Are you a babysitter or after school club looking for craft projects suitable for groups of children? Maybe you feel like you’re not the creative type, and the idea of coming up with ideas for craft projects is pretty daunting. Some people just have a knack for finding or even coming up with craft ideas, but your creativity can improve. There are ways to make it easier to find craft projects that are right for children’s needs.
First, forget about perfectionism and remember the golden rule, children just want to be involved, enjoy the activity and achieve quick results. No matter what group of kids you’re dealing with, there are always plenty of suitable craft projects and ideas. If you’ve taken into account the age and skill levels of the children involved, your choice should be an appropriate one.
One aspect of creativity that non-creative types don’t realize is that ideas grow from other ideas. For example, you might spend hours looking at craft project books, only to find that none of those particular ideas appeal to you, but if you let them, they’ll spark an idea for a similar project.
When choosing a craft project for children’s groups, you should keep in mind that some of the ready-to-use kits can be expensive. Pre-packaged kits for making collages or a fun foam picture frame are affordable for small groups of kids, but if you’re planning a craft session with lots of kids, these ready-to-use kits will cost you too much.
The solution is easy, to make almost exactly the same project, take note of the contents of the craft kit and buy the same materials in bulk at your local discount store.
With this option, you may need to do more preparation, like cutting out shapes ahead of time, or at least making cardboard patterns for the kids to use to cut out their own shapes, but the savings will be worth it.
Alternatively, turn one of your sessions into a fun craft prep class, where you would divide the kids into groups and give each group a different prep task. to collect different required materials, draw their own shapes, etc. for the next craft project creation session. Remember, with children’s groups you don’t have to be perfect, use what you have and create the rest.
If the craft seems a bit girly, then it won’t work well with groups of boys. Stick with kite making, mask making, and similar projects. Girls will like beads, sequins, and anything that is pink or purple. For a kids group craft idea with boys and girls, keep it on the masculine side and provide some pink materials to keep the girls happy.
For example, if you are making Indian feather headdresses, have the girls decorate their feathers with sequins and glitter, or tissue paper flowers for the headband part.
One final tip is to realize that craft projects are all about having fun, so pick a craft idea, let your imagination run wild, and let the kids get creative.
