Children's Activities

Creating crayon rubbings is a fun way for children to express themselves artistically without making much of a mess. A fun and easy project is to make a collage of nature rubbings.

An educational and enjoyable craft for children of all ages is making sponge gardens. The project can help children learn about germination and that seeds need certain conditions in order to grow, such as moisture, warmth, and sunlight.

A fun and easy way to keep children entertained for hours is to make modeling clay at home. In fact, making the clay can be just as fun as playing with it.

When you're children have run out of store-bought play dough or are in the mood to create something on their own, you may consider helping them make their own play dough.

While there are many varieties of finger paints on the market that are safe and fun for children of all ages to use, children can also make their own finger paints at home that are just as safe and enjoyable.

A simple and fun craft project children can enjoy at home is making musical instruments. It's also a convenient project because children can keep these instruments as toys and continue enjoying them for years to come.

There are many ways to make hand puppets at home that are more creative than the traditional brown paper bag puppets. Children of all ages can enjoy these projects.

Unless a child has a natural artistic ability, it may be difficult for him or her to draw or paint a self portrait that is strikingly similar to the way he or she really looks.

Stamping and printing crafts can be fun projects for all ages. A simple stamping craft is to cut up sponges into various shapes, dip them in paint, and stamp designs on a piece of paper.

Changing your family's all season's banner can become a favorite tradition with your children. Here's all you need to do. Take a large piece of felt and fold over the top two inches.

Big kids can have fun creating and telling stories with puppets. While making brown bag and paper plate puppets are challenging to toddlers, this age group might prefer the more intricate process of making sock puppets.

While the phrase eating 'like a bird' implies very little food is consumed, if you place a bird feeder in your yard, it'll seem like those feathered friends eat constantly.

Candle-making can be an easy and fun project for children, but adult supervision is needed at all times since heat will be used. To begin, gather your supplies.

Ring and coin toss games can help children develop their motor skills. You don't have to wait on a carnival to enjoy these games; try making them in your home.

Egg coloring doesn't have to be done with vinegar and little dye tablets. You can make each egg a work of art. Follow these instructions, and you won't have to crack open your 'egg-stra' special creations, either.

Many children love to explore new ideas and create things, so turning your kitchen into a mini science lab is sure to be a hit. Don't worry. You won't need any special equipment, and these projects make a minimum of mess.

Children know that when they drink water, it goes down into their body to help keep them healthy. This first experiment shows how plants drink from the bottom to the top.

Felt is a versatile craft material, and especially easy to work with. One of the most popular felt projects is the felt board. Begin by helping the children cover a shirt-box-sized piece of cardboard with black felt.

Edible craft projects can be a big hit with kids. Would your children like to snack on ants on a log? You'll need pretzels or celery sticks, peanut butter, and raisins.

Paper mache (muh-SHAY) projects can be messy, but they're lots of fun. To make these sculptures, you'll need shapes to use as the skeleton for your creation.

What adults often view as trash, children can use to create toys. Coffee can stilts are a time-honored toy you grandparents may have played with, not even realizing they were 'recycling.

Even an afternoon of errands can seem endless when children are bored with riding in the car. Here are a few games to help pass the time. The first is license plate alphabet.

Word cards can be a fun, easy way to help your child begin to master reading. A simple way to begin word card games is to teach your child the short phonetic sounds of a vowel.

Asking 'how does your garden grow?' can have a entirely new meaning when you're asking your children about their very own crystal garden. Crystal gardens appear to be a bit magical and kids seem to be fascinated by them.

If your children aren't interested in eating their vegetables, maybe you can interest them in growing them. Sometimes a child will eat something they've grown when canned veggies are unappealing.

Here's an idea for custom gift wrap. Buy a roll of white shelf paper and a big package of stickers and let younger children decorate the paper with stickers.

Children love to display their art work, and a mobile is a wonderful way to do it. A coat hanger makes an excellent base, and is particularly easy to hang when the project is complete.

Jewelry-making is a fun and creative activity, which can be adapted for kids of all ages. If you have toddlers, set them up with macaroni and food coloring.

Journals can have a two-fold purpose: they hold wonderful memories that can be enjoyed many years later, and they can give a large boost to a child's reading and writing skills.

In elementary school classrooms, there are frequently labels on all of the objects in the room. This game is a version of the classrom practice, and can be adapted for elementary school children or preschoolers.

Many children get a lot of enjoyment from the colors of pretty leaves and flowers, but they're often sad when the flowers wilt. Here's one way to preserve those treasures of nature.

Collage boxes are containers for storing all those odds and ends that are perfect for creating collages. As you find scraps of lace, buttons, even pieces of foil or drinking straws, place them in your collage box.

Making pinatas (pin-YAH-tuzz) from paper mache (muh-SHAY) can make a mess, but they're a fun project. To create one, you'll need shapes to use as it's skeleton.

For melted crayon pictures, younger children may need some help from a grown-up, but older kids can probably do this activity without assistance. Waxed paper, brown paper bags, a vegetable peeler, and some old crayons are all you'll need.

Any child can be an author of a book, even the smaller kids who can't yet write can create picture books. You can help your younger children by suggesting some themes.

Microwave ovens not only heat your food, but they can help you cook a great dough for creating ornaments for any festive occasion. Ornaments to decorate a bookcase, a mantle piece, or a Christmas tree.

A game of basketball or a round of golf doesn't have to be canceled because of rain. Just make mini versions to play indoors. A basketball hoop is an easy project.

Making ice candles requires lots of hands-on participation of an adult, but it's usually a hit with children. You'll need a small tin can, candle wax, some crushed ice, a popsicle stick, wick string, a small sauce pan, and wax dye if desired.

It's always fun to take a nature walk, whether there's a hint of autumn in the air or spring has sprung. When kids are along, the important thing is to take it slowly.

Children often find food tastier if they make it themselves. Here are some ideas that are safe for young children, since they don't involve the stove or oven.

Children love frozen treats, and the best part about these is they're not just good, they're good for you! The first recipe requires popsicle sticks, wax paper, a cookie sheet, and ripe bananas.

The fun thing about treasure hunts is the thrill of the chase. The 'treasure' doesn't have be a big, expensive prize. A piece of candy or something small is enough reward because of the fun of the hunt.

The next time you're at the discount store and see plain T-shirts or sweatshirts on sale, buy a few, because they make great canvasses for your child's artwork.

Even before they master the skills of tennis, most children love bouncy tennis balls. Here's a rainy day project that lets them enjoy tennis balls when they can't bounce them.

Kids love trying something new almost as much as they love playing in water. Combine the two by having the kids paint without paint. If you have pre-schoolers, give them a pail of water and a large paint brush each and send them outside to paint the house.

As much fun as puzzles are, they aren't as exciting after they've been put together eight or ten times. The challenge just isn't there. Here's how to get a never-ending supply of puzzles--let your children make their own! They can use their artwork for their puzzle design, or they can use photographs from magazines.

Kids love secrets, especially ones they're in on. That's what makes invisible ink so much fun. Here are a couple of recipes for invisible ink, but remember, the ones which require the use of candles definitely needs adult supervision.

With a few crayons and some candle stubs, kids can create anything from doll food to dinosaurs. A word of warning: this is an activity that definitely needs considerable adult supervision.

Kids love to sew, and your children can make simple sewing projects even if they aren't old enough to use a sewing machine. A child who's able to handle a needle and thread is capable of making bean bags and pot-pourri (POE pour-ee) sachets (sah-SHAYZ).

Are you and your children interested in recycling? Here are three fun ways to recycle tin cans. This first one is a version of stilts. Take two large cans and several feet of rope.

For generations, children have enjoyed walkie talkie tin cans, also known as tin can phones. This toy employs the use of sound waves and is simple to construct.

Weaving is an ancient craft that performs a double-project duty with children. Kids might like to weave because they think it's fun, and parents or educators like the fact that it helps develop or improve hand-eye coordination.

Weaving paper is a simple activity many children enjoy mastering. You'll need two sheets of construction paper for this project, and it seems to help if they're different colors.

This funny-looking octopus doll may end up being a favorite toy because your children can make it themselves. An octopus doll requires yarn, ribbons, and rubber bands.

Children can be involved in decorating the Christmas tree in more ways than just helping to hang the ornaments. They can actually make some of the ornaments at home.

Children can be involved in decorating the Christmas tree in more ways than just helping hang the ornaments. They can actually make some of the ornaments at home.

Easter is a great time for children to get involved in craft projects. One project that's fun and also useful is a milk carton Easter basket. Have your children make the baskets a few days before Easter so they'll have their own basket for hunting eggs.

One of the best known symbols of Hanukkah is the dreidel (DRAYD-uhl), which is a four-sided top with a Hebrew letter on each side. The letters mean "a great miracle happened there" or "a great miracle happened here," depending on which translation you use.