Fall has rolled in and so have the crafts! My three-year-old is starting to show some interest in creating artwork so I’ve been looking for kid-friendly options to do with him.
I’ll admit, he’s more of a builder than a crafter. He likes the figure out how to put things together and then take them apart again. Unfortunately crafting doesn’t typically work in a “put it together and then dismantle it” sort of way.
I’m a crafter (I like hot glue guns and a good pencil) but I don’t know that he and I will be very compatible in the craft department. Oh well. Less mess for me I guess (lol).
Anyway, I thought this activity was a good start to learning some essential crafting skills that he will need. Things like following directions, problem solving and using glue.
He also got to rip paper (kids love that!). That also was good practice for him. It’s a fine motor skill to be able to rip paper in the size and shape you want. My boys are both very good at ripping paper…into ten thousand tiny pieces, which is not what we wanted for this activity.
It took E a few tries to figure it out but eventually, we got what we needed. (With some “help” from my one-year-old who mostly threw paper around the living room.)
I had pre-cut the cardboard so then all we had to do was glue the ripped paper down.
We had fun, even with my one-year-old running through the kitchen trying to grab pieces of paper as he went by.
Thankfully this craft isn’t very messy. Paper is easy to clean up (unlike the sparkles my three-year-old wanted to buy at the dollar store). So it’s pretty safe to do with busy boys.
I was happy with the results, as was E. He was excited to show daddy his finished product after we hung it in the window.
It’s a simple craft that anyone can do. It only requires a few supplies and you can recycle some of those cereal boxes! You can add extra embellishments if you want. We went out and found some leaves to glue to our wreath. Or you can leave them as is. The sky is the limit!
If you’re looking for something that’s kid-friendly for Thanksgiving, try this cute wreath craft!
Ripped Paper Wreath
What You Need
- Cardboard (cereal boxes or something similar)*see note
- Circle to trace from (lids work well)*see note
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Coloured construction paper (red, yellow, orange, brown)
- Glue stick
- String
- Additional decorations (leaves, stickers etc) optional
What You Do
- Trace a large circle on your cardboard and cut it out. Trace a smaller circle inside your cut out to create the wreath shape.
- Rip construction paper into pieces. For younger kids, bigger pieces are easier to manage.
- Glue pieces around wreath.
- Add additional decorations if desired.
- Tie a string around the wreath (you can punch a hole) and hang!
Note: Smaller sized wreaths are better for younger kids. Lids to yogurt/sour cream/cottage cheese tubs are a good tracing utensil!
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