Festive Fall Crafts - Free Art

So, you're sitting at home with your munchkins thinking. . . what can we do today? In most parts of the country it's getting a bit chilly outside; and while outside play is always encouraged some days you just feel like staying warm or don't want to spend more than an hour at the park. That's okay! Trust me, we've all been there. So what are some things you can do with your tots that doesn't take a whole lot of effort? I have this amazing activity that we do on our "lazy days." It takes no preparations and no effort AND keeps the kiddos busy for as long as their imagination can stand. It's called free art. Yup, that's it. That's my lazy day mom secret. Free Art.

Free art is when you give your children tools and supplies and let their creative sides take over. Personally, we have buckets for our art supplies, before that we had it all in plastic bags for easy storage, that's fine. Whatever you and your family can afford is wonderful, there is no need to go out and get every fancy item you can find. For basic free art, I give my kids a few buckets of supplies and some paper and say 'have fun!' Will there be a mess? Probably. Will they have fun? Most definitely. Is the mess cleanable? Yes, yes it is. Is it worth it? Absolutely.

I hear moms say all they time - "I'm not creative enough to do art at home." Hold up! Your creativity has nothing to do with it. The only people that need to be creative, are the ones doing the art (or craft. These words are used and interchanged frequently in my posts). All that's required of you is to give them the tools and perhaps some guidance now and then.

We've done two free art sessions in my house in the last two weeks. The first was for some fun and to take up time, the second was for fall decorations. For the first free art session, I gave Tig and Bug a couple pieces of paper and two buckets of stickers; the stickers were a mixture of foam and regular stickers. One bucket was specifically Halloween themed stickers and the other buckets was Thanksgiving and Fall stickers. That's it. That's all I did. That's all I gave them. And you know what? They had a blast!!

Tig and Bug creating sticker collages.

 There are some advantages to this activity that the kids have no idea about and don't need to know about, but are great mom wins!

• It's an art project. They get their creative juices flowing.
• It takes fine motor skills to pick up the stickers, peel the stickers and place the stickers.
• It takes up time.
• The mess is easily cleanable (much easier than paint).
• They have options. They can create a story or a collage.
• You have bonding time, when they tell you about their artwork.
• This activity can be done with ANY age. Big is four and Tig is not yet two.
• Learning through play!! (See tips at the end of post)

Bug's masterpiece of art.

Tig's masterpiece of art.

The second time we did free art was today. We are starting to decorate our house for Thanksgiving and are lacking some decorations. Making decorations at home has two purposes. 1. We save money. 2. I would much rather hang something made by my children than any multi-billion store.

The creative juices are flowing!!!

So, for this free art project I gave them a goal. Make something to hang up for Thanksgiving. I gave them foam pieces, sequins, pom-pom balls, stickers and glue and let them have at it. The results were and hour of laughs and stories and two pieces of decoration I couldn't be more proud of (pictured at end of post).

******TIPS*****

• We have a lot of craft supplies that have built of over the years here at home. It is not necessary to have everything listed here to have a great time with your children. Most of our supplies have been bought when they go on clearance. You can make free art with anything. Printer paper, puzzles that are missing pieces, ribbon, yarn, leaves from outside - anything you can think of.
• Be sure to ask your children open ended questions about their art!!!! This is how your bonding happens and how learning through play begins. Ask them - "Tell me about what your working on." "Why did you put that there?" "What's the story here?" "How did you do that?" Talk about the turkeys, pumpkins and acorns. Talk about Thanksgiving and fall. This is how they learn. They learn through experiencing and hands on activities. They learn through interacting with you. Talking about the leaves while doing a craft with them is a natural conversation that they will remember. It will shock you later with just how much they actually retained when you're taking a walk with them a week later and they tell you why the trees are losing their leaves. 

Bug's Thanksgiving wreath.

Tig's Fall Decoration

Share in the comments some of your fall free art experiences and activities. Did your little one learn anything? Did you learn anything? What are some creations that came about from this activity?

DIY Homemade Sensory Bags

Okay, so we all know that toddler and baby toys are ridiculously expensive but do they all have in common? Sensory objects. On nearly every baby and toddler toy there is something that has them experiment with one of their senses, sight(mirrors), sound (rattles) or touch (soft, rough). So, instead of spending all that money you earn on expensive baby toys here's an inexpensive activity for you and your youngster. DIY Sensory Bags. These are very easy and cheap to make and the bonus is.. (as always) you can make it however you want!

Sensory Bags

Basic Needs:

Quart or Gallon size FREEZER bag

Hair gel or soap

Items to go in the bag

Packing tape

You may use either a quart or gallon size zipbag depending on how large you would like it to be, the one pictured is quart, but always use a freezer bag. Freezer bags are thicker than the normal sandwich and storage bags, so they won't tear as easily. We don't want these bags to tear, what a mess.

Fill your chosen bag with your liquid. It doesn't really matter what type of liquid you choose just as long as it's thicker than water. I've found hairgel is the best texture wise but dish soap works as well, plus it makes bubbles. You can buy your liquid colored, add coloring or leave it clear whichever you prefer.

Next, add your chosen contents to the bag. You will want to vary the contents, size, texture and color so that the bag stays interesting to your little one. Like a game of "I Spy." At the bottom of this post are some sample bags and the ingredients I put in them.

Once you've added all your contents to your bag squeeze the excess air out and zip it up tight. Now, take the packing tape and tape up all four edges of the bag as an extra precaution against tiny muscles.

Voila! You have made your little one a cheap and easy sensory toy. They will get so many hours of squishing the bag around because it feels funny and as they grow into toddler ages you can start to play games with them. And I dare you to try not to squish it around yourself! They're irresistible!

You can make your bags themed or educational as well. Such as a beached themed bag with a blue liquid, shells, sand and foam sea animals. Or a "I Spy" letters bag with all the alphabet letters and they try to find the one you name or for smaller toddlers a shapes and colors bag. 

**TIP: If your infant tries to chew on the bag, tape two opposite sides to the floor and sit them in front of it or do some bellytime!** Please don't ever leave your child unattended with these bags. Accidents happen with even the best made projects.

Here are some examples of the ones we made!

Goofy Fun Bag
This bag contains green hair gel, foam letters, googly eyes, beads, rose petals, feathers and a balloon.

Bubbly Bag
This bag contains orange dish soap (which turns bubble when they start squishing it), foam letters, googly eyes, a balloon and feathers.

Garden Bag
This bag contains green hair gel, green glitter, butterfly beads and googly eyes.

Mardi Gras Bag
This bag contains blue hair gel, gold glitter and feathers.

Winter Wonderland Bag
This bag contains blue hair gel, silver glitter, rice, foam letters, feathers and beads.

The ideas and possibilities are endless! So grab your little one and start creating some fun!