Arts and Crafts for Children: Finding Ideas Online
AmazingMoms.com (http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/kidsart.htm)
This sites divides arts and crafts projects by age group, occasion, and even has an index of projects for quick reference. Special occasions listed include Halloween, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day & Father’s Day, Hanukah, Kwanzaa and Christmas. Arts & Craft projects come with a list of needed supplies and brief instructions. There’s also a picture of some items so you know what your finished project should look like.
Squigly’s Arts & Crafts (http://www.squiglysplayhouse.com/ArtsAndCrafts/index.html)
This is another big page of children’s arts and crafts ideas. The sections on this page include Seasonal Crafts, Jewelry, and Just for Fun. Projects range from scrap booking to bird-feeder making to creating your own barrettes. Each projects comes with clear directions and a list of what you’ll need to complete the craft.
All Free Crafts (http://www.allfreecrafts.com/kids/index.shtml)
This busy site has links for seasonal arts & crafts like your basic Halloween, Christmas and Mother’s Day, plus links for how-to pages on foam crafts and recycling-based crafts. The pages include instructions and materials-needed lists. There are additional links for more elaborate crafts like candle-making and sewing.
Artists’ Helping Children (http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/artscraftideas.html)
Here’s a really large resource page with over twenty links to categories of children’s arts and crafts including very specific types like “seed and beans”, “greeting cards” “button art” and “coffee filter”. Links lead to various other websites, so this could be a good gateway to tons and tons of arts and crafts.
AllCrafts.com (http://www.allcrafts.net/kids.htm)
This website includes a section of arts and crafts resources for children’s projects, rather than actual projects. It encompasses links to other pages that do have crafts projects plus links to sources for supplies (you gotta buy the stuff somewhere) and even book reviews of kids’ crafts books.
KinderArt (http://www.kinderart.com/seasons/)
A kids arts and crafts section on this website has links to pages with seasonal/holiday craft ideas. The links are arranged by month. Some of the listed holidays are common like Halloween, while others are little-known, allowing for plenty of creativity (like decorating vegetables for world vegetarian dayâÂ?¦.) Some holidays listed don’t have crafts attached but can still serve as inspiration. Other’s aren’t exactly holidays (McDonald’s founder’s birthday?).
KinderPlanet (http://www.kinderplanet.com/makestuf.htm)
This site has lots of crafts for elementary aged kids. They include directions and a list of needed supplies. Crafts include lots of paper mache projects, crayon-related artwork and other fun stuff like popsicle treasure boxes and fish mobiles.
FamilyFun.go.com
This site arranges arts and crafts ideas by children’s age and by category (easy to do, seasonal, etc.) Age groups include toddler, 4-5, 6-8 and 9-12 year olds. Project ideas include materials list and directions. There’s also a star-rating system based on scores by other readers and users. Users leave comments, too. (Warning for dial-up users, this page can be slow to load.)
Punky’s Childcare (http://www.punkyschildcare.com/artscrafts/index.html#bubbles) This site has a list of recipes for arts & crafts supplies that kids and parents might enjoy making for themselves This includes bubbles, playdough, fingerpaints and even sidewalk chalk. There’re also listings for different crafts projects.
The Activity Cupboard (http://www.mothers-home.com/activities/sherri2.htm) This is a large resource page of all types of links for children’s arts and crafts. The links are indexed by theme, by season, and also include informational sites reviewing craft projects and offering arts and crafts “how to” tips. Lots of links!
