5 simple crafts for 3 – 5 year olds

Arts and crafts are fun activities for kids. They engage their creative side and make room for learning and exploration. Arts and crafts are fun outlets for the imagination.
However, they also play a fundamental role in the development of critical skills and social functioning. Try these five crafting ideas to help preschoolers with their social, cognitive, and physical development.

1. Cupcake Liner Flowers

Turn cupcake liners into colorful, pretty paper flowers following these simple steps!

What you’ll need:

• Cupcake liners
• Buttons, pipe cleaners, and small pompoms
• Scissors
• White glue
• Masking tape
• Craft sticks, drinking straws, or unsharpened pencils

Instructions:

• Collect colorful or patterned cupcake liners; if the liners are white on the inside, turn them inside-out.
• Decorate the center of each cupcake liner using some of these ideas:
  1. Glue a button in the center of the liner
  2. Roll a pipe cleaner or yarn around itself and glue it to the center of the liner
  3. Glue a few pompoms to the center of the liner
• Glue an unsharpened pencil, drinking straw, or craft stick on the back of each liner
• Create several of these, and now you have cupcake liner flowers!

Melted Crayon Art

Create a colorful masterpiece to hang on your bedroom wall!

What you’ll need:

• Crayons
• Canvas (any size)
• White glue
• Blow-dryer
• Plastic or newspaper

Instructions:

• Unwrap the crayons from the paper covering it and break them into smaller pieces
• Allow the child to line up the crayons in their own way. They can do so by placing them all over the canvas or placing them at the top of the canvas.
• Glue the crayon pieces in place on the canvas.
• Before the next step, ensure that the glue has completely dried.
• Now it’s time to blow-dry.
• It will take some time for the crayons to melt, but be patient; a magically colorful surprise awaits
• Once they have melted, leave to dry, and your melted crayon art is complete!

3. Paper Cup Bunny Rabbit Basket

Create a bunny-themed paper basket to hold your treats and trinkets

What you’ll need:

• Paper cup
• Pipe cleaner
• Acrylic paint
• Paintbrush
• White card stock or construction paper
• Colored paper
• Scissors
• Hole punch
• White glue
• Googly eyes
• Small pompoms
• Cotton

Instructions:

• Take your construction paper or card stock and cut out two long ovals for the bunny ears. Make sure that they are in proportion to the paper cup.
• Take your paper cup and bunny ears and paint them. Here, you can choose whichever color you like
• While your paper cup and bunny ears are drying, take the colored paper and cut out a pair of smaller paper ovals for the ears.
• Once the paint is dry, glue a smaller oval in the center of each large one.
• Glue the bottom of the paper ears inside the paper cup
• Glue a pair of googly eyes on the paper cup, followed by cotton balls for the bunny’s snout, and a pompom for the nose
• At the mouth of the paper cup, punch a pair of opposite holes. The ears should be in front of these holes.
• Pull the pipe cleaner through the hole in the shape of a rainbow and fasten the ends of the pipe cleaner around the holes. This will create the basket handle.
• Fill your basket with your favorite treats, candies, and trinkets, and enjoy your paper bunny rabbit basket.

4. Button Tree

Go on a scavenger hunt for sticks and combine nature and buttons in this fun-filled project.

What you’ll need:

• Different colored buttons
• Sticks
• White glue
• Hot glue
• Poster board

Instructions:

• Go on a scavenger hunt and collect sticks of different shapes and sizes.
• Once you’ve gathered your sticks, sort them by size and arrange them on the poster board in the shape of a bare tree.
• Using hot glue, glue each stick in place on the poster board and allow it to dry.
• Once the glue has dried, take your buttons and white glue and carefully add glue to the bottom of the button.
• These buttons are your “leaves,” so place them around the sticks as you would leaves.
• Easy peasy, isn’t it? Now you have a button tree!

5. Salted Rainbow

What salty dreams lie at the end of the rainbow?

What you’ll need:

• Fine or coarse salt
• Red, yellow, and blue watercolors
• Water
• Three droppers
• Small plastic cups or containers
• Plastic lids

Instructions:

• Take the small plastic cups or containers and prepare your paint by mixing 5-6 drops of each liquid watercolor with one tablespoon of water.
• In the plastic lid, line the surface with salt and gently shake it to evenly spread the salt.
• Place a dropper in each paint cup or container.
• Use the dropper to drip paint into the salt. You will see the colors start to blend to create the different colors of the rainbow.
• For fun, poke your fingers into the salt to feel the texture.