I have entire boards on Pinterest that are dedicated to craftiness and fun projects with kids (see: my DIY and Fun for Little Ones boards). The only problem with this is that I kind of hate crafting. I mean…I’m OK at it when I set my mind to it, but I’d much rather pay someone else more talented than myself to make things (I’m looking at you Etsy shop owners!) and crafts with kids…well, they sort of make me cringe. I’m way too OCD for the mess that ensues…paint clean-up, glitter everywhere…I shudder at the thought.
That said, I know that kids love crafts and I don’t want to be that downer mom who never does them, so even though it isn’t my strong suit, I’m up for giving it the good ‘ole college try. “A” for effort, right?
Well, if you happen to be like me (or even if you are a way cooler mom than me and legit enjoy doing craft projects with your kids) then I have the perfect solution for craft fun made simple. Meet Seedling: a company based out of New Zealand, that creates super cool craft kits for kids.
Now, initially I wasn’t so into the idea of “craft kits”, because as a former educator with a Montessori background I’m not particularly fond of directed activities for kids. I much prefer to provide children with open-ended materials and allow them to have free reign and use their imagination. But, while these kits do come with all the supplies needed to create a specific craft, it’s not in a “paint-by-number” sort of way. Kids are given the tools, but in an open-ended way that encourages questions and creativity.
I actually first learned of Seedling a year ago, when I purchased their “Create a Wooden Family” kit on Zulilly. I thought it would be fun to create a Nativity set using the kit. We haven’t actually done it yet since Fern was a bit young last year, but we’ll probably do it this year as an Advent activity and in the mean time we got to try out a couple of other fun Seedling kits!
The first kit Fern tried was the Colour & Carry Satchel Kit. She is currently obsessed with tiny figurines (think Calico Critters and the like) and insists on bringing them everywhere…and losing them everywhere. This little satchel is the perfect solution so I no longer have to be a sherpa with a pack of tiny figures in my purse…she can carry her own things!
The project was totally age-appropriate and super simple. At first Fern wasn’t sure if it was OK to color on the bag because I just gave her the supplies and let her do her thing. At first she asked if it was OK to color on different areas of the bag, but after a bit she was coloring on the strap, the zipper, inside…everywhere! She had a blast. I will mention that the markers are permanent, so unless you have a super careful child, breaking out a smock probably isn’t a bad idea.
Later in the week we did the Build-Your-Own Birdhouse Kit and I’m pretty sure this was her favorite…mostly because I don’t let her paint nearly often enough, so she was stoked. The bird house provided a perfect blank canvas for her to exercise her artistic skills and it couldn’t be more simple with all the essentials included.
She couldn’t wait to set this out for the birds and it sparked a good conversation about where birds live and what they eat and how we could help them by leaving out food for them. She was very excited by this idea and I loved that a simple activity helped start a conversation and real learning.
I’m really excited to try out more Seedling activity kits as Fern gets older, because they’re perfect for a busy not-so-crafty mama like me. They would also make great gifts and kids will remember the experience of doing an activity together for far longer than they will remember another toy. Definitely on my to-buy list for the upcoming holiday season – so many fun options!
Check out all the Seedling kit options here.
Love,
Lauren
Disclosure: I am a Seedling Blogger Ambassador. This post is part of a sponsored campaign. I received compensation for my participation, but as always all thoughts and opinions are my own.
So fun! I do love crafting, but I also love the idea of these projects, for anyone. The birdhouse story, especially.
She is quite the lil artist. I love her work! 🙂
Mandie ~ http://badbrewpack.blogspot.com/
This sounds really cool. I do handmade needlepoint crafts in my spare time, but nothing like this. Also, my son is way too young to participate in needlepoint at all. I just use a dull tapestry needle but I also use very sharp scissors, and even a tapestry needle can be dangerous, so there’s no way I’ll start teaching my little one about this til he’s much older. I’ll have to see about stuff like this. If they’re out of New Zealand, they probably don’t ship to me, and even if they do it’s probably really expnesive, but there’s got to be a similar company located somewhere domestic. I’ll do some research.