Sunday
May122013
A Project List For Kids
Sun, May 12, 2013 at 05:01PM "Baseball is a ballet without music.
Drama without words.
A carnival without kewpie dolls."
- Ernie Harwell
For your exploration, the annual Daisy Yellow project list, updated with fresh ideas + old favorites. These are projects that are fun to do WITH your kids, to share creativity. And we still kids at heart so these will work for all of us! It's a list of diversions that I put together as a resource for kids + moms during school holidays, summers and even those days when the kids aren't feeling great but want a diversion!
Ideas from Daisy Yellow
A note about my "age" references - a project marked "3+" might be perfect for teens. The age is only an indication of the physical capability required to "do" the project. Most of these projects would be perfect for anyone!
- Plan Discovery Zones {all ages}
- Make Acrylic Leaf Prints (age 2+)
- Make FIMO Fossils (age 2+)
- Make Marshmallow Structures (age 6+)
- Make bagels together
- Get kids a camera; photograph and play with light together (age 6+)
- Make an Infinity Calendar (age 4+)
- Make an "All About Me" Board (age 4 - 12)
- Make a Board Game (age 4+)
- Discover Block Printing (age 3+)
- Draw Shadow Spheres with pastels or colored pencils (age 4+)
- Try Neocolor Circles and Kids, Neocolors, Water (age 3+)
- Make beads wth the FIMO Polymer Clay Project (age 4+)
- Make FIMO Pendants (age 2+)
- Weave Paper into Artist Trading Cards (age 7+)
- Print with Bubble Wrap (age 3+)
- Draw Comic Strips (read Calvin + Hobbes first) (age 5+)
- Make plaid abstract art with a brayer (age 4+)
- Make your summer reading list at Top Picks: Books for Kids 0-12
- Paint terra cotta pots for your container garden (age 4+)
- Visit your local farmers' market (all ages)
- Sew paper or make a stitched writing journal (depends on the child; hand sewing, age 5+, machine sewing, perhaps age 7+)
- Paint Spooky Painted Webs (age 3+)
- Start Art Journaling (age 5+)
- Make art with stamps (age 2+)
- Draw mandalas {age 2+}
- Doodle with glue or ink-colored glue (age 4+)
- Play with india inks (age 7+)
- Make maps of real & imaginary places. {age 2+}
a mandala my older daughter (then 9) drew while we were in Germany, 7"x9" paper, papermate markers
Ideas from around the world
- An abundance of summer-themed projects for kids at The Crafty Crow
- Macrame a hemp bracelet from Rings & Things (age 6+)
- Great resources to get your kids sewing from Sew, Mama, Sew in Easy Hand Sewing for Kids
- Try any of the 50 Summer Project Ideas from The Long Thread
- A list of Odd Art Jobs from The Teaching Palette fill smaller bits of time and get organized
- Do Spin Art with your kids at Brassy Apple (bonus journal fodder for you)
- Watch the cutest Schoolhouse Rock grammar videos, each 3 minutes long and kid friendly, with bonus 1970s typography: Adjectives {above}, Adverbs, Pronouns, Nouns, Verbs, Prepositions, Interjections {my kids' fav}, Conjunction Junction
- Stop by The Artful Parent for an array of artful projects for kids, including An Activity a Day (31 activities)
- maya*made has a lovely list of projects to make each season
- Funky children's projects by material from The Crafty Crow: What Can You Make From Cardboard Tubes? From Plastic? From a Cardboard Box? and From an Egg Carton?
- At The Wonder Years, Craft Weaving.
- Do a Wire Sculpture at Camp Creek Blog (and learn about the Project Approach)
- At 2 Things Challenge you "Interpret the 2 weekly subjects any way you wish, in a photograph, collage, painting, poem, song, or whatever you can dream up" and responses are presented in mosaic format. I enjoyed the interpretations of Hot/Cold. Via Kids Who Think.
- Do a polka dot leaves experiment and Acorn Jewelry at 5 Orange Potatoes.
- Create Mexican amate drawings with this lesson from Davis Art
- Make paper sculptures at Color Color Color.
- Pink and Green Mama has a myriad of kid-centric art projects, including Gorgeous Georgia O'Keefe Flowers
- Try the Story Starter Game from Red Bird Crafts.
- At Chocolate Cake Moments, click on Seasonal Fun for projects by season.
- Fabric painting using stencils made from freezer paper at do stuff!
- Art Projects for Kids has a project called "Watercolor Still Life" involving painting a picture with just one color, adjusting the color by adding different amounts of water.
- Math Cats provides a string art project which can be done with colored pencils and a ruler or string.
- Paint your driveway with cornstarch sidewalk paint at Pink & Green Mama.
Reader Comments (4)
This, as per usual, is a fantastic list and great nbot just for littles! I see several ideas that intrigue me and I am so glad the summer is coming so I can go exploring some new art projects. Thank you for all the work you put into this blog!
I love this list. I don't know if I can say that enough. You are the queen of lists!! :)
Thank you for sharing this list. Just in time for summer activities with the grandkids!
Fabulous list!! Thank you for sharing!!