How to schedule creative activities for children
Life is busy, isn’t it? There’s the house to manage, the family to feed, the dog to walk, the children to entertain and you have to squeeze in work too.
One of the first things to fall by the wayside can be creative activities with your child, either because they are too messy, or they take too long to set-up. We’ve come up with some ideas for you to try, to help you build art and craft activities into your weekly routine.
Keep the chain going
This idea is really simple:
- Print out a calendar (a year to a page view). Stick the calendar on a prominent wall. This is a good source for printable calendars is one-page-per-year calendar
- You’ll then need a red marker to cross off every art and craft session you plan.
The idea is to keep the chain of red crosses, unbroken. If your art and craft time each week is going to be on a Saturday morning after breakfast, keep crossing out that day, after the activity each week. By focusing on keeping the chain going, you forget about the end result. As the saying goes, ‘inch by inch, it’s a cinch’.
Plan around a regular activity
This idea is about fixing your activity to something you do every day or every week, such as brushing your teeth or having lunch. If you tag your new activity onto something that you consistently do, you’ll have a regular reminder of what happens next. This helps you build a routine around your existing routine.
Being realistic – it’s likely that planned days will be missed – it doesn’t mean you have to give up on your regular craft slot. Just get back into it, even if you miss out on two months. The idea is to pick up where you left off. Even if you enjoy ten art and craft sessions more that year, because of following these tips, we think it’s worth it. Wouldn’t your child would agree?
Keep it clean
If you’re keen to keep the clean-up rapid, but want to do some painting use paint coats or splash suits and use things like these fab paint sticks or chubbies. Painting onto objects may also help contain the mess, such as these airplane kits. All these things are available from The Creation Station Store.
Invest in classes
We don’t like to waste money, so the idea being, if we pay for activities we value, it’s booked in and there is more chance that it will actually happen. Plus, we get to have fun and make friends at the same time too. Oh, and someone else does the cleaning up.
So even if life is busy, spending the time to plan regular arts and crafts helps you to inspire your children, develop their imagination and build happy memories together. It’s a win-win situation.
If you’re thinking of joining a Creation Station class, we’ve some exciting news. Every two months we train a new team of franchisees as we expand the classes available across the UK. We are delighted to announce new classes starting in the following areas:
Dulwich, London – Pornthida Crookes
Welcome to Pornthida, who will be running Baby Discover, Little Explorer, Tiny Treasures, Family Fun and local events in the area. The Creation Station Dulwich Facebook page
Dorchester, Dorset – Georgie Moore
Welcome to Georgie, who will be running Baby Discover, Little Explorer, Tiny Treasures, Create Club, Family Fun and local events in the area. The Creation Station Dorchester Facebook page
Beccles, Suffolk – Kirsty Tatum
Welcome to Kirsty who will Baby Discover, Little Explorer, Tiny Treasures, Family Fun and local events in the area. The Creation Station Beccles Facebook page
South Ayrshire – Sarah Codling
Welcome to Sarah who will be Baby Discover, Little Explorer, Tiny Treasures, Family Fun and local events in the area. The Creation Station South Ayrshire Facebook page
Walmley, West Midlands – Emma Carter
Welcome to Emma, who will be running Baby Discover, Little Explorer, Tiny Treasures, Create Club, Family Fun and local events in the area. The Creation Station Walmley, West Midlands Facebook page
Bathgate, West Lothian – Kelly McEwan
Welcome to Kelly, who will be running Baby Discover, Little Explorer, Tiny Treasures, Family Fun and local events in the area. The Creation Station Bathgate, West Lothian Facebook page
Enjoy Creative Fun 