The key to engaging your children in some winter craft time is to get creative and offer them projects that they have never done before - bonus if the craft is educational! I love finding projects that are multi-age friendly and can be tied in with our school subject studies.
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My youngest received a monthly subscription box from Raddish Kids recently that fit perfectly with our history lessons. The kit focused on the food of Sweden and included a great craft project the Swedes are known for, the Dala horses.
The Dala horse originated long ago as a way to pass the time during long cold fall and winters in Sweden. These small tailless wooden horses, carved and decorated by hand were created from leftover scraps of wood from building furniture. The carvers of these bright, happy little animals would give them as gifts to their children.
Since we are smack-dab in the middle of a dreary, dark winter season I thought these little horses would be the perfect way to add a little brightness and color to our home! This project also met my two requirements - it is multi-age and educational.
We started the project with a quick geography lesson. I had my younger children find Sweden on our big world map as well as Stockholm, the capital too. My older children spent a few minutes "Googling" Dala horse and read a little bit of the history to the younger children. We also looked at some pictures online of real wooden Dala horses so we had some idea as to the colors used to decorate them. When we were done with the geography and history lesson it was time to bust out the art supplies.
Free Dala Horse Paper Template From Raddishkids.com
In the monthly Raddish kids kit there was a template for us to use on heavy cardstock of a Dala horse. I made some copies with our printer on cardstock so each child had their own and we got started coloring them. The free printable template for this Dala horse can be found on Raddishkids.com under the "Bonus Bites" section. (Thank you Raddishkids!)
This is a very simple craft project that takes minimal supplies and time. Your children could use paint, markers or colored pencils to color their Dala horses. Once the horse template is colored it just needs to be cut out, folded and a little dab of glue or tape applied to the horses head to attach it to the body and you are all done!
These little guys are so cheerful and bright aren't they! I'd love to see how yours turned out.
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Looking for more great craft projects to do with your kids? Check out these other great craft projects that are simple, educational and fun!
Make your own bird feeder from recyclables! Get the full tutorial HERE.
Do your kids love gardening? Let them make their own brick paver garden markers to really make their garden look amazing! Find the complete tutorial HERE!
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