

Bowl

Spoon

Wax paper

Rolling pin

Cookie cutters

Straw

Ribbon

Mix the applesauce and cinnamon.  You want a clay consistency, not too sticky, not too dry.  Roll the clay out in between two sheets of wax paper.  Roll it to a ½ in to 1/3 in thickness.  Too thick and it’ll take forever to dry.  Too thin and you can’t get it off the wax paper.  Cut out shapes with the cookie cutter.  Use the straw to make a hole for the ribbon.  Carefully remove the ornament with a knife and your fingers.  (This is when you realize it’s too thin or sticky.)  Move the ornament to a fresh piece of wax paper to dry.  (Because we’re in cramp quarters I placed mine on a wax papered cookie sheet, so they could be easily moved away from little hands at any time.)  If you need to leave the project, you can save the clay in a plastic container with a lid in the fridge for at least a week.  Let the shapes dry for two to three days.  Thread a ribbon through the hole and tie.

Metal Juice Lid Ornaments

I made these in Girl Scouts years ago.  Then I saw it online last year, and I thought it was a nifty idea.  Of course, you have to have metal juice lids, which can take some time to collect.  This is defiantly an older kid project.

Things you need:

Metal juice lids

A small wood board

A nail

A hammer

Ribbon

Marker (optional)

If you like, you can draw the dots of on the lid before you nail.  You can see the marker after you’re done, but mine looked better than when I free-handed it.  (Of course, that could just be me.)  Put the lid on the board.  Place the nail over the lid near the top.  Hammer the nail through the lid.  Since this is where you’ll run the ribbon, you might want to make this your biggest hole.  Continue to make holes of the design you want.  I made initials.  When finished, thread the ribbon through the top hole and tie.  (I am curious to see if these can be painted or polished, which will be an experiment for another time.)

Chocolate Dipped Spoons  with Marshmallows

I saw this somewhere in an old craft magazine.  Since I couldn’t find the magazine again, I just winged it.  Children can help dipping the spoons.  Because mine kept trying to eat the chocolate, they were forced out of the kitchen.

Things you need:

Plastic spoons

Melting chocolate (you can go with chocolate chips, but I went and bought chocolate made for making candies)

Bowl or jar

Wax paper

Plate or cookie sheet

Mini marshmallows

Different colored chocolate (optional)

Spoon or chocolate bag (optional)

Melt the chocolate according to the directions on the bag.  I prefer the double broiler method because I’ve burnt chocolate before (not good).  Dip the spoon to cover the bowl part of the spoon.  Wipe the back of the spoon against the bowl or jar to get excess chocolate off the back.  Place the spoon on the wax paper covered plate or cookie sheet (depending how much room you have in your freezer).  Place marshmallow into chocolate.  Repeat with other spoons until plate or cookie sheet are covered.  Place in freezer until chocolate is hard (anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes).  Dip spoons in chocolate again.  Place back on the plate and back into the freezer.  If you would like, you can melt more chocolate like white or colored to drizzle on the spoons.  When spoons are hardened, dip them for a third time in the chocolate.  If you want to, drizzle the chocolate over the chocolate spoons.  Put into freezer until hard.

This can be done without the marshmallow as well.  You can also flavor the chocolate too.

Gingerbread Men Ornaments

Every year I like to make an ornament with the boys.  This year we’re doing two.  This is the first one.  Both boys, at 4 and 2, were able to do this and had a lot of fun doing it.  I’m sure an 18 month old would be able to make these too.

Things you need:

Brown craft foam (I bet this would work with felt or brown paper)

Gingerbread man cookie cutter or template

Pen

Scissors

Craft foam stickers, markers, crayons, fabric paint, paint, glue, glitter, whatever you want to decorate with.  All things I have mentioned will work.

Hole puncher

Ribbon

Trace the gingerbread cookie cutter or template on the craft foam.  Cut out the gingerbread man.  You may punch the hole for the ribbon now or after the gingerbread man is decorated.  Have the child decorate the gingerbread man.  (Since my boys wouldn’t put eyes on if I didn’t do it, I did that with craft foam dots.)  Punch hole for the ribbon if you haven’t yet done so.  Thread ribbon through the hole and tie.

 

Pipe Cleaner Candy Canes

This is something we did do last year.  Like three days before Christmas.  I thought if I posted crafts three days before Christmas, someone would shoot me.  But you have to keep young hands busy somehow or else they would be wrecking the tree, getting into the presents, finding the presents, opening up the cookies meant for Christmas. Tornado E was three, and Tornado S was eighteen months.  Tornado E could do both kinds of candy canes.  Tornado S did better with stringing the beads as long as I held the pipe cleaner.

Type 1

Things you need:

Red pipe cleaners

White pipe cleaners (You could use green if you like.)

Take the pipe cleaners and twist them together.  Then take the pipe cleaners and form a hook to make it look like a candy cane.

Type 2

Things you need:

Red or white pipe cleaners

Red or white or green pony beads (whatever color is opposite of your pipe cleaner)

Take the pipe cleaner and thread the pony beads on it, leaving space in between to look like stripes.  Take the pipe cleaner and form a hook to make it look like a candy cane.

Need more ideas?  Check out my other posts on Christmas and winter crafts for kids.

Christmas Crafts for Kids, Toddlers, and Babies

More Christmas Crafts for Children, Toddlers, and Babies

Winter and Christmas Crafts for Toddlers and Children

Winter and Christmas Crafts for Toddlers and Children

A few more winter crafts as Southern California is pillaged by a storm.  Ok, greatly exaggerated, but cold rain means no going outside.  No going outside means tornadoes on the loose inside.  I would like to dedicate these crafts to Outside Voice as she said “Just the thought of buying all the things you need for each one tires me out!” on my last craft post.  I expect most of you have these items around the house.

 

Gingerbread Men

(My sons are crazy about Gingerbread Men; I don’t know if it’s because I made some last week or that we are watching too much Shrek.  We used crayons and fabric paint to decorate them, but you can use a variety of different mediums.  Evan loved squirting the fabric paint, making a Santa Clause and elves.  If you don’t have a cookie cutter, then try this page for a template.  I actually liked the medium ones better than my cookie cutter.  http://www.first-school.ws/activities/fairytales/gingerbread-man-boy.htm)

 

Things you need:

• Cardboard or brown construction paper
• Gingerbread man cookie cutter or template
• Black marker or pen
• Scissors
• Crayons, markers, fabric paint, finger paint, glitter glue, white out, (whatever you want to decorate with)

 

Trace the cookie cutter or template on the cardboard or construction paper.  Cut out pattern.  Let the child decorate the gingerbread man.

 

 

Snow Scene

(We did this in Girl Scouts; the girls loved it.  My boys loved it.   Watch toddlers carefully as they are known to eat chalk.)

 

Things you need:

• Black paper
• White chalk
• Hair spray

 

Let the child draw a snowy scene with the chalk, making hills, snowflakes and snowmen to create the scene.  When the child is finish, spray it with hair spray to keep the picture.  If you don’t have hair spray, the picture will fade away eventually.

 

 

Snowflakes

(Just because sometimes we can’t think out of the box, let’s remember how much fun it was to cut out snowflakes.  Of course, my boys were too little to cut them, but they had fun playing with them and hanging them up.)

 

Things you need:

• White paper
• Scissors
• Bowl (optional)
• Pen (optional)

 

If you want circle snowflakes, trace the bowl and cut out the circle.  Fold the paper as many times as you like as the more you fold the more complicated the pattern.  Cut.  Cut squares, triangles, circles, and random shapes.  Unfold the paper.