Learning with Crafts – Arts and Crafts that Support Learning #31DaysOfLearning

Hi, I am Maggy from Red Ted Art and I am excited to be part of this special 31 Days of Learning series. As you can imagine, Red Ted Art is all about arts & crafts. Art of course has its own special place in terms of educational resources, and KiddyCharts even has an article with advice for teaching art. However, I also love that learning with crafts involves lots of additional “hidden” learning opportunities too. Just think – a simple bath bomb project, is in actual fact a SCIENCE project.

Origami is all about maths and special awareness (and if you are making our origami bookmarks (see below) you are also encouraging literacy skills.

Sewing and clay projects are about developing dexterity, finger strength and fine motor skills.. and more. So I as part of this 31 Days of Learning Series, I wanted to share with you, some of my favourite arts & crafts that promote learning in more ways than one!

Come along and try these learning with crafts activities out with us all today, and any other time you feel like it.

1. Paper is incredibly versatile and there are so many fun paper craft projects to can make. One of our favourite activities of the years have been these Paper Spinner Toys (with free printables). They are easy to make and are a great STEAM project – an opportunity to investigate colour theory, pattern making and sequencing with kids. Do grab our free printables and have a go.
2. As mentioned above, Origami, is a great for special awareness and maths skills (think of all those perpendiculars/ parallels/ triangle folds etc). One craft that kids adore on our site, are these Origami Bookmarks (worksheets available for convenience!). Learn how to make this oh so basic and forgiving origami project and then create one of these many Corner Bookmark Designs. Something to suit all interests and seasonal activities! Let kids be inspired and then create beyond our own ideas!
3. We love working with air drying clay. Creative Pinch Pot Ideas are fantastic  for dexterity, finger strengthening and fine motor skills. There are of course many more Air Drying Clay Projects to try with kids; however, pinch pots are really easy, look great and also make wonderful gift. A great theme for kids of all ages to work with.
4. Or how about making your own Bubble Mixture – there are lots of activities and learning opportunities for bubbles! From bubble science (can you make a square bubble?) to bubble art projects and simple bubble language skills for toddlers.
5. Have a go at papier mache and using this fantastic DIY paper mache recipe. A great way to teach kids about recycling, being environmentally friendly ( the recipe only needs flour and water) and of course also makes for great Papier Mache Projects!
6. We also briefly mentioned trying this Bath Bomb Recipe! It is a fantastic lesson in chemistry. You can even try out different recipes with different ingredients and discuss which works best! E.g. how does this Cream of Tartar Bath Bomb Recipe compare to this Citric Acid Bath Bomb Recipe? Which one has more fizz and why?
7. In this day and age, it is really important to teach kids to sew! It is running the risk of becoming and “instinct” art that kids can no longer do. And yet, we still need nurses and surgeons with sewing skills… we will all need to sew on a button one day (let’s avoid the throw away society of discarding a clothing item that only needs minor repairs) and of course it is also fantastic for those fine motor and sequencing skills. The key is to find the right sewing project for kids – keep it simple, do it often.. and eventually children will progress to their own bigger projects! We started of with some super simple felt hearts. And they made great gifts for family too!
8. Finally, a little conservation and biology project for you – find local natural materials and combine them with a plastic bottle to make these super duper easy Bug Hotels! Then place them in the garden, wait a few days and start recording what visitors you get! Maybe make different bug hotels containing different materials.. do they attract different visitors?

I hope, that with these crafty examples, you will join me in agreeing that there is so much more to learning with crafts than “just” creating (though creating in itself provides a lot of pleasure), but that children can really learn and grow by having a go at a variety of crafts!

Thank you to Kiddycharts for letting us visit today!!

We hope that these have inspired you both to help you kids to learn, but also to pop along and visit Maggy’s wonderful blog as well.

If you are still looking for some other activities for the kids that involve learning, then don’t forget we have the other wonderful posts in this series, plus lots of other fabulous activities on the site:

Thanks so much for coming to see us, and do sign up to our newsletter for more of the same fabulous learning fun now and in the future. We produce the newsletter weekly, and we are always sharing great ideas, tips, and printables with our readers.

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