Simple Craft Ideas...

I'm just a tad bit creative. I don't spend lots of money on crafts, and we usually do them spur of the moment. Like today, I awakened at 5 something and was dreaming up some Thanksgiving crafts for the kids and I to make. Now that we're not able to play outside much, I'm sure I will be planning more crafts for the kids to make. Here are a few things from the past few seasons that we've done... ~Samuel's writing assignment: A construction paper pumpkin and a short story about our trip to the pumpkin patch. I had a similar idea after we came home from the apple orchard, but we didn't get it done. :)

Today's memory verse: 1 Thess. 5:18

Used: Colored jumbo popsicle sticks, assortment of buttons, glue (elmers & hot glue) and ribbon or cord of some sort.


~This past spring: Seed starting
Need: a couple packets of seeds and a mini-greenhouse from Walmart or Rural King

Cost: $5-6 per flat ( I didn't mind spending $ on this b/c it was a "homeschool project" and I'd be spending way more on plants anyway, once the garden was ready. It was an experiment this year. :)
**I learned that I should wait to start seeds till mid-April. We planted ours at the beginning of March and some of the plants were very leggy and weak by mid-May. The other option is to get a special light, so they get a healthy start**



**Other tip: Do this outside on a warm day. We did this inside and had a BIG mess!**

~Chalk art...
Need: Easel, sidewalk, or homemade chalk board (yay, for chalkboard paint!)

~Winter Craft: Snowflakes (used construction paper, glue, white crayon, and cottonballs)
Suncatchers~(Used: an assortment of uncooked beans and pasta, elmers glue, and a plastic lid. Let dry for a day, then peel out and hang in a window)


Family Tree: Construction paper, leaves, acorns, markers, hot glue
~This was a multi-step craft project. We made the tree one day. Samuel wrote the description on the trunk. Then he and I cut out the apples. We worked on writing our family member's names on the apples--which, if you don't see your name, don't worry...we haven't finished yet. Another day, we went on a nature hike at a nearby state park and collected pretty leaves and acorns. We came home and the kids helped me glue the leaves and acorns on. They loved it!


Here's our 2nd project from today: The Thanksgiving Tree. (By the way, none of these ideas are my originals) The kids and I went out and gathered twigs, found an old vase in the cabinet, cut out an assortment of leaves w/ construction paper, & tied a Christmas ribbon and some rustic twiney stuff around the vase. Then, we started writing down what we are thankful for on the leaves. The kids that were here for piano lessons also added theirs. Hopefully by the time Thanksgiving rolls around, we will have a tree full of colorful leaves w/ lots of reasons why we are thankful to God.

~Wood Working Projects: Justin has a jig saw and has made the boys wooden swords, shields, violins and bows (which they each painted), a barn, a garden sign (which they decorated and painted for their nana)...and probably a few other things I'm forgetting. The boys saw a video of some kids making wooden guns...so it sounds like that project is in the works. :)

~I do not save all of the kids' art work. I do take pictures and stick them in the photo albums, so we will remember what we made. I'm going to make a folder for each of the kids, and put their most creative works in there. That's on my list of things to do.

~Another project we have done is have the kids draw pictures of what we are reading. I have a stack of Bible story pictures from last spring when we did that w/ the kids in the evenings. (No photos, b/c, well, I'd have to illustrate their illustrations for ya'll) It was so much fun and I hope to get back to that now that Justin's schedule is slowing down. For this project, we don't read the illustrated children's Bibles to them. We read the King James Old Testament version Bible Stories. Good stuff...and they "get" it! They're learning on so many different levels too, b/c they're listening to the narrative, processing what the story's about, and then using their imagination and creativity to draw a picture of what they heard.

~Play Dough Recipes:

(I don't buy playdoh any more...it just doesn't last...and it's more fun to make it, play w/ it, then throw it out when it gets yucky)

Colorful Non-Edible Play Dough:

3 c. flour

1 1/2 c. salt

3 c. H20

2 T oil

1 T. cream of tartar

1 pkg. kool-aid

~Mix in saucepan and cook over low heat. It starts out very liquidy, then become more of a dough after you cook and stir. Store in an air tight container

Peanut Butter (Edible) Play Dough:

1 18 oz jar of creamy peanut butter

1/2 c. honey

2 c. instant powdered milk

1/2 c. chocolate chils

~Combine p.b. and honey in mixing bowl. Add instant powd. milk, 1/2 c. at a time till mixture forms a dough. Have children cover hands with powd sugar so that dough doesn't stick. Allow children to make shapes, small critters, letters, or numbers. Decorage w/ chocolate chips. Eat! (Use w/in 2 days) Taken from "The Stuff That Fun Is Made of" (great book! recipes for glue, paint, various clays, bubbles, etc...)

Craft Ideas on a Budget (or what to do when there's no room for crafts in the budget)

1. First, let me say, it doesn't take a "budget" to get a collection of creative things to make crafts out of. We all probably have enough change floating around our houses to collect it & go to Walmart or Hobby Lobby & get a small craft stash started. Also, there's ways to use what you have w/ out spending any money! (that's what I do! It may not match or look like a Martha Stewart project, but hey, we have fun and enjoy making memories)2. Shop right before school starts and STOCK UP! Crayons, markers, colored pencils, scissors, pencil boxes, glitter pens, clay, water colors and paintbrushes, sketch books, chalk, Elmers glue, and glue sticks are all WAY marked down during this season. Most of it was under $1 and if you don't care about buying Crayola, it's even cheaper.
3. Replace markers and crayons every now and then. I attended a workshop about "homeschooling" pre-schoolers or kindergarteners and they encouraged the parents to make "school" special. Not just give the little ones the box of broken crayons and colored-in coloring books. That was a good tip for me, and I threw all the nasty crayons and markers away and replaced them all at the beginning of this school year. It's much more appealing and inviting that way. :)
4. If there's absolutely NO money for crafts, ask for crafty items for birthdays and Christmas. Most Aunties and Grandmas love giving gifts like that!
5. If there's no money and no Grandmas around, get creative! I keep a tub of used gift bags, bows, and wrapping paper under my bed. There's tons of stuff in there to have fun w/! I also have a 2 drawer set designated for crafty things. It's mainly ribbons, some misc. scrapbooking stuff, left over fabric scraps, tulle leftover from my wedding, and some balls of yarn. I keep the kids' craft items in pencil boxes and a large clear plastic tub...along w/ pre-school/kindergarten workbooks, coloring books, and other things. I have a button drawer and a collection of shells, as well. It's amazing how much "every day" stuff can be re-used creatively. I don't by pre-made crafts...now that could get pricey. The huge boxes of pre-cut shapes are appealing, but it was around $10 and I thought, "Hey, we can just cut our own shapes out...plus, I don't have to worry about 10,000 colorful shapes getting dumped the minute we get home from the store!" Now we just cut out shapes, as needed. Plus, it's good practice for the kids, cutting, tracing, and following the lines. :)

~A few other Thanksgiving Ideas:
~Hand Turkeys: Trace hands onto a piece of brown construction paper. The thumb is the turkey's head...glue a googly eye on. Then put colorful construction paper or "craft-store" feathers on the fingers. Ta-da! A turkey. Glue to a jumbo glue stick. Now you have a turkey puppet!
~Hats: Pilgrim Hats and Indian Headdresses...I'm still thinking about this one. Barbara Rainey's Thanksgiving Book is an excellent family resource. There's a lot of interesting info about the pilgrims and our nation's founders. After we read through the book (the large print pages are geared more for younger children) I'm going to have the kids pick out a "character" (like Squanto, Chief Massasoit, or William Brewster... or someone) and let them make a hat so they can pretend and act out the story.
That's all of my crafty ideas for now. Whew! I wrote a book...but hopefully that sparks some ideas for you others. :)