Getting Creative With Your Kids

Here we are full swing into the season…. of illness. I’m sure that many of you have had your fair share of sick days already! The extra snuggles are great, but if you’re like me, a full day spent on the couch watching cartoons doesn’t seem all that appealing. Especially by day 2 or 3…

So, how do you allow your child to take it easy, without spending an entire day watching the television? For me, the answer is crafts. I love the process of creation in a child.

Watching my son figure out how his muscles work with those fine motor skills is fascinating to me. Not only is my son expanding his creativity, he is also practicing math. He counts the number of stickers he used, he uses science when he experiments what happens when you mix certain mediums together.

Now, you may be wondering, “Well, we are stuck at home. What kind of crafts can I do without running to the store for supplies?” The answer is simple, anything. Do you have breadcrumbs in your cabinet? How about oats? Why not use those bread crumbs and/or oats to allow your child to glue onto a picture? (This is also great for sensory play!) Those bread crumbs can allow for a great fish picture or anything else that your child may come up with.

Do you have pasta? That pasta can be used to string onto string into a necklace or even onto a spaghetti noodle. Apples and peppers also make great stamps when they are cut in half. If you have sugar and salt, why not make some play-dough together? (There’s some science for your little one in there!) Boxes, water bottles, 2 liter bottles, bottle caps, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, shaving cream etc can all be repurposed to use for crafts.

What about all of the possibilities outside? Why not turn those pesky pine needles into a paint brush or those leaves into a stamp? Have pinecones outside? Allow your child to explore their creativity and see what 3-D object that they can create using a pinecone. (Hey look, there’s some geometry for you). Painting rocks is another huge hit. (You could even let them know that they can hide their rocks for others to find once they’re feeling better).

The possibilities are endless when you let your child’s imagination roam. Now it’s time to grab out that extra tissue paper! Allow your child to invent new ways to think about the world around them. Make sick days (or even break days) fun again and put down that remote.

~Ms. Aleyana
Wellness Coordinator
School Age Lead Teacher