It’s never too early to start teaching your little one about creative crafts. Creative crafts are a fantastic way to stimulate their senses, inspire what will hopefully be a lifelong passion for creativity and most importantly, allows everyone to let their hair down a bit! The idea of “creative crafts” may strike horror into the hearts of many parents, with perhaps nightmarish scenes of paint-splashed faces, clothes and walls coming to mind, but not all creative crafts will require you to redecorate the house upon completion. Today we run through a few of our favourites. Please note that some of these crafts require parents to prepare items in advance, while other crafts allow your baby to participate right from the beginning.
Discovery Bottles
What are discovery bottles? Essentially these are water bottles which you fill with objects that will interest and teach your baby, along with water. For example, a sea themed discovery bottle could feature sand and seashells. The noise created by the shells, sand and water moving as your baby shakes and moves the bottle will really capture your baby’s attention and can be a great way for you to introduce new concepts to your baby. Other bottles could include different miniature animal toys, dinosaurs, feathers, or anything that your child could be interested in. To make discovery bottles even more rewarding, involve your little one in decisions about what will be in their chosen bottle or bottles and assembling discovery bottles together make them more meaningful for your little one. Discovery bottles are great because you can use any water bottles you prefer, although we recommend using more robust, reusable ones rather than just soft drink bottles, just make sure the bottles are tightly shut and unopenable with small hands to avoid any mess or choking hazards that may arise if your baby was able to open the lid. There is a plethora of ideas across the internet on how to make the best discovery bottle, but whatever you choose, these are a fantastic, simple, and cheap way to nurture a young imagination.
Finger Painting
Yes, it’s a little bit messy, but it’s got to be done! A little bit of prep makes this fun activity much more manageable and ask any parent who’s done finger painting with their baby, it is completely worth it. To prepare, you’re going to need some kind of tarpaulin or easily cleanable surface to sit and work on. As paint will likely get on clothes, we suggest everyone either wears old clothes that you’re not worried about getting paint on, or if the weather is warm, not wearing much at all! Some parents buy little baby art smocks which are quite simply adorable. Make sure to use edible paints, and while these tend to be expensive online, a quick search online will show you that it is very easy to make home-made edible paints at very low cost. It’s really important to let your little one freely explore all the new sensations that hand painting offers, try not to worry too much about any mess. Working with paint and all the new sensations is something most babies find extremely fun so try to enjoy it as much as you can with them, you may find you have the makings of a young Picasso! There are many useful tips and articles about finger painting online including no-mess options such as cling film art, and you can adapt any activities to the response and interests of your child.
Boxes
Playing with boxes is a great way for babies to enhance their motor skills (essentially skills that require the precise movement of muscles). By using boxes, your baby can experience the joy of ripping and pulling and throwing, while not destroying years of important paperwork or priceless book collections. You can easily use any boxes you have around the house, such as cereal boxes and shoe boxes, wrap these in newspaper or colourful wrapping paper and then allow your baby to explore them as they want. Stacking boxes, knocking them over, and rebuilding them will help your little one develop a variety of skills and provide another fun, low cost way of encouraging creativity.
