What are the benefits of crafting with children? Honestly, there are sooo many! Making sure your kids are expressing their creativity is an essential part of growing up. There are a ton of great benefits to crafting with your children.
There is no negative to crafting, and it’s a great experience for children to help develop them to amazing adults.
Here are ten of the many benefits of crafting and staying creative. I say ten but I could probably think of lots more reasons why it benefits and helps kids to craft.
With each benefit, I’ll make some suggestions for crafts that our Critters have created that help with the mentioned benefit of crafting (and more).
1. Provides An Outlet For Emotions
Being creative with your children allows them to express themselves through art.
When creating projects, allow for some areas where the children get to decide what type to make or how to decorate something.
For example, if you are making an animal craft, allow your child to decide what animal to make and how they want it to look.
If they want a pink elephant, great!
It’s about showing them that self expression of their emotions and feelings is positive.
This will help the children to understand that emotions are okay to share and release. When they have stressful events they will have an outlet to release emotions in crafts or art.
They will have a positive outlook on life because they won’t repress emotions or hide them. Mental health issues are huge right now and I always encourage my littles to talk about their feelings.
CRAFT IDEA: paper bag puppet – Help them create their own paper bag puppet, then act out a play! Encourage them to put their emotions into the script for their play.
If they do not want to make a puppet you can take a plain paper plate and draw a face on it. I did this tonight with my kids.
My little girl drew a happy face, despite being in bad form all day, and my little boy drew an angry face. He was cross all day but did not tell me why until he drew the picture. When I asked him why he drew a grumpy face he was able to tell me what the issue was and I was able to put it right!
Sometimes kids do not want to talk but they will happily draw their feelings for you, and this then gives them an opportunity to talk about them!
Mental health benefits of crafts and discussing emotions
2. Planning Skills & Concentration
When creating crafts you need to decide on a plan and follow it through.
Using the same example as above, we create an animal craft.
The child has to pick an animal, how they want it to look, what supplies they will need and how they will put it all together to create their vision.
This benefit of crafting teaches them to problem solve, and plan.
It also instills the idea of having a goal or vision and planning what they need to achieve that goal or vision.
They will also gain confidence in themselves after seeing that their plan came together beautifully.
CRAFT IDEA: Paperclip Bookmarks – Let them plan what to create on their bookmark. Then use this to mark the spot in their journal.
Learn how to make a paperclip bookmark
3. Fine Motor Skill & Dexterity Development
A lot of crafts involve a variety of different aspects: from cutting, gluing, and manipulating items.
This benefit of crafting helps children to develop their dexterity and motor skills.
Cutting out their own things (with safety scissors) will help them develop their fine motor skills.
Bending and twisting things, like pipe cleaners, will develop those fine motor skills and make it fun too!
Great objects for this are pipe cleaners and play dough!
CRAFT IDEA: pipe cleaner butterfly – Exercise their dexterity skills with the bending of this pipe cleaner butterfly. The details of the bending pipe cleaners in this craft will also exercise their fine motor skills.
4. Learning With Different Learning Styles
CRAFT IDEA: paper tissue snowman – Verbally teach them how to do this paper tissue snowman. Show them our pictures for visual reference. Physically show them how to start.
Even once it’s done, it feels fuzzy to add some textile aspects. This is also great for sensory stimulation as our lots of my craft ideas.
There are three main learning styles:
- Auditory
- Visual
- Kinaesthetic
Auditory Learning:
You teach them through auditory learning by reciting the instructions to them verbally. This will allow them to hear and understand how to create the craft.
Visual Learning:
Visually you can show them our step by step pictures of the craft. This will allow them to learn the craft visually as well.
Kinaesthetic Learning:
And, lastly, to physically teach them: show them with your hands and allow them to try – guide them through the steps.
With crafting you will help children to learn through all of these styles. This will help make schooling easier and learning easier.
5. Provide Multicultural Understanding
CRAFT IDEA: make a native American dream catcher. Teach the Native American meaning of the dream catcher, and how these will keep away those scary dreams!
Creating crafts from a variety of cultures is a great way to teach your children about other cultures and traditions. It is a fun way to show that all cultures are equal and fun to learn about.
This will give them an understanding of a variety of different people and make them more accepting of everyone.
This can be especially beneficial in preventing bullying.
If children are aware of other cultures, they will be more understanding of children in school that have different beliefs and rituals.
If there are children with specific eating rituals, or clothing that is different, your children will be accepting of it and may already know why they eat certain ways or why they dress that way. It becomes “normal” to them and they see no need to point it out or bully.
No one is seen as different because of this benefit of crafting.
6. Associating a Positive Response to Learning
CRAFT IDEA: create an ocean themed pencil holder.
When crafting with children, be sure to always teach them something with each craft. Teach them about the creatures that live under the sea at the same time.
If you are making a craft of an animal, teach them some facts about that animal.
This benefit of crafting will allow them to associate crafting with learning, and in turn learning with fun. This will help with schooling and make the kids excited about learning, even when not crafting.
For our example, we make a pencil holder. It’s great fun to make this craft, but also the result is quirky and bright so the kids want to use the item afterwards. It’s a great way to get them to organize things, stay clean, and promote drawing, writing, etc.
The children get to see that all their hard work made this great item (like our pencil holder) and they will be so proud to use it.
7. Bonding Between Children (in classroom) Or With Parents (at home)
Working with your children on crafts will enhance bonding between the child and parent. Why not set some time each week for craft activities with your child. This is extremely rewarding for them.
It allows you to work together with them to create something fun and beautiful.
Rather than sit your child down to craft while you clean, involve yourself in the craft and teaching them. This is a great bonding experience.
This is also helpful within the classroom, or with siblings.
Create this bonding atmosphere by having them help each other, show each other their crafts, give each other ideas, etc.
CRAFT IDEA: Make some folded paper crafts like these – Have the kids read each other’s fortunes. Great way for kids to play together.
8. Confidence And Self Expression
CRAFT IDEA: create a beautiful folded paper fan – Encourage the children to decorate this as a display of their personality.
Children will learn that it is fun to express their creativity and feelings. They will:
- become confident in their decision-making abilities
- want to show off their crafts, and be proud of them
- be excited to see what they can create all on their own
This is a great way to build their self esteem, as well as allow them to express their emotions.
It gives them a way to let off steam if they are upset, or put their energy into the decorating. Plus it takes them away from the screen!
Creativity is mental benefit of crafting
9. Make Decisions and Choices
This benefit of crafting gives children the ability to decide on what type of craft to make, how to go about making it, how to design it, etc.
It will give them confidence in making their own choices, and thinking about what choice to make.
To ensure that you are maximizing this benefit:
- have the children brainstorm what they want to create
- tell them to draw out a sketch or template
- get them to explain to you what they want to make, what they need and how they will make it
CRAFT IDEA: make a critter bookmark (like this bumble bee) and allow kids to decide how to cut the pieces of foam to create their critter.
Only help them if they request you to do so.
10. Stimulates Neural Activity
Creativity and crafting gets those brain waves moving and keeps children mentally active, even if they aren’t being physically active. It is important to keep your brain stimulated.
CRAFT IDEA: make some creepy crawlies. And don’t only make the craft: plan how to place these little guys to give someone a startle!
Crafting is a great way to keep children exercising their brain through summer break (without them realizing they are still learning).
Why not craft with your kids? These are just a few of the benefits. Even just one of the benefits of crafting is a great personal growth experience for your children.
Some of these benefits apply to adults too, so you would benefit as well from crafting with your children.
Want to see more great reasons to craft? It makes you happier AND healthier.
Check out this awesome article on why crafting makes you happier and healthier.
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Do you Agree with these Benefits of Crafting with Children?
Hi there, I’m Laura an avid kids crafter with two little ones of my own to keep entertained! I have been doing kids crafts since 2018! Here at Easy Crafts for Kids you can find seasonal crafts for all age groups, as well as drawing tutorials, coloring pages and some other fun printables!