This mini pom-pom pets craft project produces the most adorable little yarn animals, with the help of a dinner fork. You wrap the included yarn around said fork and clip the string loops to create a fluffy ball. Though young kids may need assistance to form the animal bodies, they’ll easily handle the rest, such as adding eyeballs and other features.
Creativity And Fun For Kids This Summer At Painting With A Twist
Painting With A Twist can be a fun activity to do with friends or for a date night. We found out that it’s also my kid’s favorite thing to do this summer!
I have always loved the concept of Painting With A Twist. It’s such a fun activity and I love that there is no pressure: anyone can paint and there is no judgement. It’s not about making a perfect work of art, it’s about spending time with friends or family or about making new friends while you get creative and unwind.
There are few things more relaxing for me than just putting colors on a canvas and letting all the worries from the day fade away as I create my painting. I’ve gone to Painting With A Twist with friends a couple of times and I have also gone as a team building activity with my coworkers and it was a fantastic opportunity to really bond and get to know each other outside of work.
A lot of people don’t realize that Painting With A Twist also has classes for kids. My kids just finished a week of summer camp at our local Painting With A Twist. They attended the Painting With A Twist camp for the first time last year and they couldn’t wait to go back as it was their favorite camp last year. They loved every minute of it and they had so much fun. They also made lots of friends and had fun playing games and learning not only about art but about different subjects. The camps have a weekly theme. Lat year my kids attended a Salt Life themed week and as they created their art work they also learned fun facts about sea creatures and played games. My daughter who was is 10 is on the Autism spectrum and had never been artistic but the staff at Painting With A Twist Fort Myers was amazing and they really empowered her and motivated her. Every day she came home with a new painting and she was so proud of her creations. The experience boosted her self-esteem and her confidence. My son who was 8 also had a fantastic time and he was so excited with the paintings he created!
We have a wall in our house now with their paintings and the paintings also made great gifts for the grandparents. My mother in law has one displayed in her dining room and it looks great. She get’s compliments on it all the time and people have a hart time believing this was made by a 8 year old! My son is so proud to see his art displayed and this has motivated to continue being creative and now he loves to paint at home too.
This year they did the Disney themed week of camp and each day they came back home with a different Disney themed creation. They played Disney trivia and listened to Disney themed songs while they where painting and had such an amazing time!
Painting With A Twist has kid’s classes all year long, usually on the weekends as well as summer camps and camps for spring break and Christmas break. During the classes trained professional artists will lead the children in age appropriate activities including painting, games, group learning activities and snacks. Little painters will explore their own unique creative style with a daily painting based on that week’s theme. They will learn art techniques and many other things throughout the week through painting and fun art related activities. Painting With A Twist is also a great option to celebrate your child’s party.
So be sure to check out your local Painting With A Twist’s calendar of events right HERE, I’m sure you’ll be able to find some great options for you or for your children to enjoy a day of creative fun!
Paula moved from her native Guatemala to SW Florida with her husband and two children and together they are discovering what it means to live life between two languages.
Paula studied architecture and now makes a living as a freelance writer,traveler and amateur photographer.She started her writing & publishing career as the editor of Bebé y Mamá, the first parenting magazine in Guatemala.She is the founder of www.GrowingUpBilingual.com and www.365thingsswfl.com and writes articles in Spanish and English for both magazines and the web on travel,food and bicultural and bilingual parenting .
When she is not on a plane or road trip she likes to create recipes inspired in the flavors of her native Guatemala.
Latest posts by Paula Bendfeldt-Diaz (see all)
- Easy Recipes Using Marigolds (Cempasuchil) For the Day of the Dead – October 25, 2023
- How to Make Pan de Muerto Calaverita (Sugar Skull Pan De Muerto) – October 23, 2023
- Best Day of the Dead Cookies: Easy Dia de los Muertos Cookie Recipes – October 22, 2023
A crafty subscription
Ages 2 to 4
Koala Crate (starting at $17 per month at the time of publication)
As shelter-in-place orders continue in many states, a subscription craft box can give kids something to look forward to from the outside world. Koala Crate, our favorite for the preschool set, comes with all the supplies they’ll need—which is convenient, since bopping out for materials isn’t so easy anymore. Each month, expect to receive three activities that will delight children in this age group; we found the activities to be more creative than those in other subscription boxes we tried.
Ages 5 to 8
Kiwi Crate (starting at $17 per month at the time of publication)
Kiwi Crate, our subscription craft-box pick for kids in early elementary school, delivers monthly projects that are not only hands-on and fun but that also incorporate elements of STEAM (PDF) (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics). These aren’t traditional craft projects; one, for instance, involves constructing an arcade claw. Parents may need to pitch in, but we like how inventive and challenging these projects are. We also like Green Kid Crafts (starting at $25 per month at the time of publication), our runner-up pick, which comes with up to eight projects per box and includes all the supplies you’ll need. Most of the activities are more like traditional crafts, and our testers found them to be less original than those from Kiwi Crate or Koala Crate.
Tactile fun
Ages 3 and up
Relevant Play Mad Mattr (starting at about $9 at the time of publication)
For hands-on play that’s not too messy or sticky, Mad Mattr modeling compound is moldable like Play-Doh, but it doesn’t dry out or stain. We like its interesting consistency: When stretched, the Mattr morphs into a kind of soft sand.
Ages 3 and up
Hey Clay (starting at $17 at the time of publication)
Hey Clay takes sculpting a step further with an accompanying app that gives kids lively tutorials on how to construct fun figures that dry to a solid state after roughly 24 hours. Sets include 18 0.7-ounce plastic containers of bright, flexible clay. Choose from aliens, adorable animals, dinosaurs, and monsters. The results can be impressive, but we recommend using up the colored clay within a couple weeks after opening the individual jars—once the seal is broken, the clay can dry out.
Ages 3 and up
Crayola Model Magic Deluxe Variety Pack ($24 at the time of publication)
Crayola’s Model Magic clay lets kids sculpt to their heart’s content with ease. The clay, which doesn’t crumble or leave behind a mess, hardens after about 24 hours, resulting in figurines that are sturdy enough to play with (though we’ve had pieces fall apart here and there). The set includes 14 half-ounce bags of clay in different colors, along with 10 project cards. Less of a themed set compared with Hey Clay, Model Magic is great for free-building a diorama or other 3D design, and it can also come in handy for school projects.
Ages 8 and up
Crazy Aaron’s Magnetic Thinking Putty 4″ Tin ($15 at the time of publication)
For older kids who still love the sensation of squishing and squeezing putty, but who want something a bit more sophisticated, Crazy Aaron’s Thinking Putty comes in all sorts of colors and effects, such as glow-in-the-dark, color-changing, and cheese-pizza-scented.
At-home art cart
Ages 3 and up
Crayola Twistables Slick Stix Crayons ($10 at the time of publication)
Crayola Ultra-Clean Washable Markers ($5 at the time of publication)
Fiskars Softgrip Blunt-tip Kids Scissors ($3 at the time of publication)
Elmer’s Disappearing Purple Washable School Glue Stick ($3 for a 3-stick pack at the time of publication)
A well-stocked and accessible art-supply box is handy for impromptu projects. Fill it with some of our favorite school supplies and stocking stuffers. Crayola Twistables Slick Stix Crayons glide easily over paper and produce rich, vibrant colors akin to oil pastels (be warned—they stain). Crayola Ultra-Clean Washable Markers wash out (with some scrubbing) and won’t dry out, even if they’re left capless for up to six hours. For collage-making or cut-and-paste projects, these Fiskars scissors are comfortable for little fingers and will work for both right- and left-handers. And we found Elmer’s Disappearing Purple glue sticks the easiest and most effective way to stick stuff together. Need some inspiration? Kid-art hub Deep Space Sparkle offers free monthly downloadable packs of printouts and drawing guides, and the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is featuring project ideas to get creative energy crackling.
Ages 3 and up
Areaware Moon Chalk Color Set ($34 at the time of publication)
Super-cool Areaware Moon Chalk comes in three unique shapes (Satellite Stack, Cosmic Pollen, and Lunar Rake) that leave out-of-this-world patterns as you swipe them across the sidewalk or a chalkboard. The color trio (red, blue, and yellow) might inspire kids to leave a colorful message or artwork on the sidewalk for their neighbors. For a more traditional variety pack, try Crayola Washable Sidewalk Chalk ($5 at the time of publication).
Ages 4 and up
Creativity Street Peel and Stick Wiggle Eyes ($6 at the time of publication)
There are bound to be giggles if you let kids roam around your home armed with a set of these peel-and-stick wiggle eyes. Stick the googly peepers (there are 60 in a pack) on oranges or other inanimate objects for some goofy fun, or dress up construction paper or coloring-book pages.
Ages 8 and up
Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolors ($34 at the time of publication)
Arteza Acrylic Paint ($42 at the time of publication)
Older budding artists may savor Kuretake watercolors, which are a step up from most watercolor paints and are made by a 117-year-old sumi ink manufacturer in Nara, Japan. For a different medium, versatile Arteza Acrylic Paint produces vibrant hues, dries quickly, and glosses onto a number of surfaces, including wood, glass, and paper.
