Crafts for Boys = Messy, Muddy, and Hopefully Dangerous
Max, my grandson, has informed me sternly that black, silver, blue and sometimes green are guy colors. Purple and pink? For girls. I didn't contradict him, because at my library, when doing crafts for boys and girls at storyhour, I'd seen the boys' hands gravitate to the green beads, leaving the pink and purple for the girls.
From then on, I was careful to make sure that the kids crafts I offered at storytimes had a universal appeal. When we did the arm-bracelets out of toilet-paper-rolls-wrapped-in-tinfoil, the girls made beautiful princess bracelets decorated with stick on gems, and the boys made super armbands. The matchbox car craft, running little cars and trains through paint and then on to cards, was a giant hit. "I never realized he liked this," I heard one mum say.
Boys may seem to be perpetual motion machines, but they'll need to develop fine finger strength to succeed in school. Do your little guy a favor and make sure he has plenty of fun guy arts and crafts that will give him those opportunities.
From then on, I was careful to make sure that the kids crafts I offered at storytimes had a universal appeal. When we did the arm-bracelets out of toilet-paper-rolls-wrapped-in-tinfoil, the girls made beautiful princess bracelets decorated with stick on gems, and the boys made super armbands. The matchbox car craft, running little cars and trains through paint and then on to cards, was a giant hit. "I never realized he liked this," I heard one mum say.
Boys may seem to be perpetual motion machines, but they'll need to develop fine finger strength to succeed in school. Do your little guy a favor and make sure he has plenty of fun guy arts and crafts that will give him those opportunities.
Who knew? My grandson is making JEWELRY?
Brush & canvas? Naaaaah!
Try Spray Bottles, TireTracks, Balloons, Squirt Guns... And, yes, Beads.
Fine Japanese paintbrushes?
Nahhhh! Use matchbox cars!
This one was a megahit after I tried it for my cars and trucks storytime. It was as if the cars were driving through mud! What could be better! Ethan’s mom was shocked. “I never knew he liked to paint.” Uh, huh. With a MATCHBOX car!I used alphabet stencils to add to the confusion. I had some nice letter stencils the moms taped to the papers with a tiny piece of double sided tape. After the kids had thoroughly experimented with the paint, the letters were removed to reveal the letter in blank space.
Two little brothers were horrified at the idea of getting paint on nice clean treasured matchbox cars, so I gave them paintbrushes. A lot of kids wanted paintbrushes too, and that was nice. I let them experiment as much as they wanted.
Photo: TF Sherman
Fine Japanese Paintbrushes?
Naaah! Toilet paper rolls with bubblewrap taped to the ends
Fine Japanese paintbrushes?
Nahhh! Here are 40 alternatives, most of them in your kitchen. Check them out: Visit Nurture Store
Play with your food!
If you can eat it, it must be OK. In the picture above, Max is building a house out of (stale) miniature marshmallows and toothpicks. How can you go wrong with these ingredients? Dab on a little food coloring with Q-Tips.
Fooling around with glop
If it's sloppy or slimy, it must be OK.
Ooey AND gooey
Cornstarch & Water Oobleck
These people claim they’ve taken their oobleck to the next level and I believe them. They make it dance.Photo Courtesy: Housing a Forest
10 Things for Boys to Make out of Playdough
So is Playdough just for little girls pretending to bake? (As if boys don't like to mess around in the kitchen too.) Nahh. Make these Playdough Assignments1. Get out some hammers, saw and screws for practice. (Maybe not real ones at first.)
1 A volcano, with or without baking soda module
2. Boulders for matchbox cars to crash into
3. Monsters with or without googly eyes
4. Robots with or without screws and washers
5. Lego mortar
6. Goop or blood for action figures (add some water)
7. Lego size cannonballs
8. Meteorites
9. Dinosaur fossils
10.Snakes
1 A volcano, with or without baking soda module
2. Boulders for matchbox cars to crash into
3. Monsters with or without googly eyes
4. Robots with or without screws and washers
5. Lego mortar
6. Goop or blood for action figures (add some water)
7. Lego size cannonballs
8. Meteorites
9. Dinosaur fossils
10.Snakes
Buy Now
Number 11
Holly, Rachel & the Quirky Mommas simply roll out that playdough, stick in some Legos, and voila! A Lego puzzle! Make it as hard or as easy as you like, and yes, Duplos work too.
Nature Crafts: The Great Outdoors
Making things out of stones or sticks must be OK. Crayons and coloring books are OK once in a while, but a whole world outside waits, filled with shells, sand, rocks, sticks and...mud. Finding a feather in the grass, spraying the sidewalks with water...ho
50 Fantastic Things
Making a birdbath out of CEMENT! Making a WIND VANE! A NESTING BOX! Prints of MUSHROOM SPORES! It's like these authors speak the language! Not apple dolls, apple monsters! A bug collection device called a pooter. Great how to pictures with complete lists of materials, diagrams with measurements, and photos of kids doing the actual craft.
Buy Now
Dangerous Crafts
Open Flames, Sharp Nails...Testing, Testing, Testing
Remedial Origami
I can mix up a pot of oobleck and explode bars of soap in the microwave happily. But origami? My eyes cross after the third fold.Nevertheless, when Origami Yoda came out I did find a super easy six-step step, and I was determined that even I should be able to do a simple six-step. This is how I conquered my origami challenge: I made the first fold. Then I set that aside and made the first and then the second fold. Then I set that aside and made the first, second, and third fold. I know, I know, but it worked for me, and when I was through, I stapled all six fold steps to a sheet of paper (I had used sticky notes) and set it out for the kids to imitate.
And he’s a pretty cute dude, huh?
Photo: origamiyoda.wordpress.com
Origami & Etc.
A spatial challenge guys love, but while they're folding, their fingers are being strengthened. So keep those paper airplanes coming.
The way to a boy's heart....
Dinosaurs and danger
Want your little guy to succeed in pre-k without even trying? He'll need small motor coordination, and coloring in coloring books are great for that. Change it up for him now and again though; buy him some scissors and colored pencils. Both will require him to work on that tripod grip he'll need to hold a pencil. Boys' fingers need to be strong and agile too.
Guys craft
Great sites for crafting with boys
- Top Ten Pinterest Boards for Kids' Arts & Crafts
- EVERYTHING!!!
- Red Ted Art
- 35 Crafts for Boys
- Sandy Toes and Popsicles
- At play in the fields of the Lord...
- Melted Crayon Planets
- Grate the peeled crayons on to a paper plate, nuke the darn thing for a mo, take it out and swirl it around and then voila! You've created a new planet!
- All for the Boys
- Crafts and activities designed for boys.
- Kid Activities
- Something for everyone here, from hot rocks to shaving cream.
![Trash Origami: 25 Paper Folding Projects Reusing Everyday Materials [Full-Color Book & Instructional DVD]](http://i1.squidoocdn.com/resize/squidoo_images/160/a32f135c0b9e0ef64ac7add8bdec517f.jpg)
Osmosis Art: Mouse Puppets
1. Splotch magic marker on a paper towel.2. Add a drop of water, and watch the miracle of osmosis.
3. The little mousekins have pink punch-eyeball eyes and yarn tails looped through their punched out bottoms.
4. Because they’re made of paper towels, they’re soft and flexible.
*The 7-year-old enjoyed experimenting with markers and osmosis just for itself, especially when he discovered that some black markers broke down into blue and brown and others did not. Science + art!
Tissue paper on shelf paper
Take some shelf paper, and gather up scraps of tissue paper, gift paper, torn paper scraps, confetti — what have you — and make a collage the super easy way.The trick for separating shelf paper? A piece of tape on either side and PULL! Magic, huh?
No comments:
Post a Comment