The development of a 5-year-old is full of emotional extremes and contradictions. At this age, many children are still in the not-so-distant past childhood and preschool years and the future “grandchild” phase. The following craft ideas and activities have been put together specifically for your little one and are designed to support themearly childhood developmentadjusted. The Advent and Christmas seasons are ideal for crafting with 5-year-old children.
Crafts with 5 year olds: table runner made of paper snowflakes
There are two most addictive things when it comes to Christmas crafts: pompoms and paper snowflakes. And a 5-year-old child can cut a line along a line with children's scissors. Making paper snowflakes can help children create theirDevelop cutting skills and fine motor skills. And the best thing about it is that there is a little surprise in every unfolding. This makes the little ones even more excited!
Take a sheet of A4 size paper (21 x 29 cm) and fold it into a triangle. Trim off the excess so you now have a perfect square. Fold this triangle in half again, then again. Cut the bottom and paint a pattern. Now cut out the points and lines. Now carefully unfold the snowflake and voila! A beautiful, symmetrical snowflake!
To make the table runner, arrange the snowflakes on the table and then tape the edges together with small strips of tape. To really show off the white snowflakes, place jute fabric underneath. This creates a festive, wintery and inviting table decoration with a vintage flair!
Crafting with 5 year olds: Scented play dough
Homemade play doughis a wonderful way for children to explore their creativity and experiment with different shapes. Play dough improves sensory learning and can be used to make Christmas ornaments. The Christmas motifs will then bewith beads and sequinsdecorated.
Ingredients for mint play dough:
120 grams of flour
1 tablespoon oil
200 ml water
50 ml peppermint essence
80 grams of salt
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
Green food coloring
1 Tablespoon Glitter
Place all dry ingredients, flour, salt, glitter and cream of tartar in a saucepan. Add oil, food coloring, peppermint essence and water to the dry ingredients. Stir everything with a whisk to remove lumps and mix the ingredients well. Then warm the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens.
Pour the mixture onto a clean surface and knead it flat. If the play dough becomes a little sticky, sprinkle a little flour on the surface.
Let the play dough cool down before the children play with it. Store the dough in a zip-top plastic bag or airtight container.
For crafting you will need Christmas cookie cutters and all kinds of beads. First, the play dough is rolled out with a rolling pin. Then the cutters are pressed into the dough. Now the children can let their imagination run wild and decorate the ornaments as they wish.
If you want to make play dough that smells even more Christmassy, you can add the following spices:
2 tablespoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon nutmeg
The brown mixture looks almost like real gingerbread dough.
Making Christmas presents – making soap with 5 year old children
Ironing beads are available in three different sizes and in numerous colors. Children aged 4 and over can play with the normal ironing beads. These small craft beads are perfect for making Christmas gifts. Here is an original idea for DIY hand soap with a toy in it. These soaps would make the perfect gift for teachers, grandmas, aunts, mothers and pretty much anyone who loves getting practical gifts.
Here's what you need:
- Ironing beads and pegboards
- Melt & Pour soap base
- soap molds
- Essential oils (optional)
- iron
1. Let your child create different designs using the iron-on beads. Make sure they fit in the soap mold. Here you canfind some nice templates.
2. Follow the instructions on the ironing bead packaging to iron the craft beads.
3. Cut the soap base into small cubes and place in a microwave-safe bowl.
4. Heat the soap base in the microwave for 30 seconds. Remove the bowl from the microwave and then stir the mixture well. Microwave for an additional 30 seconds or until the soap is completely melted.
5. Pour the melted soap into the soap mold.
6. Add a few drops of the essential oil to each soap mold.
7. Place the iron bead creations into the soap molds and press them down. Allow the soap to harden completely.
8. Wrap the soap in cellophane and add a ribbon and a handwritten gift tag!
Stenciling with 5 year old children
ThisChristmas tree art projectis perfect for toddlers and preschoolers and is easy to create using the simple sponge technique. An empty cereal box is used for stenciling. Self-adhesive rhinestones and glitter glue add shine and glamor to the Christmas tree. Preschoolers can also practice their cutting skills by cutting out gifts from scrap paper and gluing them under the tree.
What you need:
empty cereal box
Pencil or marker
Scissors
White cardboard
Masking tape or painter's tape
Acrylic paint in 2 or more shades of green
Painter's palette or paper plate
Sponge brush set or anything you can use to create different textures when painting
Self-adhesive rhinestones
Glitzerkleber
Golden glitter paper
Leftover wrapping paper
Glue stick
1. Cut off the front or back of your cereal box. Fold the cardboard in half and draw half a tree on it. Cut it out, unfold the tree template and glue it to the white construction paper. So that the whole thing doesn't move while painting, you can fix it to the table with adhesive tape.
2. Add the colors to the color palettes. Have the children stencil by dabbing the various sponges first into the paint and then onto the paper. When the white background is filled with all shades of green, carefully peel off the stencil and allow the paint to dry.
3. When the paint is dry, it's time to decorate the tree! There are many options here, but self-adhesive rhinestones and glitter glue are very suitable. Cut a star out of gold glitter paper and glue it to the top of the tree.
4. Finally, have the child cut out squares and rectangles from leftover wrapping paper and stick them under the tree as gifts. The preschoolers really enjoy cutting with scissors.
This Christmas tree art piece is just as pretty as the real one! If you can't part with it, you can give it to the grandparents or another special person in your child's life.
Sun catcher in an ice look as a window decoration
Winter days can often be rainy and dreary, but when the sun shines through the fresh air it is breathtaking. This suncatcher captures the winter sun so beautifully that you'll want to hang it in every window and on every tree. We'll tell you how you can make it with children in the winter.
What you need:
two plastic lids – flat and clear
Mug (microwave safe)
Popsicle stick (or spoon)
Epsom salt
cord
Water
Nadel
Pen (blunt pencil)
Scissors
Hot glue
Carefully cut out the inner circle of one of your plastic covers (yogurt or Pringles lids work perfectly!). Cut as close to the edge as possible. Discard the border, but keep the inner circle for later.
Carefully poke a hole in the edge of the second plastic wrap with a needle. You can use a blunt pencil to widen the hole. You'll need to thread your string through the hole later.
Make your brine. You must use equal amounts of water and salt. For example 1 cup hot water and 1 cup Epsom salt. Place the water in a microwave-safe cup and microwave for 45 seconds. Add the salt to the cup and stir for 2 minutes.
When the salt has dissolved, place your second plastic cover with the small hole in a sunny location. Pour your brine into the lid without overfilling it! Then let it sit for about 4 days for the crystals to form!
Once your crystals are ready, you can close the pendant. Carefully glue the plastic circle over the crystals. Be careful not to crush the salt crystals, they are fragile. Finally, thread about 5 cm of the string through the hole and tie a knot.
What happens in this experiment?
They discovered that Epsom salt produces crystals when dried. When you stirred the salt into the water, the salt didn't disappear. It has just been dissolved or mixed in the water. Then, as you let your suncatcher sit to dry, the water escaped from the dish into the air. This is called evaporation.
Epsom salt does not evaporate, so it remains in the bowl. As the water began to leave the bowl, there was less and less room for the salt pieces to dissolve into the remaining water. Small parts of the salt begin to separate from the water! The pieces of salt have grown together to form the crystals you saw. This is called crystallization.
Show your 5 year oldChild these cool craft ideasand let him choose his favorite! All projects are very simple and can be implemented with simple materials. Have fun!
