“Our task, regarding creativity, is to help children climb their own mountains, as high as possible.”
- Loris Malaguzzi
In need of KS1 craft ideas? We’ve got you covered. Arts and crafts help children develop in many ways, and not just creatively. The right crafty activities can help them to think critically and improve their evaluation and analysis skills. Arts and crafts have also been shown to raise attainment, improve concentration and encourage creative thinking in the classroom.
Creative activities create a safe space for children to explore and communicate their emotions and can even support their own mental health and wellbeing.
It all sounds very beneficial, but class isn’t over just yet. With autumn officially in swing, we’ve put together some craft ideas for KS1 children to either keep them occupied on those long rainy days. So let’s get started…
KS1 Children’s Craft Ideas #1: Self-portrait extraordinaires
From Van Gogh to Picasso to Warhol, some of the most notorious artists in the world have produced self-portraits, and now it’s time for your little ones!
Self-portraits are actually a key part of development. In a literal sense, it gives children the opportunity to study their faces, their eyes, nose, mouth and the rest. They have to work out how it all fits together, which is perfect for teaching them to draw basic shapes.
In a more crafty way, painting a self-portrait is an introspective activity where children can explore and learn who they are, how they want to present themselves and what’s important to them. Children are changing all of the time, and painting self-portraits allows them to see how they are changing and understand it too.
Most importantly, self-portraits are fun! Which, alongside the KS1 developmental benefits, makes them the perfect craft idea to pass the time. There are different ways you can do this activity - we’ve got a set of skin tone paints to get you started and a bumper pack of brushes and sponges to really ignite your children’s imagination. Or you can choose to model with clay using specialist tools, this helps them to explore a different material and improve their fine motor skills!
KS1 Children’s Craft Ideas#2: Going around in circles
Famous artist Wassily Kandinsky was known for his paintings of circles that explored colour theory. Little did Kandinsky know that his ideas would go on to form the basis of craft lessons for KS1 children.
Kandinsky used colours to show emotions rather than painting something to look real. This is particularly intriguing to young children as they generally aim to make all of their drawings look as real as possible. By introducing KS1 children to the ideas of Kandinsky, it encourages them to see art created in different ways.
By using Kandinsky as a starting point for KS1 crafting, children can explore their feelings with colours, are introduced to the idea of abstract art, and by emulating Kandinsky’s famous Squares and Concentric Circles, they can see themselves as capable of even famous art!
You could use Squares and Concentric Circles as the ideation point for this KS1 crafting activity. Using black paper, children can fold it over to create a background grid for their colourful circles, which you can either pre-prepare or have the children cut out themselves. Make sure you give them a range of colours to choose from so they can pick the ones they feel reflect them! All you need for this task is a stack of multi-coloured sugar paper, scissors and glue. It’s that easy!
KS1 Children’s Craft Ideas #3: Bead-y eyes!
Making paper beads is great for many reasons. First of all, it’s a plastic-free activity, so it can help when teaching children about keeping the Earth healthy and green. Not only that, but it helps them to practise and strengthen some of their most essential skills.
Motor, cognitive, and social skills are fundamental life skills that can all be practised and developed with this nimble craft activity. This activity helps children to flex their creativity while developing their fine motor skills and improving their dexterity. Planning what materials they need to use and in what colours helps them to develop their cognitive skills too.
Asking children questions about their choices of colours, shapes, sizes, and even their decision to make a necklace or bracelet with their beads helps children discover new ways to talk about their project - furthering their language development. Exploring descriptive and emotive language helps them learn to express themselves, which forms some of the building blocks of social skills!
This craft idea for KS1 children requires a few things, some papers in assorted colours or even decorative patterns or animal prints! Make sure you have some string for them to turn their beads into a necklace, bracelet, keyring or anything else their imagination can think of, and you’re ready to go.
Hopefully, this is the kick start you need if your KS1 craft ideas are running dry despite the rain outside, but if you’d like to talk things through with your springboard, just get in touch.
