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I love doing crafts with my daughter, but I usually get my ideas elsewhere and make them my own with the materials I have on hand. Below are some of those very ideas! Crafting is great because it helps with fine motor skills, creativity, and concrete learning. I share more of what I mean with each craft below.
Basic Materials Needed:
- Construction Paper and/or Finger Paint Paper
- Finger Paint (I used fall colors)
- Pom-poms and other various craft materials like tissue paper, pipe cleaners etc.
- Stickers, googly eyes
- Gluestick or bottle of glue
Craft #1
This is a super simple set up. I drew a pumpkin on a finger paint paper. You can draw any type of fall/autumn object or scene. Don't worry, your child won't critique your artistic skills. Put a dab of finger paint on a little plate and allow your child to dab their finger(s) in the paint and dot in the picture.
Skills Addressed
This type of craft activity helps your child to develop and strengthen fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. Strengthening your child's finger helps them prepare for writing, using scissors and maybe playing the piano one day!
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Craft #2
For this craft, I used brown construction paper and traced my daughter's hand/forearm. She loves to see the outline of her hand! I cut this out and let my daughter use a glue stick to paste it to a piece of white construction paper. Then, I chose some fall colors to look like autumn leaves on a tree and put a dab of each one on a plate. Using pom-poms, I let my daughter use an orange in the orange paint to dab leaves on the tree, and a green pom pom for green paint, etc. My nieces, who are elementary aged, did this craft too and added tissue paper and other materials they found to make a whole scene (completed art at beginning of this article). It'll be a tree you'll fall in love with since your child's hand is all over it!
Skills Addressed
This type of craft activity helps with color identification, fine motor skills, and using fingers cooperatively. As you pick the colors, you can ask/tell your child what each one is. This makes the color learning more concrete as it is a tactile way of learning colors. The use of pom poms for painting and a glue stick for pasting requires fingers to work cooperatively in a task. Pasting and painting also reinforce fine motor skill development.
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Craft #3 Version A
This is more of a learning activity and less of a craft, depending on your set up. I drew these candy corn figures and the numbers in each. Then, I had my daughter count out how many googly eyes matched the number. If your child doesn't do all of these in one sitting, it's okay! Using glue drops or a glue stick, I had her paste them on herself - as you can see the glob of purple glue below! To turn this into a craft, you can have your child finger paint/finger dab it in.
Skills Addressed
I love this activity as a tactile way of learning numbers and counting. I used this to reinforce numbers 1-5. Once I know she has mastered these, I will add more objects or use numbers 6-10.
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Craft #3 Version B
Same idea as above, but using stickers.
Skills Addressed
Stickers are such a powerful and simple way of helping your child develop fine motor skills. A lot of effort goes into peeling off stickers and this activity is a fun way to learn numbers and counting. I use this style of counting with stickers in a variety of ways. Sometimes I will draw a little road outline with numbers 1-5 next to them and use car stickers. Or I'll simply draw circles and have my daughter use smiley face stickers. Sometimes I'll add the number 6 to increase the challenge, but again don't get discouraged if this activity takes a few tries.
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