When kids get bored, let them use their imaginations with fun craft projects. The internet is full of creative art project ideas that are easy for kids to do and don’t involve fancy materials. Here are a few of my favorite kids craft websites that offer FREE instructions for games and crafts, as well as printable coloring pages.
Photo: Deposit Photos
1. Enchanted Learning
Enchanted Learning offers a limited number of FREE pages of crafts for young children. For a $20 annual fee (or $125 for a school subscription), members have access to thousands of printable and enlargeable maps, coloring and activity pages. Navigation is easy on this site, making it possible for children to find and print their own material.
2. First Palette
First Palette was created by a teacher and has lots of fun kid craft ideas that can utilize inexpensive materials. I love the dragonfly clothespins. Summer is the perfect time for those ever-popular pinwheels – why buy them at the dollar store when you can have the kids craft their own? Or have them create masterpieces with ice cube paint pops.
3. Highlights Kids
Highlights Kids is an Internet add-on of Highlights for Children magazine and includes crafts, such as making your own art caddy and building a tabletop soccer game. It also has an easy-to-read “explore” section that discusses science questions, like Why do dinosaur names end in -saurus?
4. PBS
PBS, the same organization that brought us Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood and Sesame Street, has a crafts-for-kids section on its website. It offers fun projects such as face-changing dolls, newspaper forts, potato sprout people and giant bubble wands from straws.
5. The Crafty Crow
The Crafty Crow was created by a homeschooling mom and is labeled as a children’s craft collective. The website gathers children’s crafts from contributors across the Internet and includes dozens of earth-friendly projects. The site may appear difficult to navigate, so use this tip: Go to the category list on the lefthand side of the home page. Find the age group that interests you and browse through the collection of projects. I found cute little bird finger puppets, tin folk art heart pins made from recycled tin cans and fun DIY games.
6. Kids Craft Room
Kids Craft Room was created by a primary school teacher with the goal of helping kids have a more hands-on, fun childhood with less interference from technology. The crafty website is divided into several sections, such as holidays, seasons and sensory. Try this project on how to make a paper plate llama, or these paper lavender flowers.
7. That Kids Craft Site
That Kids Craft Site aims to feature the funnest, silliest, messiest, most creative kids crafts around. The easy to navigate site offers themed sections, such as Space Crafts for Kids, among more traditional categories such as holiday crafts, bead patterns and printables. Check out their recipe for edible finger paint, made with pantry staples.
8. KinderArt
KinderArt organizes their crafts by grade level, which means it’s a one-stop craft website for all your artistic needs. Your kids can make their very own bug village with materials from nature or try their hand at beginner’s stained glass.
9. My Kid Craft
My Kid Craft lets you search their site with any parameter you can think of — age, grade, holiday, difficulty level and more. Have your toddler make this cherry blossom tree while your older kid works on this paper mosaic vase.
10. Nestlé Cereal
One unexpected craft website for kids is Nestlé Cereal. The company wants to help you recycle your old cereal boxes by turning them into crafts! Discover how to make a shadow puppet theatre, mini foosball table or a paper aquarium, all from leftover cardboard. (The page is U.K.-centric, so some of the cereal brands are different, but the craft ideas will work with other cereal boxes.)
11. Nickelodeon Parents
Nickelodeon Parents features numerous kids craft ideas, including party ideas, holiday themed crafts and make-your-own bath bombs. Print these PAW Patrol coloring sheets, or find some peace with this calming slime recipe.
If you liked this article, you might also like:
