Crafts are fun for children of all ages. We researched and tested the products to find the best craft kits for kids. Craft kits aren’t just fun; they are beneficial and help children build and improve many skills. Here are ways crafting is good for kids
Encourages creativity: craft kids can help encourage creativity and imagination in kids. When kids are given material and freedom to create, they can come up with all sorts of unique ideas and creations:
Develop Fine Motor Skills: Crafting involves a lot of fine motor skills, such as cutting, gluing, and painting. These skills help improve hand-eye coordination.
Boosts Self-Esteem: Completing a craft project can give kids a sense of accomplishment and boost their self-esteem. They can feel proud of the effort they put in creating their projects.
Teaches Patience and Perseverance: Kids can learn to work through challenges and mistakes and learn to keep trying until they achieve their desired result.
Provides a break from screen time: Kids spend so much time on phones and other devices; crafting can provide a much-needed break and allow kids to engage in a hands-on activity that is fun and educational.
Why is crafting great for kids?
Crafting is great for so many reasons.
Cognitively It helps children say focused, helps with eye-hand coordination, and enhances concentration, visual processing, sensory stimulation, and fine motor skills.
It also helps with bilateral coordination. Bilateral coordination is using both sides of your body at the same time. This could mean using both hands simultaneously to roll out play-doh or holding a piece of paper in one hand and cutting using scissors with the other hand.
Crafting can help improve problem-solving skills. When a child is making their craft, and something doesn’t go right, or they make a mistake, they will have to problem solve to fix it.
Creating craft projects also helps to increase imagination. When crafting, children have the ability to use their creative side. They can design anything they want.
Encourage them to create new things, such as making up a new animal, creating a new planet, or even designing their own castle. The ideas are endless.
Crafting can also help children emotionally by building confidence. Children are proud of the craft projects that they make. It can help with self-expression. Children can express themselves through the artwork that they make.
Doing different craft projects also helps children with delayed gratification. In this day and age, children often want things now or on demand. Taking their time to create a craft project helps them learn that some things take time.
Creativity for Kids Grow N Glow Terrarium
This Kids Grow N Glow Terrarium craft kit is a fun mix of crafting and science for your child. I purchased this kit as an activity for my 6-year-old daughter. She loved it.
It took about 30 minutes to put together and decorate. Not only did she enjoy making her terrarium, but she also enjoyed watching the plants grow as well. As a lesson, I had her track her plant daily to see how much it grew. I recommend this kit for children ages 6-10
What is a terrarium?
A terrarium is a small garden that grows inside a clear glass or plastic container. A terrarium is similar to a small greenhouse.
How does a terrarium work?
The plants and soil in the terrarium release water vapor within the sealed environment. The vapor cannot be released and trickles back down to the plants and soil, so the water recycles itself.
What are the best plants to grow in a terrarium?
The best plants to grow inside a terrarium are small plants that grow slowly. These plants include:
Ferns
Carnivorous plants such as Venus fly traps (kids get a kick out of those)
Dwarf plants
peperomia
Air plants
Succulents
What does Grow N Terrarium Kit come with?
The Grow N Glow Terrarium kit comes with everything you need to grow and decorate your very own terrarium. The kit comes with
A plastic jar
decorative star lid
potting mix
organic chia and wheat grass seeds
garden figures
a plant mister to keep your soil moist
decorative sand
River stones
glow in the stickers to decorate and light up your terrarium
The kit comes with step-by-step instructions on how to put together your terrarium. The directions are easy and is great for children ages 6 and up. Below you will find instructions.
Step 1:
add your soil to your plastic jar
Step 2:
Add the sand
Step 3:
Add more soil
Step 4:
Mist the soil
Step 5:
Add the garden figurines
Step 6:
Add your seeds. The kit comes with enough seeds to grow two sets of plants.
Step 7:
Put on the lid
This craft kit is a great way to introduce growing plants to your child. The plants will start to grow in about 3-4 days.
Once the terrarium is completed, children will only have to mist the soil approximately every other day to keep the soil moist.
This craft makes a great activity for a birthday party, summer camp, girls’ scout’s project, or school program activity.
Some people have asked what happens if you accidentally throw out the seeds. The kit comes with chia and wheat grass seeds. If you accidentally throw out the seeds, you can purchase new ones at your local garden store or on Amazon
How long do the seeds take to grow?
The seeds take approximately 3-4 days to start growing. Long enough for delayed gratification but not too long, where the children start to lose interest.
Do you need to water the terrarium?
Yes, even though the water is recycled, you must water the terrarium every other day. The kit comes with a soil mister to use.
How tall will the plants grow?
The plants will grow as tall as the jar. If you take the lid off, they may grow out of the jar.
Box dimensions 3.6 x 9.8 x 9.8
Fuse Bead/Perler Bead Craft Kit
Best big kid craft
When I was a child, I loved making fuse bead projects. Let’s face it; I love making them now. Fuse beads, also called Perler beads, are so much fun and keep kids busy for hours.
They are a great craft for both boys and girls and unlike most craft kits, I recommend them for older children ages 7-adult. I will say that fuse beads/ perler beads are small and a choking hazard, I would not recommend them for young children.
To complete any fuse or Perler bead craft, you will need the beads, bead board, iron, and ironing paper.
Because this craft is so much fun, I recommend purchasing the large fuse bead/ perler bead bucket. This bucket comes with 22000 beads in assorted colors.
It sounds like a lot, but each project uses a lot of beads, so this will come in handy. Also, you want to have many of the same colors available so that children will have the colors they need to design their projects. Perler Bead Bucket
Perler Bead. Bucket
This large bucket comes with 22,000 beads in 30 different colors. It also comes with reusable ironing paper.
After purchasing the bucket of beads, you will need the bead boards or peg boards. Various pegboards are available, including animals, people, flowers, and more. I recommend this set. I have used them in a summer camp program, and the kids loved them.
Perler bead pegboards. The one to my right is available on Amazon. This set comes with 7 pegboards, including a monkey, boy, girl, butterfly, teddy bear, and two flowers.
I also like the plain pegboard set below. Children can use their creative side and design anything they like with the boards below. My daughter liked Nightmare Before Christmas. We googled Perler bead Jack Skellington, and a picture came up that was easy to follow. We just printed it out and placed the Perler image under the square, and she could fill in the square to match. It came out great.
Fuse Beads/Perler beads are so much fun. It’s a great activity for an after-school program, summer camp, party, or a rainy or cold day. It’s fun for any day.
Sometimes my daughter likes to turn her project into a magnet. After the project has been ironed and is cool, we hot glue a magnet to the back.
How do you use Fuse Beads/Perler Beads?
Fuse bead/Perler beads are fun and easy to use. All you need are the beads, a pegboard, an iron, iron paper, and your imagination.
Using the beads, fill in your pegboard in any design you want. Make sure the pegboard is filled in, do not leave spaces in between your beads.
After completing your design, have an adult melt your beads using an iron. You will want to remove all the water from your iron and place it on the cotton setting.
Put the included iron paper over your design, then have the adult iron your project by placing the iron on top of the iron paper and letting the beads melt underneath. This takes about 1-3 minutes. let cool for one minute and remove the design from the pegboard.
Your design is now melted together and yours to keep.
Can you Reuse the Pegboard?
Yes, pegboards are completely reusable. Once your design is melted and cooled, pull it off from the board. Then the pegboard is free to be used over and over again.
Can you Reuse the Beads?
No, once the beads are ironed and have melted, you cannot reuse them, even if you break your design apart.
How Long will it take to Complete this Project?
This will depend on how much thought a child puts into their design and how big of a pegboard they choose. I would give the child at least one hour to complete this project.
Made by Me Window Art Craft Kit
Window Art Kit
This is an awesome craft kit! In this craft kit, you will be able to create window clings and sun catchers to hang in the window. This window art kit has the ability to create 20 little window craft projects to keep your little ones busy for a while.
Included in the box:
12 sun catchers
12 suction cups
1 Acetate sheet
Three tubes of window paint
One glitter paint
string
instruction booklet
To make the sun catcher, you need to fill in each design with the sun catcher paint. After they dry, use the included string and suction cups to hang your art from the window.
The window clings were fun to make. The instruction booklet included tracers for you to use to create the window clings. Some of the tracer drawings include a rainbow, a sun, and a flower.
Place the acetate sheet over the drawing. Trace the drawing with the included black paint.
Then fill in the drawing with the window paint. Once it’s completely dry (I let mine dry overnight), pull your design off the paper and stick it to your window. No cutting is required. Feeling creative? Use the black paint to draw a design on the acetate sheet.
This craft kit includes everything. All you will need is something to cover the table with.
What if I run out of paint?
The kit comes with enough paint to complete all the included projects. But, if you run out of a color or want to paint with a color that was not included?
No problem, you can use any sun catcher paint or glass stain. These paints are available on Amazon, Wal-Mart, Michael’s, or any local craft store.
How Long does this Craft Take?
My daughter, aged 6, completed the sun catchers in about 30 minutes. It might take a little longer if you have an older child who may pay more attention to details.
My daughter wanted to create her own window clings; she worked on those for a while. We did not do both on the same day.
How Long Do the Window Clings Take to Dry?
When my daughter drew out her window cling design, it took about 3 hours to dry completely.
You must ensure that the paint dries to the touch before adding other colors, or it will run and look like a mess. We learned this the hard way. After it dried and she painted in her design, we let it dry for 24 hours before removing it.
Make a Wind Chime Craft Kit for Kids
What is a Wind Chime?
A wind chime is a decoration made from various things such as metal, plastic, and even shells hanging from strings and rods. A doorway, window, or porch usually hangs them. When the wind blows, they make a musical sound.
In this craft kit, children will have the ability to design and build their very own wind chime. Once they finish their craft, it can be assembled and displayed.
Included in the box:
2 small terra cotta pots (approximately 1.5 inches each)
paint strip
paint brush
string
Five wind chime rods 2 3/3 inches long
Your child will have fun painting and designing their wind chime. Once it is completely dry, it can be assembled. The pots each had pre-drilled holes at the top, which was good because I did not know how to use a drill. Assembly was not hard, but it was something I had to do. My 6-year-old daughter could not put it together herself.
The wind chime was about 6 inches long when fully assembled. We hung it on the try in front of our house. So far it has held up well. We haven’t had any heavy storms lately, but it stayed in tacked during the last rain shower.
I would recommend this craft for ages 5-10.
How Long will it Take to Complete the Wind Chime?
The wind chime is very tiny. It’s a cute project but small. It will not take longer than 30 minutes to complete.
What Kind of Paint Can you Use on the Terra Cotta Pots?
The kit comes with the paint. You can also use acrylic paints on the pots.
Will the Wind Chime Make Noise?
When you hang it up outside, you will hear a light noise when the wind blows.
How Long do the Pots Take to Dry?
After my daughter painted the pots, we left them on the table for about 2.5 hours. They were completely dry when we checked on them.
I recommend this art kit for children ages 6-10
Magnetic Mini Tile Art
Let your child’s imagination run wild while they create masterpieces on these cute little tiles. My daughter loved this craft kit. She used it on one of her play dates with her bestie.
They had a blast painting different designs on their tiles. They also used Sharpies to complete their design. This is a cute craft for a party, play date, summer activities, school break activity, or any time.
This cute craft kit comes with the following:
Ten 2×2 inch ceramic tiles
Peel and stick magnetic backing
Six paints, including both primary and secondary colors. The colors that come with the kit are yellow, blue, pink, orange, green, and purple. The paints are non-toxic and washable.
Paintbrush
idea book
How Does It Stick?
This kit includes ten magnetic backing pieces. Once your craft is completely dry, just peel off the back of the magnetic and stick it to the back of your tile. Then your tile is ready to hang on the refrigerator, locker, or any metal surface. To ensure the magnets stayed on, I reinforced them with hot glue.
Can you use markers instead of paint?
Yes, you would have to use permanent markers. We tried it with Sharpies, and it worked great.
How Long did this Craft Take?
Because it only came with ten tiles, I had my daughter and her friend think of their designs and draw them out on paper before painting them on the tiles; this made them take a little longer to complete the project. It took them about an hour to complete the craft. They took their time designing the tiles.
Box dimensions 6.2 x 2 x 8.5
I recommend this craft for ages 5-10
In conclusion, craft kits provide numerous benefits for kids, from fostering creativity and developing fine motor skills to boosting self-esteem and teaching patience and perseverance.
In addition, craft kits offer a break from screen time and provide a hands-on activity that is both fun and educational. By engaging in craft projects, kids can learn important skills and develop positive traits that will serve them well in the future.
Overall, craft kits are a great tool for parents and educators looking to provide children with a fun and enriching activity that promotes learning and personal growth.
