5 Simple Spring Crafts to Try With Kids

If you are a long time follower of my blog, you will know that I don't share a lot of guest posts. I do from time to time though, when it is a post that I feel it is something that my readers will benefit from. During this time of uncertainty, and sheltering in place I feel this article about simple Spring crafts you can do with your kids at home is very appropriate and timely.

So with that, I hope you enjoy this guest post..

5 Simple Spring Crafts to Try With Kids

by Caitlin Parsons

As we spend more time in our homes, it can become more and more difficult to find things to do around the house, especially with kids. On top of that, you may be struggling to keep the children's spirits up amidst everything that’s going on in the world. To combat the stress they may be feeling, it can be helpful to really dive in and find out what activities will provide entertainment and help to nurture their minds during this difficult time. Thankfully, activities like crafting are a great way to combine the two. The range of projects you can do will certainly keep them busy and can become a simple way to relieve their stress as well. Many, like Sara Corwin from the eCommerce Merchandising department at Michaels, consider crafting to be a form of self-care and believe it should be used to help kids with stress as well. Corwin says:

“Crafting is a great form of self-care. We pride ourselves in providing spaces and tools for makers and encouraging others to take the time to try and learn something new. Crafting helps take the mind away from stress and the noise surrounding you, and focus on the fun of creating.”

With the stress that you or your kids may be experiencing, crafting can be a huge help. Thankfully, there are plenty of crafts that are kid-friendly too, making the activities fun for everyone. If you need new ideas of crafts to try with kids during your time at home, keep reading.

DIY Birdhouse

As spring blooms, this is the perfect time to make your own creations to display outside. A great way to do this is by having the kids make their own birdhouse to hang in the trees. There are several creative ways you can do this which gives you the opportunity to choose what works best for you and your kids. The easiest way would be to use an empty paper carton of milk. You’ll want to go for the paper cartons to make it safe for the birds and typically, the half-gallon size is perfect. All you have to do is draw a rectangle on each side of the carton and then cut it out. After that, just fill the bottom with birdseed. Use any string or ribbon to hang it from a tree and there you have it! You can also build your own birdhouse with just popsicle sticks and hot glue but if you’re not the DIY type, you can always use a birdhouse kit.

Wreath Making

A great way to make use of the items you have around your home is by implementing them into your crafts. A common theme of decorations that many have at home and only use once a year is holiday decorations. Thankfully, there are great ways you can use the decorations throughout your home and in your crafts. Standard holiday wreaths and garland are perfect to revamp and redecorate to make into a spring wreath. Most commonly, some crafters will add pastel ribbon and floral accents to the wreath to make it fit the spring season. If you want to take the project a step further, you begin working from just an embroidery loop or wreath frame to make your wreath from scratch. Instead of using all of your garland from your holiday decorations, use clippings and add them to the wreath where you see fit. Then you can add other flowers, bows, and lettering to the wreath to make it your own.

DIY Garland

Another great way for the kids to pass the time while they’re home is to create their own garland. Depending on the look you’re going for, you can use everything from construction paper to felt, ribbons, and bells. Given the wide range of options you have for creating your garland, this is another great opportunity to utilize supplies around your house. Paper, of course, is found in any household and easy to use in a garland craft as well. There are tons of paper garland crafts you can try and plenty of ways you can decorate them, too. An all-time favorite is to spell out a child’s name with the sections of the garland. This way, the child has something to be proud of and hang in their own room.

Recycled Material Crafts

Similarly to reusing decorations you have stored away, you can also recycle empty household items to use in crafts as well. An all-time favorite for crafting is the use of empty toilet paper rolls. There are hundreds of ways you can utilize them but just to name a couple, the kids can create animals from the rolls and even their favorite Disney characters. For example, to create a butterfly:

1. Paint the toilet paper roll whatever color you want your butterfly to be and decorate it with googly eyes and pipe cleaners for antennas
2. Cut out a similarly colored set of wings for your butterfly 
3. Decorate the wings with paint, glitter, stickers, buttons, etc.
4. Fold the wings in half and glue the center of them to the back of your empty toilet paper roll

After completing those quick and easy steps, you’re finished! The kids will be able to challenge their minds creatively and be proud of the work they’ve done. They may even want to display it as their own “decor” around their rooms. For a different approach, here’s another toilet paper roll craft to create everyone’s favorite Disney character, Olaf!

Collages and Vision Boards

While these other crafts may work for your younger children, you want to make sure that you keep older children in mind too when crafting this spring. Older kids may typically resort to technology for their entertainment, however, this can be a change of scenery for them to try a more hands-on craft. A great craft that allows them to have their own creative freedom is making a vision board or collage. Basically, you will need a large poster board or just a simple piece of paper to decorate. Then, you’ll want to give the kids a theme. Maybe, their favorite things to do, or what they want to be when they grow up. It’s crucial to allow them to do the rest themselves! They can search through old magazines, books, and catalogs for pictures and phrases that they like.

They’ll then place and glue their pieces wherever they’d like on their board or paper to showcase their vision. This is a great time to use your Cricut machine as well so the kids can make their own elements to add to their vision board. Of course, they’ll need some guidance with the Cricut machine but otherwise, they’ll enjoy creating their own authentic masterpiece!

These are only a few of the hundreds of crafts you can try to keep the kids busy. Start with these and then keep searching for your own ways to do fun activities at home with your kids. With the stress that you and your kids may be dealing with, crafting may be the perfect activity to help ease your minds. You’ll love the time spent with your kids and they will be excited to make their own crafting creations.