craft projects for girls 4-6

[gilamama]

Hi I am looking for projects to do with girls 4-6. I will have a few girls together and would like to do stuff they can really be proud of. I am planing on some cardboard paper dolls that can have necklaces, clothes, hair etc... I'd like a sewing project but I am not sure what. My dd does embroidery, but that is not strait forward enough for a group i think. Any ideas?

oh... and are they too little for tie dye?

[operamommy]

I would think finger crochet would be a big hit. It's very easy to do, and they can make chains, bracelets, and necklaces.

[sunanthem]

With your help, they are cetainly not too little for tiedyes! Just be careful. My son and I tie dyed this summer and he is 4.

I like doing crafts with my kids, too. I just went to the library and realised they had a bunch of books on just family crafts. I brought a few home and they had lots of ideas. I also like All Year Round which is a book about festivals of the year, but has lots of neat things to make.

You can make suncatchers by taking some contact paper or wax paper & iron, and put leaves, glitter, paper bits, etc in between and making cool suncatchers they can decorate their windows with, or make a bunch and make a mobile.
Windsocks and birdhouses for the yard are fun things they can all help out with. Birdfeeders, too, like the old pinecone peanut butter and birdseed....

[LaughingHyena]

I like these two sites for ideas

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/
http://familyfun.go.com

My 3 year old likes sewing on plastic canvas with a blunt tapestry needle and wool but I'd guess that it would be difficult to help several children at once. I do a lot of rethreading her needle.

Maybe decorating plant pots and planting bulbs. DD would love decorating a little trinket box, especially if glitter/sequins was involved.

I think tie dye would work if you used elastic bands to wrap the fabric, I'm not sure 4 year olds would be up to tying knots.

[KalamazooMom]

My DD started beading when she was 5 and loves it. For her 6th b-day party we had the kids do a beading craft. I bought lots of different kinds of beads and each girl got to do a necklace and bracelet. They had a lot of fun. We used the memory wire which I precut.

[gilamama]

Thanks all of you for your ideas. This is going to be an after school arts and crafts class at my home. My dd is 4 she embroiders but i dont know abt doing that with alot of kids.

here is what i have so far.

1make rubbings of leaves with crayons.
2 make a frame by decorating a frame shaped cut out of construction paper with glued on stuff tape the pic into the frame.
3 make medalion neclace. i give cut out circles with holes punched around the edges. girls decorate them, then "sew" yarn through the holes, making a necklace.
4make mobiles with tyeing together sticks and having 4 leaf rubbings hanging.
girls will cut out their own leaf rubbings.
5 make cardboard paper dolls that we will decoprate as ourselves. this will involve tracing the cardboard doll in order to make her clothes, cutting, glueing
5sewing pocketbooks for ourselveves. I will cut the fabric the girls will decorate it and there will be dots draws on the fabric where to sew it together.


i want to learn how to hand crichet like was suggested above. that sounds like alot of fun! i want to try it with my dd and see if she can do it.

[quietserena]

Finger knitting too.