As a grandmother who enjoys many crafts, it was important to me to share my favorite kids’ craft ideas with my grandchildren. Making various crafts is a fun way to encourage creativity and imagination in your grandchild’s mind. It is also a great way to pass the time on a rainy or snowy day. We have a grandson with Type 1 Diabetes so crafts are a really fun activity to do with him that won’t affect his blood glucose levels. When it comes to crafts you are limited only by your own imagination. I will share some of my favorite crafts to do with my grandchildren and even where I pick up some of my supplies.
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Affordable Paper Crafts
The crafts you can do with paper or even cardboard from your recycle bin are endless. Paper airplanes are fun to make and then you can have fun airplane races. See whose plane flies farthest or highest.
Make masks and attach them with yarn to have fun pretending to be various animals or characters.
Make cards for a family member’s birthday or an upcoming holiday.
Make a map for a fun treasure hunt, then hide things for the grand-kids to find when they follow their map.
Draw pictures to hang on the refrigerator. My frig is quite full of art at times.
Collect pine cones or other treasures and glue them to paper to make pictures.
Creative Coloured Macaroni
My young grandsons really like this craft. I prepare the macaroni beforehand so it is dry. I dye macaroni with food coloring. I then set it out in a tray in front of the boys. I give them each a piece of construction paper and some white glue and a paintbrush. They then get to work creating their masterpieces by gluing the colored macaroni to the paper.
On another day we used colored penne pasta and yarn to create colorful necklaces. Our five-year-old grandson made a necklace for his mom and one for each of his two sisters for a Christmas gift. I then let him wrap the gifts himself. He loved it as much as the recipients did.
Kids Love Paints
I picked up some watercolor paper at the local Dollarama along with some water paints. We have spent many afternoons painting some very creative works of art which were then proudly displayed on the refrigerator.
We have even picked up a “Birdhouse Craft Bundle” and painted birdhouses on a blustery day. I found a great birdhouse kit that even came with the paint.
>> Check out my product review here.
After they are dry it is another fun adventure to find the perfect place to hang them in the yard.
We make any number of things with popsicle sticks and /or toothpicks and paint those after the glue has dried.
If there is a birthday, Christmas, or some occasion then I may purchase a kit for making things. Other times we work with whatever I may have on hand. Where I am pretty crafty myself there is usually a large selection of craft supplies here at home.
Kids Love These Fun Ideas
I like to pick up yarns, Styrofoam balls, popsicle sticks, toothpicks, pipe cleaners. Basically, anything I can find that would be easily turned into something a child would like to make.
We have made Styrofoam snowmen and made them scarves out of scrap fabric swatches. Glued on buttons, created paper hats.
Airplanes using clothespins and pieces of Styrofoam.
Small flower pots filled with soil, plant beans or tomatoes and use a popsicle stick to mark what is planted
Knitting, Crocheting, or Sewing for Teens
The older grandchildren were ready for more complex crafts. 
We have a teen and pre-teen grand-daughter and they like making bracelets and necklaces with beads. Found a “Jewellery Making Bead Kit” for the girls to make beaded bracelets, necklaces, and earrings. Check out my product review here.
I spent an afternoon teaching the girls to knit their own little bookmarks which they still use. It was a fun time for all of us.
The oldest grandchild was having her room at home redecorated so with her grandmother(me) lovingly guiding her she was able to create her own curtains for her room. What a special day that was.
Another thing I do with the older kids is to plant the garden. I do save some of the bigger seeds like peas, beans, and corn for the younger grandchildren to plant, mainly because it is easier for their smaller hand to manage. Cardboard egg cartons make terrific containers for starting seeds.
Throughout the summer all the grandchildren find it quite a treat to pick the garden and make a snack or supper. It is important to me that all the grandchildren learn about healthy eating but also about where their food comes from. This has become even more important to me since our grandson’s diagnosis with Type 1 Diabetes.
Innovative Baking
Baking with children is always a hit. They get the fun of baking and then the fun of eating the tasty treats. I tend to bake cupcakes the kids can have fun decorating or sugar cookies that they can cut out into fun shapes and then decorate them with icing when cooled.
Since our grandson’s diagnosis, I have altered my baking a little bit. I tend to use coconut flour and sweeten recipes with either honey, stevia, or Splenda. I have altered some of my old recipes and also searched for new in some cases.
I believe we are all healthier because of these changes and the baked treats are still so delicious.
The biggest thing with cooking or baking for a Type 1 Diabetic is to know the carb count for each serving of any particular recipe. This is so important since a Type 1 Diabetic’s insulin dosage is dependent on how many carbs are eaten at any meal. This includes deserts.
In our grandson’s case, we do not need to calculate his carbs for snacks. We prefer to keep him as stable as possible and limit the blood glucose spikes to mealtimes when he will have an injection to help his body process those carbs.
Conclusion
As you can see there is no end to possible crafts you can make with your grandchildren. Young kids or older there is always a wealth of creative ideas. Think back to when you were a kid. What sort of things did you make in school or Brownies, Guides, Cubs, or Scouts. Draw inspiration from those memories. You can also find a wealth of projects on Pinterest.
Keep in mind the age of your grandchild as this will determine the complexity of the crafts you choose. For instance, our grandson is five and at his young age crafts need to be quick or they won’t be completed. He has a shorter attention span so it is so much easier to work within his timeframe.
His older sisters are 12 and 15 so they can do larger more complex tasks. For example, they helped me refinish the bedroom furniture in the room they sleep in when here. We definitely had a good time with that project and the girls spent the night so they could finish the next day.
When it comes to kids’ crafts or projects the only limitation is imagination. With great imagination, you can find fun crafts within the smallest budget.
Hope this helps get the creative juices flowing. Happy crafting.
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