Best Practices:
Arts and crafts

"For Thanksgiving, moms worked with their kids to make 'Thankful Trees.' Each family got a bucket, a small branch to plant in it, and colored leaves. They wrote something they were thankful for on each leaf, and the kids strung them on the branches. It was a good family activity."

"We gave each child some bubble wrap to paint on. They liked the texture of the bubbles and the way they had to paint over and around the bumps to cover the area. When they were done painting, we laid a sheet of paper on top and gently rubbed to get a print of the 'bubbles.' The prints turned out really cool. We cut the paper into the shape of a fish tank and added fish and plants on top of the bubbles. All the kids (ages 3-6) enjoyed doing it. The adults thought it was fun, too."

"We had the kids make bird feeders out of pine cones, peanut butter, and birdseed. With their help, we hung the pine cones on the tree next to our front porch. The birds quickly found the pine cones and the kids really enjoyed watching the birds for several days.

"Just having the art supplies handy that HCEF supplied is a great tool when doing art therapy. Having a child show you what color their anger is or what color would sad look like or just letting a child have a blank piece of paper and crayons and telling them to just scribble can tell you a lot about their anger or frustration."

"While making Halloween decorations with very young children a staff member used the decorations to teach the children about pronunciation of words. The children enjoyed making decorations and coloring without even realizing they were learning."

"We had a Family Fun Night to celebrate the first day of Spring. All the kids painted with watercolors on coffee filters. The colors spread out and blended with each other. We made a vase with stems out of construction paper and hung it on the wall. After the coffee filters dried, we hung them on the stems and made a beautiful Spring bouquet. Everyone (moms included) enjoyed the project and it was age appropriate for toddlers through school agers."

   :

"I was able to create photo albums for the three families that are in our homeless program right now. All three families said that they had no pictures of their children or had a few pictures and nowhere to put them. With the equipment and supplies that I received from HCEF I am able to help parents create wonderful photo albums and scrapbooks that they can continue to build on even after they leave our shelter. It really helps them to cope with the serious issues they are dealing with, and it gives the parents and the children a positive aspect of their present situation."

"We had a family fun night and had the kids and their moms make cinnamon ornaments for our Christmas tree. This has become a tradition here, and each year we decorate the tree with ornaments that were made by kids who lived here in the past. When the dough was dry, we glued a photo of each child on their ornament to hang on our tree. Everyone enjoys this project, and the ornaments still smell good the next year!"

"It is always good to have all the art supplies handy for counseling the kids. I used the long butcher block paper in one of my sessions to outline the body of one of my children, and she loved it because it allowed her to see herself on paper. She was able to decorate it any way she wished. Each session she added new and positive details. She was able to increase her self esteem and to see all the different aspects of who she is."

See also Best Practices: Learning opportunities and special occasions

(5/15/09)