Kids Create: Art and Craft Experiences for Kids

Kids Create: Arts & Crafts Experiences for Kids by Laurie Carlson boasts over 150 projects, some easy enough for the youngest child and some complicated enough to challenge adults. The project directions, tips, and supplies are clear and precise, with line drawings to suggest the idea behind the project without being prescriptive, encouraging creativity without focusing on results. The organization goes by both project type and by season. (We’re going to overlook the child who wanted to make a candy house for Easter).

As a busy, craft-challenged mom, some of the crafts did feel complicated. (Or it might be that my eight-year-old still cannot be trusted not to cut off his arm with safety scissors.) I’m also not someone who happens to have supplies like “soft clay” laying around. (Does real clay from the backyard count?)

All in all, this seems like a solid all-in-one resource, like all your salt dough recipes in one place, sparing your iPhone from floury fingerprints as you check the recipe for the fifth time. With a little preparation and a good sense of humor, this could be a book to involve kids and parents in some memorable crafts and experiences.