8 Open-ended Mother’s Day Crafts for Early Years Kids
There’s nothing sweeter than being gifted a lovingly made craft from a child. Except perhaps, being gifted a craft you know has been inspired by their own creativity and imagination, not a copy-this-one-we-made-earlier craft activity! If you want to encourage this sort of freedom and boost your child’s confidence, here are 8 open-ended Mother’s Day crafts to use as inspiration for original crafts. Perfect for helping them make a gift for you or Grandma.
1. Let them arrange a bouquet of flowers
Take your child to the supermarket and let them pick a bunch of flowers or two. When you’re home, give them the tools to arrange the flowers themselves. Depending on their age, you might need to cut stems and fill a vase with water, but you can leave the creative vision to them.
2. Set up an invitation to paint or draw
Forget the need for crafts to be perfect, and let your child express themselves with as much character and mess as they like! All you need to do is set up a drawing or painting station and invite them to make a card or picture to express their love. The beauty of letting our children take the lead is that they may decide to depict something completely bizarre or off-topic (no hearts, flowers, or rainbows in sight), and that’s part of the fun.
3. Make a tray of playdough treats
Your little one might not be able to bake on their own, but they can enjoy designing and making yummy-looking treats out of playdough, then presenting them in a gift box or chocolate tray. Set up a selection of different coloured doughs and small play accessories (sequins, beads, feathers, flowers etc) so they can decorate their delights. This is a great activity for creativity and fine motor skills.
4. Paint sweet wooden coasters with Baker Ross
For a practical gift that can be treasured forever, how about these Paint Your Own Wooden Coasters from Baker Ross to give your child alongside paints or pens? Watch and see what they come up with!
5. Help them design their own bead jewellery
For children old enough to manage beads, setting up a jewellery station with pretty beads and threads is a lovely way to encourage child-led fine motor fun. Let them have the freedom to create whatever patterns or colour schemes they like and make a tangible gift they can pass on.
6. Make paper mâché sculptures
For a messy craft that requires a little grown-up input, how about having your child lead the design process of making a paper mâché sculpture? Use items from your recycling box as the structure, and paper mâché, then decorate with pens, paints, stickers, and coloured paper. These paper mache animals are adorable for inspiration!
7. Decorate with washi tape
Washi tape comes in all sorts of colours and patterns, making it a fun mess-free craft material that’s brilliant for fine motor skills. Grab a piece of cardboard and invite your child to draw an animal or shape of their choice. Then give your children an array of tapes to unravel and stick to their heart’s content, covering their card shape to create a pretty decoration!
8. Encourage them to do a family portrait
Mother’s Day is a wonderful time to celebrate your family unit, however that looks. How about inviting your child to draw a picture that reflects what they love about their family. Let that be the only prompt you give them and watch what unfolds.
Interested in more open-ended ideas to let your child explore their imagination? Take a look at this blog on 8 Beautiful, Open-Ended Toys to Boost Learning. Don’t forget, for open-ended printables to support play and learning, Print Play Learn is here for you!
