Autumn is fast approaching, and with the change of season, now is the perfect opportunity to engage in some family-friendly crafting projects. Crafts have long been a great way to keep kids entertained, engaged and help them to work on their fine motor skills. But for the projects to be successful, they need to feel interesting, fun and age-appropriate, making sure kids don’t feel overwhelmed by the steps involved.
If you’re a foster carer who is on the hunt for some fabulous crafting ideas, here are three autumn-themed projects that could be perfect.
A Pinecone Mouse Is the Perfect “Pet”
Most kids love animals, so why not give them a chance to make their own “pet”? The pinecone mouse is a quick and simple craft that can be done by even young kids, provided you’re there to help them. For this craft, you’ll first need to head outdoors and collect a pinecone.
Other supplies needed for the pinecone mouse include:
Begin by cutting small ears from the brown felt. Next, cut a square out of the felt that is the size of the base of the pinecone. The children will then need to cut indents in the square to represent two front feet. Next, glue the pinecone to the felt feet base, glue the ears on and glue the pom-pom on to act as the nose.
Apple Season Is Perfect for Homemade Stamps
Autumn signals apple season, which leads to other fun crafting projects. Your children can use apples as a stamp by cutting the apple in half and then dipping it in paint. Stamp the apple onto paper and they will see it makes a pumpkin shape. They can then use paint, markers, pens and crayons to decorate their pumpkins. It’s the ideal autumn décor.
A Leaf Collage Can Be Beautiful and Creative
Collages give children a chance to tap into their inner creativity and imagination. This craft begins with a nature walk where the children will need to collect leaves of different colours, shapes and sizes. Once home, you’ll need some glue and plain white paper. From there, the children can make all kinds of fun animals and scenes out of leaves.
You can also give them other crafting materials to add to the collage such as string/yarn, pom-poms, popsicle sticks, sticks, pipe cleaners, googly eyes and more.
Ensure You’ve Got Crafting Supplies on Hand
The final tip is to make sure you’ve always got crafting supplies on hand. You can put together a crafting storage container filled with a variety of items so that when the mood strikes, you’re ready. You can dedicate some of the funds from your foster care allowance to build your stock of supplies, and make sure that you restock as items are used.
Don’t forget that some of the best supplies are found in nature, which means they are free. So, encourage yourchildren to collect leaves as they fall, pinecones, twigs/branches, rocks and other potential crafting materials.
If you’re looking for a fun way to keep foster children entertained this autumn, these crafting projects could be exactly what you need.