Tips for Crafting with Preschool

While working with my 2 year old I have picked up a few tips which I hope may be helpful, and will be adding to this as I come across new ones

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* Most preschoolers have about 10 minutes attention when making crafts, work with this, try to do all thier parts within this time and worry about drying, or attaching together later as it may be very difficult to get child to keep returning to project

* Preparation. Make sure everything is prepared and laid out ready, the time with the child can be spent making activity instead of trying to get them to wait while you get items

* Remember this is about interacting with the child, developing their creativity, dont worry about perfection. Better to have a piece of art that child enjoyed making thats slanted, off centred or in weird and wonderful colours, than one that got them stressed

* Keep it simple, the child is learning so much while crafting already

* Painting and glueing can be difficult to get child to do in correct spot, create a game of chasing your finger with brush to correct area

*Children can get carried away while crafting, a handprint can pretty soon turn into a big brown splodge. I found if creating a gift create 2 copies, one which you can work on and remove while still 'pretty', and a second which you can swap it with and allow to to continue as much as they want