Advice For Crafts In The No-Mess, No-Fuss Household

By Katie Merriam, Mother of 5 and
President of Someday Isle, Inc
Copyright © 1999 Someday Isle, Inc

Many wonderful craft activities are difficult to manage in a home environment. Here are some reasonable alternatives that can provide your child with a creative experience with less wear on you and your house.

• Instead of finger paints, try bathtub finger paints. They will wash off the child and bathtub because they are soap-based.
• Instead of sprinkle glitter, try glitter glue, or sparkle stickers.
• Instead of water colors, use tempera paints. There is no water jar to tip over. Provide a separate brush for each color, 3 to 5 colors is enough.

A final piece of advice that I learned from my Auntie June: encourage drawing, marking, painting on PAPER, rather than walls by saying "If you make it on paper, we can keep it and admire it for a long time. If you paint on the wall we will have to wash it off and we won't have it anymore."