How To Make Things With Paper For Kids

Paper crafts are excellent because they're easy to do and provide a variety of wonderful advantages for kids. Paper crafts can not only help children with their gross motor skills, creativity, and even geometry, but they can also help them build their self-esteem, learn how to express themselves, and even fortify relationships with their family, peers, and teachers. With this in mind, here are 5 inventive paper crafts for kids that you can make!

1. Scrapbooking

By definition, scrapbooking is a way to organize, showcase, and preserve artifacts from one's own or family history as a book, box, or card. Photographs, printed materials, and artwork are common types of collections. And while the original purpose of scrapbooking was to tell the story of personal or family history, today they can simply use it for aesthetic purposes, artwork, self-expression, or even as a journal! Not only is this paper craft unique, but it can also be very affordable! Kids can use old magazines, art projects, natural resources, stickers, journal entries, etc. to create their very own scrapbooks! This paper project can easily assist a child with gross motor skills, but it can really aid them in both self-expression and creativity!

2. Origami

Origami is the Japanese art of folding paper. In today's world, the term origami is frequently used to refer to any folding techniques, regardless of their cultural origins. The aim is to use folding and sculpting methods to turn a flat, square piece of paper into a finished sculpture. While this may seem like a hard task for kids, it is a great way for them to learn both basic geometry and gross motor skills. Plus, it can also boost their creativity! You can make this as simple or as complicated as you would like, depending on what the child feels most comfortable with.

For example, a great starting point for origami is taking a sheet of paper and folding it into a paper airplane. Not only does the sculpture look great in the end, but it can now be used as a source of entertainment for the child! From here, the options are truly endless.

3. Papercutting

Papercutting is the art of paper designing that has been used for many years, tracing all the way back to the 4th century Han dynasty in China! While this elaborate form of art has been used throughout time in many different cultures, it is also a great craft that any kid can learn. There are many kinds of paper cutting in the world such as stencils, silhouettes, kirigami, and much more. These forms of papercutting may seem difficult, but there are several different ways to teach this to a child.

For instance, the most popular form of paper cutting that kids learn is by making paper snowflakes! Simply take a regular sheet of paper, fold the paper diagonally in half to make a triangle, and then fold that triangle in half to make another. From there, you can continue to fold the triangle into thirds, with the corners overlapping, or you can leave it as just a double-folded triangle. Grab a pair of scissors, cut small holes or bits of paper around the edges of the triangle, then open it up, and Voila! You now have your very own paper snowflake! This is just a small and easy example of paper cutting. From here, imagine what else a kid can learn to design from just a simple, blank sheet of paper!

4. Card Making

Card-making is an excellent paper craft that any kid can do! Not only is this craft easy, but it is also very affordable and sentimental. Instead of taking a trip to a store and buying a generic pre-made card for your child to sign, give them some construction paper and writing utensils and let their imagination unfold! By card making, the child is allowed the freedom of creative expression and it also aids them with their writing skills!

You can keep this craft simple by just using paper and writing supplies, or you can make it even more special by adding in different colored and textured paper, stickers, pictures, glue, glitter and so much more. Children are often very giving and love to create things for others, so card-making is an excellent paper craft to teach them early.

5. Paper Mache

For those wondering, paper mache, or “papier mâché” is French for “chewed paper” and refers to a specific type of paper art. In this art form, small pieces of paper are combined and bonded using a substance, such as glue or even water, to create this craft. This makes it possible for the paper to become practically adhesive, enabling the creation of some very remarkable works of art. There are two methods for creating paper Mache. One popular method for this craft is to take paper strips and attach them to an object such as a balloon you later pop, or cardboard. You can attach these strips using a homemade adhesive such as a cornstarch and water mixture. You can use all types of paper for this, including newspaper and tissue paper.

Once the paper dries, it virtually takes on the properties of ceramic art, which is one of the many marvels of this technique! Using common household items, this paper craft may be applied by a child at little to no cost. Once kids have a paper paste, they may use it to create any sculpture they desire, from a simple bowl to a little animal.

In Conclusion

The paper projects listed above are great ways for any teacher or parent to not only interact with their child but also teach them the importance of creativity with minimal supplies. Plus, it allows them to enhance their dexterity and motor skills. So, if you are looking for a fun and immersive craft to teach your child, remember, you can always start with just a simple sheet of paper!

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