half brag/half question about kids crafts ****Modified thanks to new info****

[yarnthespian]

Ok so i was in the vintage clothing store near my house that i adore thanks to the fact that you actually learn the history of the piece when you buy it, and the owner (who A. is the only one who even works there and B. also has a vintage clothing museum with like fashion through the decades) randomly started asking me questions about what all kinds of crafts i do, because she knows i bead and macrame and crochet and such (she likes to give me the old wood bead necklaces to re-string and such, after all she only sells them for a dollar) and so after a few minutes of discussion, she suddenly declared that i shouldn't make plans for this fall because she was going to hire me to help teach basic arts & crafts to several home schooled 8-10 or 8-12 year olds! I already have several ideas, such as the plastic canvas cross stitch of cartoon characters they like, simple hemp bracelets and macrame, maybe those old belts you made in like 3rd grade where you wove yarn through about 5 or 6 strands of thick twine and then gave to your mom, painting, maybe some sculpey, things like that. I want to do the crafts at their level, but not the same old stuff in the super family fun books (you know what i mean?) like if they had a nintendo ds help them make a felt cover, stuff that they'll feel like is really cool but that they can do, which is why i said maybe hemp bracelets, because its very simple, and its something the older kids would do/wear so it makes it seem cool, you know? So even though i have some ideas, i would like to get y'alls input, if you have kids ask them too, what kind of things they would think would be fun to learn, practical for doing in maybe two hours or so, and right for the age. I really want to them to enjoy this, so i want a lot of options.

****EDIT: I got more information, what we'll be doing is working with Weed & Seed kids, so its not so much a forced class but like an after school program and whomever was interested in craft, it would be one of the available activities for them, so probably they'll either be able to vote as a group what kind of thing they want to do, or  could have a few things set up for them to choose between, that required minimal supervision.****

[SpottedFrog]

8 year olds are pretty capable I have a an arts & crafts summer play group going ranging from 4 to 12 & the older ones really get involved in what they are doing. I would trust an 8 year old with real scissors (not crummy school variety) and maybe a low temp hot glue gun in a small well supervised group.

What are the parents expecting? Some home schoolers do so because they are very conservative, some because they are very liberal- you need to take this into account. Are they expecting Art Education? or just guided creative time? Also where you will be doing these classes makes a difference. If you are in a home you have access to an oven, stove top, sink, etc. But if they aren't yours this could be problematic as ovens don't all heat at the same rate & such.

[yarnthespian]

Yeah thats another thing is i'm unsure where they'll be happening, and the whole possibly very conservative/liberal thing is why i was thinking simple things like the little woven belts because they're just colorful and plastic canvas cross-stitch because that can be altered to fit whatever the child likes and knows. Not to mention plastic canvas is far simpler as far as counting and keeping track than regular cross stitch, also i refuse to give anything other than the larger plastic needles to anything under 10, because i've seen quite a few kids just unthinkingly put it in there mouth to hold it, and all it would take is a good whack on the back and next thing you know the poor child has aspirated metal. >.< and thats scary. the older kids i *might* give a dullish larger needle too under the strict stipulation that they never ever ever hold them in their mouths. *is only a little paranoid, lol* and all scissor use will be very well supervised. Its pretty much just very basic crafts/activitys. Any actual teaching teaching (like not just how to do basic crafts) will be done by the woman who hired me. I'm just helping to offer different activities.

[betty@freekidscrafts.com]

If you are looking for ideas, take a look at our website. We have everything from recycled crafts to bead crafts to printables, holiday crafts etc. We post a new craft every day for kids from preschool to teen agers. http://www.freekidscrafts.com/ 
Try the recycled section http://www.freekidscrafts.com/
and we also have a section geared to crafts that might spark the interest of boys
http://www.freekidscrafts.com/boys_crafts-t39.html

Let me know if you come up with something new and exciting we can post.

Good Luck!

[yarnthespian]

Thanks a bunch!

[SpottedFrog]

A childrens program called Weed & Seed? I'm going to guess this on the liberal end of the spectrum....

If you have kids that may or may not be really interested in doing crafts you might lean toward the summer camp type different project each day that's a one day completion.

[yarnthespian]

Yeah its just trying to give kids a place to go, stuff to do rather then get caught up in trouble, and i definitley planned on stuff they could either do in a day or that would be super easy for them take home, and if we did do any sculpey, i'd planned on taking it home and baking it and giving it to them the next day. But the fact that there are other activities available only ensures that i'll be finding the absolute coolest things for them to do i can.

[boilerscuba]

I know this is an old thread, but I was thinking maybe you could do easy friendship bracelets! I think macramé might be a little more challenging than the standard two knots with friendship bracelets. On top of that with floss is cheap, comes in many many many colours, and who doesn't like friendship bracelets?

There are so many patterns available from the standard candy stripped to spirals, so if you're still looking for ideas, maybe you should give it a try!

ETA: do you have any good macramé links? I would love to give it a try!

[betty@freekidscrafts.com]

If you are looking for some macrame ideas here's a beginning point.

http://www.makingfriends.com/macrame_crafts.htm

Also instructions for friendship bracelets:

http://www.makingfriends.com/friendship.htm