Craft making can be used as a tool for reinforcing specific academic skills and concepts in students. Have children make collages out of items that begin with specific letters to reinforce letter-sound recognition. To reinforce one-to-one recognition, students can create a picture that illustrates a given item; for example, one flower, two balloons and three cupcakes. When teaching about animals, have students make animal-themed craft projects as an extension activity. For instance, they could make masks of different animals they have learned about, or use craft foam shapes to form the image of a particular animal. Craft making can also be used as an example of recycling and reusing. Students can make sun catchers from old CDs, or sensory bottles from empty water bottles.
Children can make crafts that relate to the changing of the seasons. During the fall season, students can make wreaths out of different colored leaves, or they can transform a brown paper bag into a pumpkin. When winter approaches, students can use various types of white items -- paints, cotton and glitter, for example -- to create an image of a snow scene, or they could use construction paper to make models of winter clothing items. Students can welcome the spring season by making flowers out of cupcake liners and pipe cleaners, or they can color coffee filters and use them as wings for a butterfly craft. Students can prepare for summer by making large models of the sun with paper plates and construction paper, or they can use seashells and sand to create an image of a beach.
Use crafts as a way to teach about and celebrate different holidays in your classroom. Handprints serve as an ideal source for turkey feathers for a Thanksgiving craft. Make a model of a Christmas tree from craft sticks painted green. For Valentine's Day, kids can transform shoe boxes into mailboxes to hold the Valentines that they receive. For St. Patrick's Day, glue green hearts together to create shamrocks.
You can also provide children with craft making activities that are specifically meant for them to express themselves. Set out yarn and different types of beads and encourage children to use the materials to create necklaces and bracelets. Offer students foam shapes, safety pins and glue, which they can use to create decorative pins. Provide different colors of sand and empty bottles, which children can use to create colorful sand bottles. Craft sticks, glitter glue, paint and stickers can be used to create picture frames.