String crafts for children

Stringing fun board 3+ years.

These crafts for children require adult supervision as making the board does require the hammering of nails. Older children can make this as a project or a gift for their younger sibling/s.

You will need:

- A piece of flat plywood 30cm x 30cm x 1cm.

- 1m of String or coloured wool (2+ yrs) or hat elastic (3+ yrs), older children (4+ yrs)can use coloured elastic bands to make different sized shapes such as squares and triangles.

- Paint for the wood.

- 300 x 30 – 40 mm long medium thin flat headed nails .

- Grid pattern about 1cm apart.

- Hammer.

- Glue gun or staple gun.

- Masking tape.

Paint the plywood. When the paint is dry, mark out the grid on the board. Hammer a nail in each corner of each block on the grid. You can also draw a grid on paper or with your computer. Masking tape the grid onto the board to keep it in place. Once you have hammered in the nails, remove the paper pattern so that the nails are left in the board.

Game:

Show the child how to make a pattern by winding the coloured wool round the hammered in nails. Let the child have fun on his/her own.

** Variations for older children: 1. Have the child make up different sizes of triangles, sguares and rectangles on the board.

2. Nail a round shape. hexagon, pentagon on the board using a paper pattern and with elastic let the child join opposite nails in different patterns.

Scrap book or vision board: Vision boards have a double purpose in that they are great crafts for children as well as teaching the principle of visualising their desires and goals.

You will need:

- A piece of flat plywood 30cm x 30cm x 1cm.

- A piece cotton fabric will be used to cover the piece of wood.

- 5m of ribbon that matches fabric.

- Soft cloud drift or wadding.

- Hammer.

- Upholstery pins.

- Glue gun or staple gun.

- Measuring tape.

Cover the plywood with the fabric using a staple or glue gun. Measure a diamond shaped grid about 10cm apart with dressmakers chalk. Use the ribbon and place over the marked out diamond grid. Where the ribbons cross each other, hammer in the upholstery pins. Neaten the ends of the ribbon round the sides by fastening the ends to the back of the board. More crafts for children