Creative activities are some of the best things to have in your back pocket when the days get dark and cold. They do not have to be big projects. With some paper, a few markers and a table, children aged 3 to 9 can create for an hour. Here are 14 simple ideas, and some advice on how to make it work without having to do everything yourself.
Make it easy to get started
The most important thing is that it is easy to start. Keep a box or a drawer where paper, markers, scissors, glue and tape are always kept. Then your child can get going without you having to find everything.
Cover the table with an old cloth or newspaper before you begin. Then it does not matter so much if something lands on the table. And set a time frame, for instance half an hour, so your child knows when it is over.
Let your child choose. Some children like a recipe. Others would rather have a blank page. Both are fine.
7 ideas with paper and scissors
- Draw a comic strip. Fold a sheet into six boxes, and let your child tell a story in pictures.
- Make paper snowflakes. Fold, cut and unfold. Hang them in the window.
- Make a collage. Cut pictures and words out of old magazines, and stick them on a large sheet.
- Fold paper planes and hold a contest. Whose flies the farthest, and whose hits the target?
- Make a book. Fold and staple a few sheets together, and let your child write and draw a story.
- Make a card. For a friend, a grandparent or a family member who has a birthday.
- Draw a treasure map. Hide something in the house, and let someone else find it by the map.
4 ideas with clay and modelling clay
- Make animals and figures. Start with a ball and add a head, legs and a tail step by step.
- Make a little town. Small houses of modelling clay that can stand on a board. Then you can keep playing afterwards.
- Make salt dough. Mix flour, salt and water, and make figures that can dry. Look online for a recipe.
- Make a shop. The children make fruit and vegetables from modelling clay and sell them to you.
3 ideas with wood and markers
- Build and colour a town. Crateit Town comes uncoloured, so children assemble the houses and colour them themselves. The sets click together without glue and tools, and markers for wood are applied layer by layer, so the colours can be changed again.
- Colour a room. In Crateit Roomies children build a dollhouse room by room. Let them choose colours for each room, and let them change them when they feel like it.
- Make a colour test first. Try the markers on a piece of paper before you colour. Then your child can see how the colours work together. Read more in how to colour wooden toys with markers.
Creative for older and younger children
For the youngest, large sheets, thick markers and few steps often work well. Older children can do longer projects that stretch over several days, like a book, a comic strip or a town that grows.
It can also be a good idea to let older and younger children make something together. The oldest can help the youngest with cutting, and the youngest can come up with new stories that the older ones draw.
When your child says "I can't"
Some children feel unsure when they have to draw something specific. Here you can help by starting small. Draw a line, and let your child turn it into something. Or set a time limit of two minutes, so it is fine to make something wonky. Praise the process rather than the result: "Look how many colours you used!" instead of "How beautiful it is!".
You do not need to have the answer to what your child has made either. Ask: "Tell me about it", instead of "What is it?".
Tidying up
Make tidying up part of the play. Let your child sort markers, gather scraps of paper and wipe the table. It goes faster if you have a box for each kind. And put what your child has made somewhere it can be seen. It is nice to see your own work on the wall. If you need more ideas for quiet afternoons, you can also read what children can do when they are bored and playdate at home.
When you have very little time
Not every day has an hour to spare. Here are three things that can be done in ten minutes: draw a self-portrait, fold a paper plane, or make a little card for someone your child cares about. If you have half an hour, you can make a comic strip or a little town of modelling clay. And if you have a whole day, you can start a project that continues over the following days, like a book or a town in wood, where a little more is built each day. Let your child choose, and remember that it does not matter if the activity turns out shorter or longer than you expected.
Frequently asked questions
Which creative activities can 5 year olds do?
Draw a comic strip, make a collage, fold paper planes, make figures from modelling clay or build and colour a town in wood. Choose one activity at a time.
How do I get a child to be creative?
Make it easy to start with a box of materials, and let your child choose. Praise the process rather than the result.
What creative materials should I have at home?
Paper, markers, scissors, glue, tape and modelling clay are enough for most of the ideas here.
How long can a creative activity last?
It varies from child to child. Set a time frame of half an hour, and let your child carry on if they feel like it.
See Crateit markers for wood, applied layer by layer.
