1. Crafty fall projects: Check out this article by Linda Ann Nickerson. It’s packed with creative and functional fall crafts projects you can make with kids with fun ideas like corn husk dolls,harvest treasure box, leaf etchings, pine cone wreath, and autumn wrapping paper.

2. Practical fall activities with life applications  for kids: Fall is an ideal time to teach kids more about nature and the environment, and to incorporate natural elements associated with the season into your lessons. Andrea Coventry offers some great tips in Montesorri practical life activities for fall.

3. Make tasty harvest foods with kids: Who can forget about the yummy foods harvesttime foods, like apples and pumpkins? Certainly not kids (or Creative Kids Ideas!). Preparing and cooking food with children is an excellent way to give them hands-on lessons about nutrition, measurements and math, kitchen safety, and more. It’s also a great opportunity to have fun getting messy in the kitchen together! Below are a couple suggestions for healthy and tasty recipes kids can help make:

• Here are tips for making three easy apple recipes for kids brought to us by Kay Whittenhauer.

• Try Debbie Henthorn’s recipe for making homemade pumpkin puree.

4. Fall leaves activities for small kids: Toddlers and young children learn best when they’re allowed to use their senses freely to discover. Autumn is the perfect time to take them outdoors and let them experience nature and learn about the seasons by using their senses. Read Fall Toddler Activities with Autumn Leaves to find a variety of creative ways to help them learn.

5. Paper bag scarecrow craft and party treat bag: If you and your family are planning a harvest celebration or Halloween party this year, this adorable paper bag scarecrow is one craft project you won’t want to miss. Not only is it fun to make, the scarecrow craft also serves a purpose by doubling as a treat bag for party guests at your harvest or Halloween celebration. Kids will enjoy making this project and, even more, they’ll love seeing their artwork displayed and shared with others at the party.

6. Pumpkin art projects for kids: Pumpkins are plentiful this time of year. Ever wonder what you can do with them all? Tania Cowling gives some excellent kids’ project ideas for using them in Pumpkin Art Projects for Kids of All Ages. She also includes great pumpkin themed activities and crafts that don’t involve real pumpkins, like making pumpkin mosaic, milk jug pumpkins, and coffee filter pumpkins.

7. Party games with a fall or harvest theme: Planning a harvest party or fall festival this season? Events like this are a great way to gather with your community, friends, and family to celebrate the autumn season. The kids’ party games you choose are an important element for a successful harvest party or fall festival. Once Upon a Time offers a great list of fun and easy to organize game ideas for a fall festival or harvest party.

How ever you choose to celebrate, take time to enjoy the autumn season and many natural lessons and inspirations it provides with your kids. Happy Autumn!

Activities and crafts to help you celebrate St. Patrick's Day with your kids

Parents and teachers can find a wide variety of St. Patrick’s Day activities, craft ideas and printables for children online. Here are some of my favorite websites and links to articles with fun ideas and St. Patrick’s Day activities for kids and families to enjoy.

St. Patrick’s Day printables and coloring pages:

• Parents and teachers will find word search puzzles, printable shamrocks, leprechaun puppets, St. Patrick’s Day games, coloring pages and more at Abcteach.com.

• Visit Kaboose.com for a huge selection of fun St. Patrick’s Day crafts, activities, clip art, games, recipes and party ideas for kids of all ages.

• Discover coloring pages, St. Patrick’s Day crafts, games, worksheets and recipes galore at DLTK’s page for St. Patrick’s Day crafts for kids.

• For more great ideas and websites, read Kid’s Crafts: Free Printable Leprechaun Coloring Pages for Saint Patrick’s Day written by Laurie Meekis.

Other St. Patrick’s Day activities for kids and families:

• Add a little history, adventure and Irish folklore to your St. Patrick’s Day celebration with your children this year by setting a leprechaun trap. This is a great activity for home or school. Read this article for full details on how to set a trap with the children.

• Take this fun and educational quiz on St. Patrick’s Day and Irish trivia to test your knowledge of the holiday and heritage surrounding it: Test Your St. Patrick’s Day Knowledge.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you and your family from Creative Kids Ideas!

Have a Happy and Creative Valentine's Day!

Today’s a busy holiday, so this post will be short and sweet – kind of like my two little Valentines are! I simply want to wish you and your family a Happy Valentine’s Day!

Also, if you’re looking for last minute Valentine’s Day ideas to use with your kids, check out these fun ones below:

How to Make a Valentine Mailbox for Your Child’s Valentine’s Day Cards and Gifts – Do you need a way to hold your child’s Valentine’s Day cards and gifts? Don’t worry. It’s still not too late to make one! This fun and functional valentine mailbox is a simple and inexpensive craft project to make with kids at home or at school. It can be customized for each child, so it’s suitable for boys and girls. The best part about this cute kids’ craft is there’s no need to spend money on supplies, because it’s made entirely from construction paper and recycled materials.

Recycled Jeans Valentine Pouch – I saw this cute Valentine’s Day craft for kids the other day and fell in love. It’s made from an old pair of blue jeans and a few other simple items. It’s a win-win idea. You get rid of some of those old holey jeans that are lying around, you and your child have fun making the craft together, and your child gets a stylish and unique way to hold her valentines or decorate her doorknob.

Valentine’s Card Homemade from the Heart – Need some last minute valentines cards? Instead of spending money on store-bought ones, try these quick, easy-to-make ideas for making your own cards. The thought and creativity you put into these will make your Valentine feel even more special!

Still want more? Here are a few other Creative Valentine’s Day Crafts for Kids.

Happy Valentine’s Day from Creative Kids Ideas!

All photos courtesy of: Jo Brielyn

The Fourth of July, or Independence Day, is an American holiday observed to show pride in our nation and to celebrate our freedom. This week’s posts will all be devoted to providing fun, creative ideas for teaching kids about their country, patriotism, celebrating the holiday, and safety tips for the events surrounding it. To kick off the fun, we’re sharing four great patriotic craft ideas to make with kids. These Fourth of July crafts are designed with the enjoyment of children in mind but will also serve as colorful decorations for your Independence Day cookout or party.

Fourth of July Crafts for Kids #1 - Patriotic Party Wand

This cute star-shaped party wand is perfect for kids to wave at an Independence Day party, parade or fireworks display. It’s made from simple, inexpensive craft supplies, such as a wooden skewer, pipe cleaners (red, white and blue ones, of course!), felt, ribbon, and craft glue.

4th of July Party Wand and Flag Planter

Fourth of July Crafts for Kids #2 - Flag Planter

Are you looking for a patriotic craft project suited for older children (or adults)? This Fourth of July Flag Planter is an excellent choice. Made from recycled materials (a 2-liter plastic bottle and a small cardboard box), wooden craft sticks, acrylic paint and glue, the sturdy planter will provide hours of fun to create and years of Americana decoration as it houses your favorite plants and flowers.

Fourth of July Crafts for Kids#3 – Firecracker Noisemaker

Kids will get a bang (Get it? Bang. Firecracker.) out of  making and playing with this fun noisemaker designed to look like a firecracker. Again, this project uses recycled materials and items commonly found around the house – a paper towel tube (a smaller firecracker can be made by using a toilet paper roll); crepe paper; plastic covers (from milk jugs or juice bottles); pipe cleaners; craft glue; and beads, bells, pasta, rice (or anything else that makes noise). The finished product will be a fun, safe way for your kids to make noise during a Fourth of July celebration. It also serves as a playful addition to an Independence Day party, as a party favor or decoration.

4th of July Firecracker Noisemaker and Uncle Sam Hat

Fourth of July Crafts for Kids#4 -Uncle Sam Hat

Get your children involved with Fourth of July home decorations or party preparations by enlisting their help to make this whimsical addition. All that is needed to make an Uncle Sam Hat is one recycled plastic container with a lid (like one used for sour cream or cottage cheese), felt, and craft glue. To add a fun twist to your Independence Day get-together, create a group of these Uncle Sam Hats and fill them with them with party favors or candy, and give them out to your guests.

Complete instructions on how to make the patriotic wand, flag planter, firecracker noisemaker, or Uncle Sam hat, can be found by reading Jo Brielyn’s article, Fun Fourth of July Crafts for Kids.

Do you have an article idea, craft idea, book, or product related to Independence Day or patriotism you would like to share with the readers of Creative Kids Ideas? Drop us an email at admin(at)creativekidsideas(dot)com. We love reader suggestions, after all this site exists for you!

Photo courtesy of: Laurie Darroch-Meekis

Are you in need of a card for Father’s Day, a birthday, or another occasion, but have very few craft supplies at home to use? Never fear, Creative Kids Ideas is here! We have an inexpensive and unique card project your kids will love making and recipients will love getting.

With Father’s Day quickly approaching, we thought this creative card idea submitted by one of our readers, Laurie Darroch-Meekis, was a perfect one to share today. This fun card can be made from only a few items: eggshells leftover from your breakfast, food coloring, card stock, glue and a pencil. Pretty simple, right?

Creative Kids Ideas gives a big thumbs up to this creative idea because it uses recycled materials to create an attractive end product, while also allowing kids to let their imaginations run free with the design of the card. Plus, the card project can be used for a wide range of ages because the design can be made as simple or complex as the child chooses. We love that!

In the following article, Laurie shares the basic instructions for how to make the kids’ craft recycled eggshells card, like the one pictured above. You can read the complete article here.

So, the next time you need a last minute card for an important event or are simply searching for a fun, inexpensive craft project to enjoy with your child, don’t run to the store for supplies. Just go cook breakfast.

Thank you to Laurie for sharing this great project with Creative Kids Ideas and our readers!

Laurie Darroch-Meekis is a creative mother, a multi-talented author and poet, and a freelance writer who writes as a Featured Parenting Contributor on Associated Content. To read more of Laurie’s ideas and articles on parenting, as well as a variety of other topics, please visit her Associated Content page. You can also learn more about her writing projects and career at her website.

Photo courtesy: Jo Brielyn

Millions of dollars are spent every year on the purchase of Mother’s Day cards alone. Truthfully, most mothers, grandmothers, or other recipients would prefer to have a personalized Mother’s Day card. A card crafted by a child’s little hands is the perfect gift for any woman worthy of Mother’s Day recognition.

This fun pop-up card is an easy-to-make project for kids crafted from scraps of paper, yarn, and other materials. The end result will be an unique gift for a mom, grandmother, or other important woman in the child’s life.

Read How to Make a Personalized Mother’s Day Card for complete instructions.

Craft project and photo provided by Denise Bertacchi

Are you tired of finding your child’s crayons everywhere but where they belong? Crayons on the floor just tempting the dog to eat them (Yes. Trust us, it happens and makes for quite a colorful mess). Broken, melted crayons hidden near the heater, under the furniture, or in numerous other places you don’t want to find them.

Or are you simply looking for a more organized way of storing crayons and other craft supplies?

Whether you decide to use this project at home or in the classroom, Creative Kids Ideas is confident you’ll love this fun, creative craft idea submitted by one of our readers, Denise Bertacchi, as much as we do. Not only is it a great project to make with your kids that also helps to get their craft supplies more organized, it is also made with recycled items and scraps found around the house or classroom – which makes it doubly awesome in our book!

The only items needed to complete this project are a tissue or shoe box, glue and lots of cardboard tubes. Then let your child personalize the caddy with paint, stickers, paper or other scrap materials. We love the concept of encouraging kids to use their creativity, become more organized, and have fun doing it!

To get directions (and a short slide show) on how to make the crayon caddy pictured above, visit Denise’s article entitled Crafts for Kids: Make a Cool Crayon Caddy from a Tissue Box on the St. Louis Motherhood Examiner page. You can also read more parenting ideas and posts from Denise Bertacchi at The WM Parenting Connection, where she blogs as the Stay At Home Mom.

Thanks for sharing your idea with Creative Kids Ideas, Denise!

Do you have a creative idea you’d like to have featured on Creative Kids Ideas? Submit your idea to us at admin@creativekidsideas.com or connect with us on the Creative Kids Ideas Facebook Fan Page.

Good Friday, the Friday directly before Easter, is the day on which Christian believers remember the death of Jesus Christ. When choosing Good Friday and Easter activities and crafts to teach kids about the holiday, remember that most children prefer a hands-on approach to learning. They also learn and retain information best through the use of activities that incorporate the lesson’s meaning into them.

To provide you with a starting point, Creative Kids Ideas has accumulated a short list of links to some of our favorite articles and sites featuring Good Friday activities and crafts for children.

• A Kid’s Heart provides a wide variety of online activities and games for Good Friday and Easter. Children can decorate eggs online, play matching games with Easter eggs, hunt for eggs in an interactive game, complete online Easter jigsaw puzzles, and more. The site also offers print and play activities such as coloring sheets, puzzles, word games, and worksheets that are excellent for using at home, in the classroom, and in Sunday School or children’s church programs.

• In her article, Good Friday Printable Activities for Kids, Gillian Wilk gives a comprehensive list of excellent resources for printable coloring pages, puzzles, activities, flash cards and stories to help share and teach children about the holiday.

• DLTK’s Crafts for Kids is a great place to find fun, creative Easter activities and ideas. Included on the site are tips for different Easter egg dyeing techniques, crafts, games, poems, songs, and easy to make Easter recipes (like traditional Hot Cross Buns and adorable Easter Nest Cupcakes with Speckled Easter Eggs).

• Jo Brielyn offers more great Easter ideas in her article, Good Friday Activities, Crafts and Games for Kids. Readers can learn how to make a few simple Easter crafts, learn how to plan and execute a Resurrection Egg Hunt for children, and find a recipe and instructions on how to make Resurrection Cookies.

To find even more free, fun and educational Good Friday and Easter activities for kids, check out this list of the top five websites that provide both religious and non-religious holiday crafts for children.

All of the sites listed above have been parent tested and kid approved. We hope you enjoy them as much as we have. Please feel free to comment with any additional sites (relevant ones only, please!) that you and your kids love. Creative Kids Ideas enjoys reader input.

Have a blessed and memorable holiday!

Kids like to doing craft projects and, even more, they love giving their masterpieces away and seeing them displayed. Instead of simply making a traditional Valentine’s Day card, why not switch things up and help them make a creative and unique project sure to please any lucky valentine?

Below are two of our favorite Valentine’s Day craft ideas.

Use Recycled Materials to Put a New Twist on the Traditional Valentine

Two Fun Craft Ideas for Valentine’s Day

1. Recycled Hearts – Put a creative twist on the conventional paper valentine with an egg carton heart like the one shown in the picture above. Children will have a blast making this Valentine’s Day gift and the recipients will be thrilled with the pretty valentine built to display on a table and sure to endure multiple years of use. And you’ll be recycling your old cardboard egg cartons and scrap materials in the process. Everyone will be happy!

For complete directions on how to make a recycled egg carton valentine, read Valentine’s Day Crafts for Kids written by Jo Brielyn.

Please a valentine with a tasty bouquet of candy flowers for Valentine's Day.

2. Candy Flowers – Candy and flowers are two of the most popular gifts given on Valentine’s Day each year. Why not combined the two to make a fun, mouthwatering craft? Kids will have a great time making these simple candy flowers (not to mention snacking on some of the yummy candy leftover when they’re done). Candy flowers can be made for only a few dollars because they are created from Valentine’s Day candy (any desired kinds will work) and a few basic craft supplies found around the house. Stick them in a pretty vase and they make an unique, pretty addition to any table or teacher’s desk.

Full details on how to make Candy Flowers can be found at A Perfect Gift for Any Occasion…Candy Flowers.

How about you? Do you have any fun and creative Valentine’s Day ideas for kids? We’d love to hear from you, so share away! Add your links and ideas in the comments section below.

Kids love animals, so why not use them teach? Cute, gross and unique animals all seem to grab children’s attention, so it’s time to use those critters to our advantage! After all, the whole idea is to get kids excited about learning, right?

Most kids are all ears (and tails!) when animals are involved, so here are some of our favorite pet theme lesson plans, crafts, games and activities:

Pet Lesson Using Franklin the Turtle
Whether they have a pet of their own or not, most kids are fascinated by animals. This preschool lesson plan uses Franklin’s search for a pet in Franklin Wants a Pet to teach children about different types of animals. It also focuses on some of the different environments in which pets live. Preschoolers will practice animal recognition and matching skills with this lesson.

Connect the Alphabet Puppy Dots
Print out this fun, connect-the-dots picture for kids to practice arranging the letters of the alphabet in order. This PDF, along with many other cute animal theme ideas, can be found at KinderPlans.com.

Lesson Plan About Caring for Pets
Help kids learn about caring for their pets with this fun lesson based on Mercer Mayer’s book, Just Me and My Puppy. The lesson also includes a short song and game to get children actively involved.

3-D Pet Craft
This project teaches kids how to make their own 3-D pets, like the featured at the top of this article. The 3-D pet craft is made from a recycled toilet paper roll and scrap materials. This crafts project is great for home or school.

Pet Games and Activities
Check out these games, printable coloring pages and activities for teaching kids through the use of animals, at ChildFun.com.

You can also find a list of excellent pet themed books, activities, games, and learning resources in the Pre-K Pets Theme Unit at Prekinders.com.

Do you have any fun pet themed lessons, activities or crafts? Feel free to share your ideas with Creative Kids Ideas in the comments section.