Help with kids crafts!

[5 Little Monkeys]

We love art around here!! It's such a great way to entertain them while teaching them fine motor skills and it really brightens up our daycare space!

In an ECE course, I was taught that art is when we supply the kids with materials and let them go to town!! This is their chance to let their creativity go and they can do what they like (within reason of course lol) and crafts are when there is an end result in mind. When I first started my hdc, I didn't do many crafts because it was so ingrained in me that crafts were bad (seriously, the centres I worked in NEVER did crafts!!) However, I now do crafts for special occasions and for the occasional letter of the week craft. The footprints and handprints tend to be reserved for presents to the parents but every now and than we do paint our hands and feet for the sensory aspect.

Things we like to do here are....

*paint....I give them a paper plate or pie tin of paint. Things we use to paint with are brushes, fingers, sponges, cars, food,toothbrushes, marbles (I put a piece of paper in a pringles can and marbles dipped in paint and they shake the can)

*glue...for the younger kids I put glue all over their paper and for the older ones they get a bit of glue in a plastic dish with a spreader. Things they like to glue with are pom poms, googly eyes, feathers, random pieces of cut up paper, flower petals, random assorted pieces of shapes and animals, etc

*stickers are a big hit! They can place stickers on paper all day long if I'd let them lol

*glitter....I HATE glitter but every now and then I will bring it out. I put it in white glue and let them spread that around and I have some in a salt shaker that they can dump on their paper and glue. We also have glitter paint that they really like.

* bingo dabbers, markers, crayons and chalk are also things they like. I give them a black piece of paper when we do the chalk. I also have a chalkboard for just random play and they take turns

If I ever need a creative nudge (which is often, I am not creative on my own lol) I just check out pinterest!! Have fun