November 1, 2005 9:51 PM
Kids' crafts
A reader wrote:
I feel like my 7 year-old needs a hobby, and I was wondering if you had any Christmas gift suggestions for getting him started.
Wow. I had fun working on this because it took me back to when I was a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed just-beginning homeschool mom - ready to try anything and everything with my four boys (Sophia was still just toddling around and the rest were not even a distant gleam). Looking up these resources reminded me of what fun we had doing these crafts. Now I've ordered them again to do with Maddy, Jonny, Jesse, Daniel, and Justin.
The idea is to give them a beginning taste of something. If they are interested, each of these activities can become more elaborate, requiring more skill.
Metal punching- which for children begins with thin metal and a simple tool - can progress to intricate designs using many different tools to produce lampshades, breadboxes, etc.
My boys loved this set to start with and we graduated to heavier metals with patriotic designs I framed and still have today.
Leather tooling - again, a simple kit to see if it sparks their interest - these could be used to make Christmas gifts:
If you have a small family, try finding a friend to share the cost and materials.
Paint-by-Numbers - These are still around, and amazon has over 200 different offerings - including masterpieces like The Last Supper and The Mona Lisa. For a real treat, get one for yourself too and paint your own alongside your child. He'll love you for it!
Any more suggestions from readers?
Posted in Mothering | Permalink
Comments
Our family went trick-or-treating last night around our relatively new neighborhood. We've been here for almost 10 months, and although we're out in our front yard a LOT - we still have a tough time meeting our neighbors - which we would really love to do. So, as we were out - we prayed that we'd meet new friends. On our way back after our 1/2 outing - we met 2 neighbors. Theresa and her 6 year old son Jackson live a half a block down. Theresa and I talked a little and she told me that her husband died 3 years ago and she's had to go back to work full-time. Couldn't imagine being in her situation and was so deeply grateful for our meeting. We talked about getting together and having playdates with our boys. So thankful that the Lord uses even Halloween to give us opportunities to love those around us.
Posted by: jenny fitzgerald | November 2, 2005 2:20 AM
Sculpey! Scrapbooks!
Posted by: floorplan | November 2, 2005 10:12 AM
A fun thing my eight-year-old daughter likes doing is going to pottery painting studios. They have all kinds of things for kids to paint, so it isn't too "girly" (think little ceramic frogs, lizards, etc.) as well as mugs which make great gifts for grandparents and other family members.
Posted by: mopsy | November 2, 2005 12:00 PM
Wood burning kits are great for boys, too. So are model cars, string art, boyish type latch hook, scratch art, simple carpentry, mosaics, ...really, there's tons of things for them to do. Keepers at Home has some wonderful projects...basic and easy to follow, usually, and they really try to keep their prices down.
Posted by: Holly | November 2, 2005 2:25 PM
what is Keepers at Home? A website selling products?
Posted by: floorplan | November 2, 2005 3:43 PM
Well, actually it is a homeschooling company...they don't sell curriculum per se, but products and books to round out the hs experience. Their prices are good...but I already mentioned that. They are pretty much no frills. I do not know the website...not sure if I could post it here, anyway...but you can google a search for it.
Posted by: Holly | November 3, 2005 11:33 AM
Thank you! will search.
Posted by: floorplan | November 3, 2005 9:33 PM
