I am not a fan of doing crafts. It’s not that I can’t think of creative things to do, I just hate the mess that follows. But for my kids I have really worked on changing my opinion. To help me become more motivated, I have incorporated educational themes into our crafts…minus the glitter.
Recently, my five year old came home with another book fair category. As I was thumbing through it I came across a section with books and other activities to help young children learn to read. And as exciting and interesting as some of them looked I though, I can’t afford to buy all of these. And then the thought hit me, why don’t I just make them myself.
My challenge was sight words. It can be pretty boring for kids to go over a list of words day in and out, so making it into a game seemed to be the best way. For my newest reader, I decided to use her favorite snack as inspiration; popcorn.
Popcorn (Game Materials)
- Yellow Craft Paper
- Scissor
- Pencil/Pen
- A list of words
- White board/blank paper
To start, I traced a popped popcorn shape (about the size of a silver dollar). Then I folded the construction/craft paper as many times as I could. Then I cut out the shape ‘once’ which gave me about ten. I repeated this until I had enough. Then on one side of each I wrote a word. Side Note: I also crafted a popcorn bag. The traditional red and white striped ones, but that was because I had the time.
Then I worked on the rules. The player (aka my Princess) would pick a popcorn out of the bag without looking. I’d tell her before the game started what number of words she’d have to say correctly to win. It’s important to let your little ones know what their goal is so they can see how they are doing. When my Princess reaches the desired number of correctly read words we yell ‘POPCORN.’ If you choose to give a reward keep it simple; stickers, hand stamps, fruit snacks, etc. The goal is to keep it fun and education while encouraging them. A five high and smile is really all our kids want from us.
If you want and easy way to keep track of their score (which is necessary when multiple kids are playing) use a visual aid. A white board or paper isn’t fantasy but effective. Allow the child to mark their score and without them knowing it, you’re working doing writing and numbers too.
Then I decided, why not do the same thing for my older kids. I slightly changed their theme to cookies and the rules to make it more challenging. The materials are pretty much the same.
Cookie Time (Materials)
- Yellow and Gray Craft Paper
- Scissor
- Pencil/Pen
- A list of words
- Whiteboard/blank paper
- Crayons
With the help of my Sonny and Lil Mama, we created a vocabulary craft/game. They cut out the cookie shapes and detailed them using crayons. Our cookies ended up looking like frosted sugar cookies. Then with the gray craft paper we made simple cookie sheets Again I wrote a word behind each cookie and without looking have them pull one from a small ‘play’ cookie jar.
This game can be played individually, as groups or one on one battles. My older two choose to go head to head in a friendly game of winner takes all. Not only do they have to say the word, but they must also use it in a correct sentence or give the definition. For every correctly identified word, they get to keep the cookie they draw. The baker with the most cookies is crowned the Cookie Master.
So if there’s any area your child is struggling with in school or if you just want to continue the learning process at home then try to create a game. Get them involved, get their input, and you’ll get their buy in. Personally, I didn’t expect my kids to love these simple crafts turned games as much as they did, but it’s been great. I can see their confident growing, and hear their vocabulary expanding. After homework, almost every day this week they’ve asking to play! And an additional bonus is that they’ve asked if we can make more games about other subjects.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying messy, colorful crafts that end up cluttering your refrigerator, but know that craft time can become so much more. Your family can be the unique owners and creators of personalized board games, puzzles or cards that make learning fun. Anything that gets you thinking outside the box, and keeps them engaged is a win-win. Hopefully, this will change the way you look at crafts (if you view it as I have) or just inspire you to change family game night forever.
