Connect with Your Kids this Halloween by Creating Unique Spooky Crafts

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This Halloween season, roll up your sleeves and pull out all your tricks and treats for craft time with the kids. Spooked that you’re not creative enough? Don’t worry; Your children don’t expect you to be Martha Stewart. It’s more about spending quality time together and creating lasting connections.

Take Over for Teachers
Kids always appreciate getting messy with glue sticks or glitter, but there are actually more meaningful reasons to bring crafts into the home. Phillip Done, elementary school teacher and author of Close Encounters of the Third-Grade Kind: Thoughts on Teacherhood, stresses the importance of parents encouraging creativity and imagination.

“Teachers simply don’t have time for craft time anymore,” Done says. “We want to do it and believe in it, but we have so many other things to do. There is pressure to prepare children for the tests.” Because teachers don’t have the time, Done suggests that parents extend creative time into the home.

Explore Creativity, Build Connections
Throughout his 25-year teaching career, Done has ascribed to the philosophy that imagination is more important than knowledge. Doing crafts with kids is essential to healthy child development because it “allows the kids to explore their creativity and allow it to flourish,” he says. “Children are naturally creative. By doing art, you give them the chance to explore that.”

Craft time also encourages a connection with your child. J. David Carr, school psychologist for the New York City Public School System, agrees that doing creative projects with your kids builds a stronger relationship. “While you are doing the craft, it allows time to talk about anything in general,” Carr says. “This allows you to create a pattern of communication for other times as well, which strengthens the overall bond.”

Get More than Quality Time Together
Carr is a big proponent of projects with kids because of the multi-faceted benefits. Parents can use the time to assess their child’s skills and frustration tolerance, such as how they respond to multi-step directions, their understanding of cause and effect, or how they are at taking turns. These are good indicators of how well a child will perform in school. Moreover, exposing children to different types of crafts can help them discover a passion to pursue.

Crafts are more than just for fun, they are also a teaching experience. Carr notes that most crafts involve math and reading. Done agrees, saying that an educational component in a craft is like “killing two birds with one stone.” Try not to do an activity just to keep them busy.

Where Should You Start?
Both Done and Carr recommend the library as the best place for parents to research imaginative and educational craft projects. Done recommends seeking help from children’s librarians because they are invaluable resources.

Here are five helpful craft resources that may make your children the happiest little goblins on the block!

1. Library Craft Programs
If you don’t know where to begin at home, many libraries schedule regular craft time for parents and kids, like this one at Wisconsin’s Oregon Public Library.

 

 

2. Crafty Fun
From Countertops Revealed
In this DVD, Amanda and Maria show you how to create 12 unique craft projects. This is a great resource if you prefer seeing the craft done step-by-step. Skip to the stuffed pumpkin project first in honor of this pumpkin-filled month.

 

 

3. Kaboose
From Disney Online
Kaboose.com is a treasure trove for parents who have questions about anything kid-related, especially crafts! The extensive Halloween section gives amazing craft, cooking and costume ideas. It also offers a free crafts newsletter.

 

 

4. The Creative Family: How to Encourage Imagination & Nurture Family Connections
By Amanda Soule
This inspirational book teaches the importance of encouraging imagination in your family. Soule gives tips for imaginative play, art and crafts, nature explorations, and family celebrations. Using simple tools around the house or from the surrounding environment makes the recommended projects easy and cheap to follow.

 

 

5. Parenting Magazine
Every issue is filled with articles and tips that meet the day-to-day needs of parents. There’s no need to subscribe, just head over to the library to read the latest in parenting news for free.