Craft Books for Kids

[rainsmom]

My dd is finally interested in crafts. I have some books on hold "toddler busy book" and "preschool activity book" from the library......but wondering if you all have seen any youd recommend. I havent seen the inside of the above books, so any comments on these would be appreciated too!

I also saw one called PIONEER CRAFTS......and it had instructions for all kinds of things from dolls to candles etc. For much older kids though. My dd is only 2 1/2.

[hydrangea]

We have several books of crafts for toddlers and preschoolers by MaryAnne Kohl that are very good. She even has one (that I actually haven't seen) called First Art: Art Experiences for Toddlers and Twos. If it's anything like her other books, I am sure it is excellent.

[rainsmom]

thanks ! that looks like a good one!

[Queen Gwen]

For toddlers, process-oriented crafts are better than results-oriented crafts (in other words, it's okay if the craft doesn't turn out looking like anything in particular). MaryAnn Kohl is great at this. Another book is Dribble-Drabble Art (I forget the author and age range -- sorry).

The woman who wrote the Anti-Coloring Books has a book for younger children entitled Young at Art, which is a great guide to exploring art with young children. She covers what stages children go through in developing artistic ability and what you can do to support them.

There are also lots of arts and crafts websites...some results-oriented, some process-oriented. You might have fun trying a search on something like "toddler crafts " and see what turns up.

[rainsmom]

Thanks!

I have Young at Art.....its great, especially for the the development info. But I was looking for projects more than anything......

[chicklet]

My dd is so crafty she puts Martha to shame!! Our favorite craft book is Crafts For All Seasons. It may be a little advanced for a 2 1/2yo but there are a lot of crafts you can do with her, like paper bag puppets. Maybe she can glue a pom pom on for the nose, you can put on google eyes. The book uses a lot of things around the house, which is convenient.