As any mother would know, it is hard to keep your child occupied for long periods of time. Children usually have a notoriously small attention span, making it difficult for their caretakers or parents to breathe in peace. It is especially beneficial to have some activities lined up for your child if you crave some time to yourself and also want to help your child improve in the meantime.
Activities for children have to be chosen carefully, as a lot of their mental and intellectual growth depends on what they do during the formative years. An exercise that can work the brain while also intellectually stimulating the child can have a telling effect on their development. Therefore, it is imperative that parents choose the activities that their children do with great care.
Fun Creative Activities for Children
1. Cut and Glue
Using scissors is an activity that all children take some time to learn and is an important motor skill too. This is one of the creative craft activities for kids which helps them build their creativity and also create memorable pieces of art.
What You Will Need:
- A pair of scissors
- Coloured paper with predetermined shapes
- Glue
- Drawing paper
How To Perform:
- Encourage the child to cut through the predetermined shapes on the coloured paper.
- You can start with simple shapes and make them complex once your child gets a hang of it.
- Let him stick the cutouts on the drawing paper to create an artwork.
2. Sticker Fun
Stickers were some of the best aspects of all our childhoods, and they also have beneficial effects on the child. Stickers help build motor skills, as the child concentrates on peeling it off without damaging the paper body, and it also teaches them to be patient.
What You Will Need:
- Stickers
- Drawing Paper/ or a book
How To Perform:
- Give a wad of stickers to your child, and encourage him to peel them off and stick them the way they like in a book or on a drawing paper.
- This helps build their creativity, and the resulting artwork is sure to be one to keep for ages.
3. Raised Salt Painting
A tried and tested favourite among children, salt painting is ridiculously fun to do and also an activity that helps improves the child’s creativity. Salt painting can bring out a real potential for art among children, no matter how disinterested they seem at first.
What You Will Need:
- Epsom Salt
- Food colour in varied colours
- Glue
- Drawing paper
- Pencil
- Paper plates
How To Perform:
- On a paper plate, add a few drops of food colour on some Epsom salt and mix. Repeat this process for all the colours the child wants.
- Let your child draw his favourite shapes and patterns on the drawing paper.
- Help him apply glue on the designs and then pour the coloured salt over the glued areas.
- Let it dry.
4. Drawing With Oil Pastel
Although it is not strictly an activity meant for children, oil pastel painting is highly stimulating and also fun to do. Encourage your child to draw various shapes on a canvas, and fill it in a variety of ways.
What You Will Need:
- Oil pastels
- Drawing paper
- Baby oil
- Cotton buds
How To Perform:
- Let your kid draw his favourite things on a drawing paper with the oil pastels and fill in the colour. Encourage him to make as many shapes as he wants.
- For a fine, painting-like art effect, give him some baby oil and help him smear it on the painting with a cotton bud.
- The baby oil can make any art look vibrant and deserving of being hung on the refrigerator.
5. The Back-And-Forth Drawing Game
Creative games for kids, such as this one, require active participation from the parent, and can greatly help in bringing your child closer to you. This game involves drawing a common image alternatively, so children are forced to think on their feet and make stuff up as the game progresses. This stimulates creativity in your child, as the game becomes harder with each step.
What You Will Need:
- Colour pencils/ crayons
- Drawing paper
How To Perform:
- Start by drawing an unassuming picture on a paper, and pass it onto your child.
- The child is to add something of his own accord to the image.
- Both of you then proceed to build on the drawings of the previous person.
Read all the 15 activities here: https://parenting.firstcry.com/articles/15-best-creative-activities-for-kids/