Coping with Quarantine!
Welcome back to my blog! If you are new here, I am Julia Park and I am a junior Early Childhood Education major at Millersville University! I first want to start off by saying that although it is a scary time right now, we can get through this together. I hope you are all finding ways to stay positive and busy during this unexpected time.
With that being said, I understand that there are a lot of parents feeling overwhelmed with the sudden stop of work and school. It can be difficult to keep your little one(s) active, especially since there are limitations as to what we can currently do. This post is to provide some fun activities for you to do with your young one(s) while at home! Most of the crafts involve household items so that you don’t have to stress about leaving home to buy new supplies.
Let’s Get Crafty!
For the rest of this post, I will be including pictures, lists of materials needed, and directions for all the crafts I have compiled. I found inspiration for the crafts online and will provide links for those throughout this post. I crafted all of these items to gain an understanding of what the process would be like for each product, and it was so fun making everything! I can only imagine how fun it would be to make these items with children. I hope this helps inspire some creativity in the home and can put some smiles on your faces during this overwhelming time!
Tissue Box Monsters!
All you need for this craft is:
- Empty tissue boxes
- Paint (and paintbrushes) or colored construction paper
- White paper
- Pencil or marker
- Scissors
- Glue or tape
- Buttons, pompoms, or other items that can be used for eyes & decorations on the monsters
I was so happy to see how these little guys turned out! The first step of this craft is to find an empty tissue box. To turn it into a funky monster, you can now paint the box with any color you want! If you don’t have paint, you can also glue colored construction paper on the sides of the box. The next step is to draw pointy teeth on white paper and cut them out for the opening of the box. To create the face of the monster, you can now glue the teeth and eyes on the box. The eyes can be buttons, googly eyes, paper, or whatever you have that is accessible for this project! The last step is to decorate the monster by gluing on pompoms or any items you want to use! Now you and your young one(s) have a fun monster friend!!
Toilet Paper Roll Binoculars!
For this craft, you will need:
- Toilet paper rolls
- Paint (and paintbrushes) or colored construction paper
- Glue or tape
- Stickers, buttons, or anything you can use to decorate the binoculars
- Ribbon, fabric, string, or anything you can use to make a strap out of
These binoculars were so fun to make! The first step is to find two empty toilet paper rolls. You can then use paint or glue colored construction paper on the rolls to add some color! The next step is to glue both rolls together down the side to make the shape of the binoculars. After that, you can decorate the binoculars with stickers, buttons, or anything that you have available! The last step is to use ribbon or some kind of fabric to glue onto the sides of the binoculars to create a strap. Your child/children can now explore (most likely indoors, unless it is in close distance to your home) with their new binoculars!! Have fun!
Rainbow Clothespin Craft!
This craft calls for the materials of:
- White paper
- Glue
- Pencil or marker
- Scissors
- Cotton balls (or other items to decorate the clouds)
- Clothespins
- Paint (or markers if paint is unavailable)
I think that these rainbow clouds are so cute! The first step for this activity is to draw a cloud and cut it out. The next step is to glue on cotton balls or other items that you want on your cloud! To create the rainbow, you will need clothespins and a variety of paint colors. In this step, you will be painting the clothespins to match the rainbow! If you don’t have paint, you can also color the clothespins with markers! The final step is to put the clothespins on the bottom of the cloud to create your very own rainbow. I hope this will brighten up you and your child/children’s day!!
Paper Bag Puppets!
The materials you will need for this craft include:
- Brown paper bags
- Colored construction paper
- Scissors
- Glue or tape
- Markers
I had such a blast making these adorable animal puppets! As soon as I saw these online, I knew I had to make them. The first step for this project is to grab a brown paper bag for the body of the puppet. Then, you can draw the facial features (and other body parts if wanted) of whatever animal you and your young one(s) desire on construction paper. You can also use markers to draw on the smile, nose, or any other details you want to include! The last step is to cut the face out and to glue the pieces on to create your paper bag creature! Enjoy your new friend (or friends if you decide to create more than one)!!
Owl Toilet Paper Rolls!
This will need:
- Toilet paper rolls
- Colored construction paper
- Glue
- Scissors
- Paint or markers to use on white paper if construction paper isn’t available
These little owls have to be one of my favorite crafts I’ve done yet! The first step is to find an empty toilet paper roll to decorate. The next step is to use colored construction paper, paint, or markers to color the body of the owl. To create the pointed features of the owl’s head, you must glue or tape the center down onto the other side of the roll. That part might be a little more difficult, so you might have to provide extra assistance for your little one(s). The following step involves using construction paper (or printer paper that you can color with markers or paint) to create the eyes, feathers, beak, and feet. Once you glue that all in place, you will have an owl! I hope this owl brings you and your child/children as much joy as it brought me.
Four DIY Craft Ideas for Families!
I hope this video inspires you to create something new at home during this difficult time of social distancing and quarantining!! Lots of love ?(I do not ow…
This video includes short tutorials of how I made each item. The only item that is not included in this video is the toilet paper owl because I did not film the process for that one. I hope this video helps in some way!
Staying Positive
I really hope you have enjoyed reading through this post and have felt some inspiration to create new items of your own with your loved ones! It is so important that we come together during this time and I feel that activities like these provide great bonding opportunities for families. My goal for this post is to provide others with a way to stay positive with activities that mostly involve household items to make creating items simpler in times like these. Keep your head up and remember that we will get through this together! You are all doing great!
Thank you so much for reading!
-Julia 🙂
References:
Brown Paper Bag Crafts You Have to Make! (2017, August 28). Retrieved from https://thecottagemarket.com/brown-paper-bag-crafts-make/
LaScala, M. (2020, March 24). These Creative Activities Will Keep Kids Occupied for Hours. Retrieved from https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/craft-ideas/how-to/g1389/diy-kids-activities/
Miriam. (2014, March 8). Little Owls. Retrieved from https://iliketobecreative.wordpress.com/category/crafting/paper/
Paper bag crafts for kids. (2014, December 20). Retrieved from http://www.preschoolactivities.us/paper-bag-crafts-for-kids/
These Paper Roll Owls are So Adorable. (2017, May 2). Retrieved from http://www.amazinginteriordesign.com/paper-roll-owls-adorable/
TP Roll Binoculars with Poppy Cat. (2014, June 2). Retrieved from https://www.redtedart.com/tp-roll-binoculars-poppy-cat/
Yarn Wrapped Cloud and Rainbow Craft. (2016, September 6). Retrieved from https://iheartcraftythings.com/yarn-wrapped-cloud-and-rainbow-craft.html