Staying Sane During Quarantine – Part II: Creative and Crafty Projects

Photo credit: Mallory Widrick

At this point, parents all over the place may be losing some of the creative energy they had when this quarantine started… as well as losing some of their sanity.

Well, we are here to help!

Below are some easy, budget-friendly projects you can do with your little one(s) if you are running out of ideas. Most of the options below are projects you can do with items in your home – so you won’t have to Instacart or Amazon extra items.

That, in itself, should hand over a tiny bit of the sanity you may have lost over the course of the last week.

(Note - Staying Sane During Quarantine - Part I: Fun Physical Activities can be found here)

 

Colorful Noodle Necklace

Photo credit: Jessica Sugg

Supplies:

• Dry/uncooked pasta
• Paint or food coloring
• String

Instructions:

• Paint or have your children choose which colors to use to dye the pasta
• Wait for the pasta to dry
• Having children practice their fine motor skills by linking the string through the pasta

 

Paper Bag Creative Wall

Photo credit: Alyssa Kurtzworth

Supplies:

• Opened up brown paper bags
• Washable paint, markers, or chalk (be careful with crayons being near walls)

Instructions:

• Use painter’s tape or sticky tack to hang up brown paper bags
• Let your kid’s get creative!

 

Fork Paint Flowers

Photo credit: Leah Gemmati

Supplies:

• Plastic forks
• Washable paint
• Construction paper

Instructions:

• Choose three or four different colors
• Place different forks into the colors (or use a cup of water to clean the fork after use)
• Create a stem and leaves with finger
• Dip the top of the fork in paint to make the “flower”

 

Pinecone Bird Feeders

Photo credit: Leah Gemmati

Supplies:

• Pinecones
• String/ribbon
• Peanut butter
• Cereal
• Oatmeal
• Superglue/hot glue

Instructions:

• Have a parent glue the string/ribbon to the pinecone and let sit
• Put out bowls of the different “feed” to add to the pinecone
• Let the kids smooth peanut butter over the pinecone with a spoon
• The kids can go to town adding different items to it!

 

Cardboard Box Fairy House

Photo credit: Jennifer Aline Graham

Supplies:

• Cardboard box
• Scissors and tape (for parental use only*)
• Crayons/markers/chalk
• Stickers
• Glitter
• Glue stick

Instructions:

• Have a parent cut out a “front door” and “windows” on each side of the box
• If there were flaps, a parent can tape those flaps together to make a “roof”
• Offer the assortment of decorating items and let them enjoy
• For additional fun, they can pretend pom-poms are “fairies”

 

Biography

 Jennifer Aline is a coffee addict, mama of twins, and a passionate freelance writer and author. She writes for Moms.com on a regular basis and has had articles in publications such as the NY Daily News, NY Post, and In Good Health Newspaper. Aline received her Bachelor’s Degree in Child and Family Studies from Keuka College and worked in the Human Services field before her two little girls entered her life. Aline now focuses primarily on writing, teaching aerial arts classes in the evenings, and caring for her twin daughters – all while continuously chugging coffee, of course.

Social Media:

Instagram: the.write.mom

Facebook: Momhood Mayhem