Arts and crafts games combine the creative and competitive natures of children. Allow your kids to express themselves with games that let kids color, draw or otherwise release some creative juices. These games are great for kids of all different personalities, since they appeal to competitive and artistic sides.
Venues
Arts and craft games are great for art classes and camps. If you need to fill some time at the end of the day or session, pull out a crafting game, and let the kids go wild. They are also perfect for after-school programs, classrooms, day care centers and other places with kids who have various interests. If you have a group of kids and some space for them to create, arts and crafts games will help you entertain kids and enrich your program.
Ages
In general, these games work best for kids of approximately the same age and development stage. Preschoolers are going to have a tough time competing against kids in middle school. Their abilities to create and their fine motor skills are different. They can also use different items. For instance, you may not want to put a marker or acrylic paint in the hands of a 3-year-old.
Goals
Most often, arts and crafts are not competitive activities. Determine the purpose of your game before you start. It may simply be to see who can finish a project the fastest. An artistic race doesn’t put the emphasis on the design; it puts the emphasis on the speed of using the materials. This might encourage kids not to be perfect. You can also have a contest to see who can create the most realistic or perfect project. Depending on your goal, you can let kids be as abstract as you want.
Materials
Choose items appropriate for your kids’ maturity. Young kids will do best with paper sheets and coloring crayons, squares of tissue paper and glue sticks. Encourage kids to make mosaics and designs of their family, friends, animals and other favorites. Older kids may enjoy experimenting with watercolors, acrylics, chalks, markers and other messier items. Encourage older kids to create projects that match their emotions or pictures of stories they have read.
Prizes
If you are playing your games at a camp or party, you can put together a little prize pack for the winners or all the players of the game. Purchase individual craft supplies, such as little glue bottles, sketch pads, crayon boxes and pencils. Place the items in a little tote bag to hand out after the games.
Photo Credit
- Bowl of beads and buttons – craft supplies image by Gina Smith from Fotolia.com
