Nothing beats seeing your child’s eyes light up and their proud smile when they create something beautiful. That happy face is worth every effort. To say more, the benefits of engaging kids in craft activities are endless and contribute to their overall development by improving their fine motor skills, strengthening critical thinking, and fostering creativity.
Rest assured, crafting with your little one is so fun – it doesn’t have to be stressful at all. So we prepared some easy paper crafts that will keep your kid engaged, ensuring a good time you will spend together.
1. Paper Snakes
While real-life snakes may scare you, these cuties will definitely not. Grab the colored paper, scissors, glue, and markers, and do the following:
- Cut long strips of paper.
- Make one end of the strip round for the snake’s head and the other end pointy for its tail. Also, cut out a small red tongue and glue it to the snake’s head.
- Wrap the strip around a marker and keep it in place for a while, then unwrap your snake to make it coiled.
2. Printable Paper Dolls
This is an amazing activity to let your kid’s imagination run wild, as they can change doll outfits and come up with different stories for their toys. The internet is full of doll templates. Find the one you like, download it, and turn images to PDF. This is how you can ensure the visual integrity of the picture, as well as get its elements printed out in the best possible quality. The steps are easy:
- Use an online image to PDF converter to change picture to PDF with a click.
- Print out the template right away, cut out the doll and its clothes, and go ahead to have fun with your kid!
PDFs are also perfect for sharing due to their compatibility with any device. You can convert pictures to PDF and send them to other parents so that your kids can play with dolls together.
3. Rainbow Chain
Do you remember crafting paper chains as a child? Now you can do the same with your kid, introducing them to rainbow colors:
- Cut out small paper strips of each color.
- Roll a red strip to create a loop and glue its ends together.
- Pull an orange strip through your ready-made red loop, roll it, and glue the ends to create two interconnected loops. Do the same with other colors.
4. Origami Corner Bookmark
Who does not love origami? Corner bookmarks are one of the best paper crafts for kids to engage your child in the reading game as well as strengthen their fine motor skills. This origami is the simplest to create:
- Take a square piece of paper and fold it as depicted in the picture above.
- Cut off the details (ears, eyes, etc.) and glue them to your bookmark. Decorate it as you like.
5. Cardboard Hats
Are party hats a tradition in your family? Why not create some lovely headwear with your child? The idea is amazingly simple: just unleash your imagination to make the most out of it. Here are some aspirations:
- Super-hero hat
- Sombrero
- Cone hat
- Sailor/pirate/cowboy hat
- Animal-inspired hat
- Baseball cap
6. Paper Masks
Craft a mask for your paper hat to look even more stylish! Become kings of the world, bold superheroes, cute bunnies, or freakish aliens… who can stop you now? Download a ready-made template or create your own mask design – both options will serve you well since kids love such fun crafts anyway.
7. Sponge Sailboats
This is one of the fun and easy crafts for kids and parents alike. What’s more, sailboats are great to play with! You will need sponges, scissors, wood skewers, and construction paper to make boats:
- Trim the sponges in thirds to make them thin.
- Cut out two paper triangles per boat and poke the wooden skewer through them to make a sail.
- Poke the skewer into your sponge and go sailing!
8. Homemade Telescope
Help your child look at things in a new way! The telescope is made from an empty paper towel tube. You’ll also need cardboard, markers/stickers, and glue:
- Roll a piece of cardboard over a paper towel tube and glue its sides to form another tube (do not glue them together).
- Decorate the telescope with markers or stickers.
- Pull the cardboard tube to make the telescope longer.
9. Paper Airplanes
Everlasting classics. Paper airplanes look cool and actually fly well, so it’s not surprising that kids love these fun crafts. You will find dozens of airplane designs on the web, from the simplest origami models to complex paper constructions – test them out with your kid to know which one flies best! You can also arrange a competition, especially if you have two or more children.
10. Penny Spinner
Penny spinner is a relaxing and fascinating toy that will keep your child engaged for hours. Crafting is super easy:
- Cut out a cardboard circle and decorate it with markers.
- Make a small slit in the center of the paper disc and push a penny into it.
- Secure the penny with glue, and you are done!
Final Thoughts
No matter how old you are, your time with your child is priceless. Enjoy these 10 fascinating crafts for kids and get creative with more fun ideas that match your child’s interests. Have fun!
