Crafting with Babysitters In a Pinch

Can I just start this blog off with: I am sick to death of pictures of children online doing crafts that turn out perfect, AND everything is soooooo clean! Every craft I plan will inevitably be messy, and so messy that I will wish I hadn’t done it. Plus the ones the kids do don’t even come close to the picture of the craft they were making! So drop the expectations and remember that this should be all about fun, learning, sharing, and achievement for you and them.

As sung in “Frozen”; “Let it Go”! There is no such thing as a clean craft especially when kids are involved so have fun:

This month let’s do something simple, not THAT crafty and actually not that messy. As a family give each member (the more people the more fun) a blank sheet of 81/2″ X 11″ typing paper,

1. cut each paper into quarters (not the coin; cut it down the middle length wise and then again in the middle width wise so you have 4 sheets of paper).
2. Have each person draw pictures on the, now 4 sheets of paper they have.
3. When everyone is done drawing a picture on the 4 sheets they have combine everyone’s pictures together.
4. Now everyone takes turns telling a cohesive story with ALL the pictures everyone drew. Reshuffle the pictures between each person turn.

This is such a simple activity but it is so fun. All ages love to take turns telling stories with pictures they didn’t draw and figuring out what to say after every picture to make a story with a beginning, middle and end. If your children can draw and have verbal skills they can do this. Heck, you can even do this at an adult party and watch what you find out about each other.

A picture drawn during one of these story telling sessions! Try it…don’t be shy. Don’t be shy to ask what was drawn either because you can’t tell a story if you’re not sure what you’re looking at.