Schools always promote the idea of, ‘learning by doing’. This notion is drawn from the scientific fact that young minds are more grasping and the best way to promote learning is indeed by doing.
Do-it-yourself, or DIY activities for short, are fun, but very engaging activities that encourage creative thinking. These definitely add extra elements of joy and color when incorporated efficiently into the lives of the young ones.
Parents often load their kids with several toys and games which are great for them, no denying that fact, however, when kids work on these tiny DIY projects on their own, the result is far more rewarding, not just for the kids, but also for the parents, seeing their children explore their creative streak.
Continue reading for some interesting and easy DIY Activities, that we have tried at our own home successfully:
1) Rainbow Eggs – 18 months and above
Requirements: A deep bowl, shaving foam, food colouring and some hard boiled eggs to make marbled eggs ( In case of creating marbled paper, use normal water colours instead of good colours).
Steps: For this activity, ask the kids to put a good amount of shaving foam into the bowl, and to it add some food coloring. Slightly mix the foam and the coloring. Now put the hard boiled eggs into the colored foam in a way that the foam creates a coat on the shell. That’s it, you have an array of colored Easter eggs! Besides the obvious, creative aspect of learning involved in this activity, you can also use this to inform your kids about the diversity of festivals in our country.
Let the Easter preparations begin!
2) Cotton Bud Painting – 20 months and up
Requirements: A Drawing sheet, cotton buds, Camlin water colors, paint brush
Steps: For this activity, ask the kids to paint a rough outline of an object, related to springtimes, such as a tree trunk and branches using a paint brush. Now tie some cotton buds together, using a rubber band. Dip these into some paint. Now ask the kids to dap the paint covered cotton buds on the drawing sheet to complete the object priorly outlined, for e.g. the cotton buds can be dabbed on the branches if a tree was outlined. This will give the appearance of colored leaves.
This spring-inspired activity can teach kids a lot about the season of colors, as well as help develop aesthetic sensitivity.
3) DIY Gift Wrapping – 20 months and up
Requirements: Big leaves collected outdoors, watercolors, paintbrush, colourful jute ribbons.
Steps: Take a stroll with your kids in a park and ask them to collect leaves. Paint a side of these leaves with some vibrant colors. Imprint this side of the leaves on a plain white paper. Cut out the paper and use it to decorate gifts, with jute ribbons.
This activity will helps kids admire and reconnect with the vibrant hues of the nature.
4) DIY Bubble Mixture
Requirements: dish soap, powered sugar, water, pipette
Steps: Mix 2 tablespoons of dish soap with 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar in 5 ounces of water. Take a pipette and the cut the top of it. Empty some of the mixtures on a table and spread it with your hands. Then dip the pipette in the soap mixture and try blowing the bubbles. Once perfected, tiny bubbles can even be blown into larger bubbles.
This activity will introduce the kids to the basics of matter in a fun, dreamy way!
5) DIY Tape Art
Requirements: Drawing sheet, sketch pens, masking tape
Steps: For this activity, first take the required length of masking tape and place it on any piece of clothing. This will transfer the lint on the cloth to the stick surface of the tape, thus making it easier to remove the tape from the sheet later in this activity. Now cut out a big star from the drawing sheet. Put the tape in an aesthetic manner and color around the tape with sketch pens. Remove the tape and watch out for your kid’s reaction. This is a sensory activity that can teach kids with an additional element of surprise.
6) DIY Scratch Art
Requirements: Black water color, acrylic colors, paintbrush, pencil
Steps: For this activity, ask the kids to color the surface on the paper with acrylic colors in any fashion. Now color this colored surface with black water and let it dry. The kids must use pencils to write on the surface or doodle on it. The colored surface underneath will reveal itself with each stroke. Another easy, yet engaging sensory activity for the little ones!
These were some of the many DIY activities we’ve tried, specially curated for young minds, to allow them to grow and learn as they move along the most essential stage of their childhood.
As parents, you can bond over these activities with the kids and watch them grow into active, more aware and reasoning young individuals, and thus nurture their individuality in the right manner.
