Playing with paper: 15 easy crafts to do with kids

When it comes to getting kids to do crafts, there’s no better material than paper. In fact, paper is an easily workable material : it can be cut, folded, torn, glued, wet, dried, coloured.

For this reason it is particularly suitable for  stimulating the creativity and dexterity of children who, needless to deny it, are very attracted to scissors and are always ready to want to mess with sheets, glue and colours.

But that’s not enough. Playing with paper is also within everyone’s reach because it is an easily available and extremely cheap material . In fact, just take a look around the house to find papers of all kinds that children can easily work with.

You can do crafts with newspaper , magazine paper, old calendars, bread bag paper, gift wrapping paper. And if we want something more specific, we can always buy crepe paper, tissue paper, colored cardboard, which in any case do not cost much and are suitable for doing all kinds of jobs.

To work safely, I recommend:

• spread an old tablecloth on the table to protect the surface from any stains caused by colors or glue.
• obtain scissors suitable for children with a rounded tip
• use non-toxic and water-based colors , therefore easily washable
• use safe glues suitable for children , such as PVA glue or glue sticks

Playing with paper: easy activities and chores to do

There are so many jobs and activities that can be done with paper. I have collected some that can be excellent suggestions in case you lack ideas (if you want to see the examples I have inserted the links).

Print on paper (create drawings and color)

One of the simplest and most obvious things you can do with paper is drawing and coloring (which kids love to do). But have you ever thought of offering children something more original like creating drawings with homemade stamps and stencils ? Simple white sheets and a little imagination are enough to invent stamps of all types and shapes. You can make stamps with cut fruit and vegetables , with toilet paper tubes or with bottle caps on which to glue foam molds.

Making Origami (cutting, folding, creating)

Another very nice paper craft to do with children is origami. It is an activity suitable for training  children’s fine motor skills,  i.e. the ability to perform precision actions with their hands (cutting, folding). Various types of paper can be folded but obviously the most suitable ones are colored cards. In the links you will find examples of easy to do origami such as  fish ,  chickens ,  leaves ,  origami trees .

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Working with papier-mâché (mess around, create with your hands)

Another craft activity to do with paper that is particularly stimulating for children is creating with papier-mâché . There are two ways to make it: either glue strips of paper on a surface that acts as a mold (definitely a more practical and faster system) or soak the paper in water, mix it with glue and create a sort of modeling paste similar to clay. In both cases, however, you can do many beautiful creative jobs together with the children. If you want to try, you can find here → the instructions for making macerated paper  and how to keep it, while you can see here →  how to make lots of funny little animals by gluing strips of paper onto a balloon.

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Create fun Collages (cut, paste, create)

Creating collages with newspaper clippings and various papers is one of the simplest and most fun activities to do with paper. Children love it not only because they can cut and paste (which they love to do) but also because they can express themselves freely using their imagination. There are so many types of collages that can be made. You will have to identify a specific theme to propose to the children and leave them free to express themselves. They will be able  to create funny characters or funny faces , make nice self-portraits , make monochromatic collages to learn colours, dress and beautify paper figures , create mosaics and landscapes. In this case the imagination will have no limits.

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Making Decorations (cutting, building, crafting)

Finally, with paper you can create beautiful decorations not only for Christmas, but also to decorate the room where you will celebrate your birthday or to beautify the children’s bedroom. For example, I find this  garland for the children’s room  beautiful! To do this, all you have to do is cut out disks of cardboard and pieces of colored straws and have fun with your child by inserting them in sequence as if to create a long necklace.

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At this point you just have to get to work and read some suggestions for playing well with young children. They can be useful for you 😉