31 Easy Crafts for Kids With Things You Already Have

Cut two long paper strips (you do this for under 4s), tape the ends at a right angle and fold one over the other, back and forth, until you have a springy stack. Tape a paper circle head on one end and draw stripes.

Ages: 4 to 8, or 3 with you folding.

Prep: 2 minutes.

Mess: none.

Supplies: two paper strips, tape, a marker.

Safety: paper only.

Fold a square of paper corner to corner twice, fold the corners into the center, flip and repeat, then fold in half so the pockets open. Kids write colors on the outside, numbers inside and silly jobs under the flaps. The folding is the craft and the game lasts all afternoon.

Ages: 6 to 8.

Prep: none.

Mess: none.

Supplies: one square of paper, a pencil.

Safety: none.

Fold the classic dart, then let kids decorate each plane with crayons before the test flight. Make three different folds and see which flies farthest down the hallway. Folding on a crease line is fine motor work that does not feel like it.

Ages: 5 to 8.

Prep: none.

Mess: none.

Supplies: printer paper, crayons.

Safety: fly them away from faces.

Fold a sheet of construction paper in half and cut slits from the fold almost to the edge (you do this). Unfold, then kids weave strips of a second color over and under, over and under. Tape the ends down.

Ages: 4 to 8.

Prep: 5 minutes.

Mess: none.

Supplies: two colors of paper, kid scissors for the strips, tape.

Safety: you cut the slits; kids cut strips with kid scissors.

A paper lunch bag folded flat has a flap at the bottom that makes a mouth. Kids draw a dog, a monster or themselves with crayons, then slide a hand in and flap the mouth.

Ages: 2 to 8.

Prep: none.

Mess: none.

Supplies: a paper lunch bag, crayons.

Safety: paper only, so this is a toddler-safe one.

Draw a big simple shape on white paper, like a heart or an apple. Kids tear colored paper into bits and glue them inside the lines. Tearing builds the same pinch as scissors, a year earlier.

Ages: 1 to 8.

Prep: 2 minutes.

Mess: low.

Supplies: white paper, colored paper scraps, a glue stick.

Safety: toddler-safe. Hand 1 year olds pre-torn bits and let them press.

Cut paper into strips and glue a square of cardboard as the base. Kids bend strips into loops, zigzags, spirals and arches and glue both ends down. It stands up, which thrills them.

Ages: 4 to 8.

Prep: 5 minutes.

Mess: low.

Supplies: paper strips, a cardboard base, a glue stick or liquid glue.

Safety: kid scissors with you if they cut their own strips.

Hand over an old magazine or catalog and let kids tear or cut out pictures of things they like: foods, animals, colors. Glue them on a sheet of paper. It is a conversation as much as a craft.

Ages: 3 to 8.

Prep: none.

Mess: low.

Supplies: old magazines or catalogs, paper, a glue stick, kid scissors for 4 and up.

Safety: check the magazine for pages you would rather skip.

Cut circles in three sizes (a cup, a jar lid and a coin make good tracers). Kids glue circles into a caterpillar, an owl, a snowman or a bunch of balloons, then add legs and details with a marker.

Ages: 3 to 8.

Prep: 5 minutes.

Mess: low.

Supplies: colored paper, something round to trace, a glue stick, a marker.

Safety: you cut for under 4s.

Cut a plate in half (you) and let kids color the arch in rainbow stripes with crayons or dot markers. Tape crepe paper or tissue strips along the bottom so they hang. Hang it in a window.

Ages: 2 to 6.

Prep: 2 minutes.

Mess: low.

Supplies: a paper plate, crayons or dot markers, crepe paper strips, tape.

Safety: toddler-safe.

Cut a wedge from the plate as a mouth and glue the wedge on the opposite side as a tail. Kids paint or color scales and glue on a paper circle for the eye. Any color is a real fish somewhere.

Ages: 4 to 8, or 2 with you cutting.

Prep: 2 minutes.

Mess: low to medium.

Supplies: a paper plate, kid scissors, crayons or paint, a glue stick.

Safety: paper circles instead of googly eyes for under 3s.

Kids paint a plate yellow, then glue strips of yellow and orange paper around the edge as rays. For a lion, use brown and orange strips and draw a nose.

Ages: 3 to 8.

Prep: 5 minutes plus drying.

Mess: medium.

Supplies: a paper plate, yellow paint, paper strips, glue.

Safety: toddler-safe with pre-cut strips.

Kids decorate two plates with crayons, then you place a spoonful of dried beans between them and staple and tape the plates shut all the way around. Shake it.

Ages: 4 to 8 with the plates sealed by you.

Prep: 5 minutes.

Mess: none.

Supplies: two paper plates, crayons, dried beans, a stapler, tape.

Safety: dried beans are a choking hazard under 3, so for toddlers use crumpled paper balls inside instead and tape the plates shut.

Tape two tubes side by side. Kids paint or wrap them in paper, then you punch a hole in each outer side and tie on a yarn strap. Then go find birds.

Ages: 3 to 8.

Prep: 5 minutes.

Mess: low to medium.

Supplies: two cardboard tubes, tape, paint or paper, yarn.

Safety: keep the strap short, under 12 inches, and never leave it on a sleeping child.

Cut tubes in half lengthwise (you) and tape them to a wall, a cabinet or the side of a box at a slope. Kids roll small toy cars or jumbo pom-poms down. Rebuild it steeper.

Ages: 2 to 8.

Prep: 10 minutes.

Mess: none.

Supplies: cardboard tubes, painter's tape, toy cars or jumbo pom-poms.

Safety: toddler-safe with cars bigger than a toilet paper tube; no marbles or small balls under 3.

Cut a door and a window in a big box (you), then hand over crayons, stickers and paper scraps. Kids decorate the outside and move in. A smaller box with paper plate wheels is a car.

Ages: 2 to 8.

Prep: 10 minutes.

Mess: low.

Supplies: a big cardboard box, a box cutter for you, crayons, tape, paper plates.

Safety: all cutting is yours; tape raw cardboard edges.

Push the top of a tube inward from both sides so two points stick up like ears. Kids paint it, then glue on paper circles and a paper triangle beak. A dozen makes a parliament.

Ages: 3 to 8.

Prep: 2 minutes.

Mess: low to medium.

Supplies: a cardboard tube, paint or markers, paper scraps, glue.

Safety: paper circles instead of googly eyes for under 3s.

Cut the front panel off a cereal box and cut it into 4 to 12 pieces, depending on age. Kids put it back together, then make a second puzzle from the back.

Ages: 3 to 8.

Prep: 5 minutes.

Mess: none.

Supplies: an empty cereal box, scissors for you.

Safety: toddler-safe with 4 big pieces.

Cut a row of cups from a cardboard egg carton (you). Kids paint them green, then poke in two pipe cleaner antennae and draw a smile.

Ages: 3 to 8.

Prep: 5 minutes plus drying.

Mess: medium.

Supplies: a cardboard egg carton, washable paint, a pipe cleaner, a marker.

Safety: paper circles instead of googly eyes for under 3s; fold pipe cleaner ends in.

Cut single cups apart and snip the rims into petals (older kids can do this with kid scissors). Kids paint the cups, then you poke a pipe cleaner stem through the bottom. Stand them in a jar.

Ages: 4 to 8.

Prep: 5 minutes.

Mess: medium.

Supplies: an egg carton, kid scissors, paint, pipe cleaners, a jar.

Safety: kid scissors with you at the table.

Cut a wide window in the side of a clean plastic milk jug (you). Kids decorate the outside with permanent markers, then fill the bottom with bird seed. Hang it from a branch by the handle.

Ages: 5 to 8.

Prep: 10 minutes.

Mess: low.

Supplies: a rinsed milk jug, a box cutter for you, permanent markers, bird seed, string.

Safety: you cut; tape the cut edge. Wash hands after handling seed.

Set out a cardboard base and a tray of clean recycling: small boxes, tubes, lids, foil scraps. Kids tape and glue a robot together, then draw buttons and dials.

Ages: 3 to 8.

Prep: 5 minutes.

Mess: low.

Supplies: cardboard, clean recycling, tape, glue, markers.

Safety: bottle caps and lids are choking hazards under 3, so toddlers get boxes and tubes only. Hot glue, if you want it, is adults-only.

Give kids a bowl of penne or rigatoni and a piece of yarn with tape wrapped on one end as a needle. They thread, you tie. For color, shake dry pasta in a bag with a drop of food coloring and a splash of vinegar, then dry it on paper.

Ages: 4 to 8.

Prep: 5 minutes, 30 if you dye it.

Mess: low.

Supplies: tube pasta, yarn, tape.

Safety: dry pasta is a choking hazard under 3, so this one is for 4 and up with you nearby. Keep necklaces short and take them off before sleep.

Glue cardboard shapes or string onto a cardboard square, lay foil over the top and let kids rub the foil with a finger or a cotton swab until the shapes show through. It looks like metal art.

Ages: 2 to 8.

Prep: 10 minutes.

Mess: none.

Supplies: cardboard, scraps or yarn, glue, aluminum foil.

Safety: toddler-safe. Fold the foil edges under so nothing is sharp.

Kids scribble on a flat coffee filter with washable markers, then spray it with water and watch the colors run. Dry it on a towel. Fold it into a butterfly with a clothespin body or hang it in a window.

Ages: 3 to 8.

Prep: 2 minutes.

Mess: low.

Supplies: coffee filters, washable markers, a spray bottle, a towel.

Safety: washable markers only. Toddlers can scribble while you spray.

Cut a clean kitchen sponge into squares, triangles and a circle (you). Kids dip them in a shallow plate of paint and stamp a city, a house or a pattern.

Ages: 2 to 6.

Prep: 5 minutes.

Mess: medium.

Supplies: a new sponge, kid-safe paint, a paper plate, paper.

Safety: toddler-safe with washable paint. Sponges are for stamping, not chewing.

A sponge is the hull, a straw taped to it is the mast and a paper triangle is the sail. Kids decorate the sail, then float the boats in the sink or a dish tub and blow them across.

Ages: 3 to 8.

Prep: 5 minutes.

Mess: low, wet.

Supplies: a sponge, a straw, paper, tape, crayons.

Safety: water play is always within arm's reach of an adult, and empty the tub after.

Kids draw with liquid glue on cardstock, sprinkle table salt over the lines and shake off the extra. When it is dry, they touch a wet brush of watercolor to the salt and watch the color travel along the line.

Ages: 4 to 8.

Prep: 5 minutes plus glue drying.

Mess: medium.

Supplies: cardstock, liquid glue, table salt, watercolors, a brush.

Safety: salt is for the paper, not for eating by the handful. Keep the shaker with you.

Take this one outside. Tape a big sheet of paper to the fence or lay it on the grass, dip a new plastic fly swatter in washable paint and let kids whack the paper.

Ages: 3 to 8.

Prep: 5 minutes.

Mess: high.

Supplies: a new fly swatter, washable paint, big paper, painter's tape.

Safety: old clothes, outside only, and the swatter is only ever used for paint.

Spell the child's name on cardstock in painter's tape letters. Kids paint the whole page in stripes or splotches. Peel the tape when it is dry and the name pops out white.

Ages: 4 to 8, or 2 with a single letter.

Prep: 5 minutes.

Mess: medium.

Supplies: cardstock, painter's tape, washable paint, a brush.

Safety: you peel the tape; washable paint only.

Thin washable paint with a little water, drop a spoonful on paper and let kids blow it around with a straw. The paint runs into branches and spiky monsters.

Ages: 4 to 8.

Prep: 2 minutes.

Mess: medium.

Supplies: washable paint, water, paper, straws.

Safety: blow out, not in. For kids who might suck, cut a tiny hole near the top of the straw so nothing can be drawn up.