All posts tagged: Spring

Paper Rainbow Craft

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We’re a bit late to the party with our April season tree, since it’s now May.  April usually means April showers, but we decided we needed something more cheerful (not to mention easier to make!), and settled on rainbows. The pictures pretty much speak for themselves, but a quick how-to follows the pictures anyway. If anyone has any bright ideas for our May decorations feel free to share! Take seven sheets of coloured paper and arrange them in rainbow order. Cut into strips of equal width (ours were about 2cm) Trim the strips so that each is around 2cm shorter than the next. Staple the ends. Cover the staples with cotton wool (or white paper) clouds. Hang as a garland, mobile or branch decoration.    

Spring sheep decorations

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“The thing about doing crafts with small children”, said my sister, “is that it seems like a fun idea, but it almost always ends up being really annoying.” She has a point.  It can be incredibly frustrating, to the point that sometimes the effort, mess and irritation seem to outweigh the potential for enjoyment and prevent you even getting started. But she had got me thinking. What makes for a good arts and crafts session with the under-fives, and how do you mitigate against the inevitable irritations? We certainly haven’t cracked it yet, but I have found a few tricks to make it go more smoothly. Keep it short and quick. Small child = short attention span. If they show signs of getting bored, stop. Pick something they can make from start to finish in less than 15 minutes. They lose interest if they don’t see results. Get everything ready before you suggest the activity.  They want to get started RIGHT NOW and won’t want to sit quietly in front of a tempting pot of glue …