Bits of colored paper, glue, and an apple shape cut from a cereal box make a bright and cheerful wreath and a fun and easy project for kids. These are the steps:
- Cut out the large section of a cereal box and draw out the largest apple shape you can. Big hands need to cut it because the box is sturdier than ordinary paper. Draw a line an inch or more inside the big one. Make a small hole on the line with the pen or pencil so that you can cut along the line, leaving an apple-shaped frame.
- Kids can rip pieces of red, yellow, and green tissue paper and glue them onto the wreath. Glue sticks are less drippy than white glue, but a plastic placemat or newspaper underneath the project will protect the table.
- When done, use a bit of yarn to make a loop at the top of the apple for hanging up.
Doing crafts with kids requires extra help and supervision but it is both learning and fun, supporting the development of many different skills. Any craft project will give kids practice following instruction but it also has room for creativity. As part of the process, kids are planning, organizing, solving problems, and making decisions. They are practicing matching their actions to language and using language as they listen and talk. There is a sense of accomplishment as kids see their work and a feeling of satisfaction that comes when they are done. Kids also get some experience using tools and developing fine motor coordination and small muscle control. The small muscles in the hands and wrists need lots of exercise and strengthening at this age.
This is only a small portion of the learning that can happen when kids do a craft project. Being comfortable and familiar with learning tools helps kids when they start school in kindergarten. Sometimes, the fun of crafts lasts all the way into the adult years. Will this apple wreath smile welcome on your door?