Crafting with multiple ages

[playfelt]

Also do not feel you have to do a craft that goes home at the end of the day. If parents want their child to paint they can let them do it at the table while they are making supper, etc.

When I have mostly younger ones I tend to do more open ended stuff like playdough and less crafts that require me to have precut stuff which is a shame because I love crafts. But I also make games for them such as cutting hearts out of assorted colours of felt or foam and then they make a design on a board, remove and play again - ie no cutting or gluing for the kids.

Yes they love to show off to parents what they have made but are just as happy to show a scribbled page as something I helped them make. Parents need to get over the need to have my handicrafts on their fridge too - very slow process for sure.

Crafts during morning nap works well as it also cuts in half the number of kids you are crafting with. With the others I tend to spread the glue on the pieces as they don't have the strength for the glue stick and then let them put it on their page wherever they want. I move around the table doing a piece for each then back to do second piece etc. Art is simple such as colouring a tree and gluing on three apples I have cut out. I also do not do crafts daily - 1-2 a week. Anything involved is sometimes spread over two days such as making part of it and then adding to it the second day so the time spent each day is short or we do it in two sessions that day to maintain interest.

A lot of what I do is for the skill so I am more likely to give them strips of paper to cut with scissors into bits and then let them spread glue on a page and put the bits on it. It isn't about the art - it is about learning to cut with scissors and the art is just giving a purpose to the what they made while practicing the skill.