6 fun and easy art activities to do with children this winter break

Winter vacations are here and so is the worry of keeping the children engaged for the next few weeks. And if you don’t want the kids to be glued to a screen (TV or mobile) and damage their eyes, then it is best to take up some art activities that will help them stay busy, engaged, have fun, and of course, protect their eyes. And if your kids are bored with regular painting and sketching with oil pastels and highlighters, here are some unique, fun, and easy art activities that will make them happy.

While this might sound like a lot of work, making paper at home is actually pretty easy, needs very minimal equipment, and is the perfect way to engage the children for hours on end. To make paper at home, simply tear out some old sheets from notebooks and books that are no longer in use, and try to recycle the ones that have already been written or printed on. You can use old newspapers, activity sheets, drawings that children no longer like, or anything else which isn’t used anymore. Now, keep these papers soaked in water overnight to break the pulp down. Next morning, call the kids to work and blend the paper together. Take a tub, fill it with water, and pour the pulp into it while stirring well. Then take a small mesh and scoop up a thin layer of pulp onto it. Take the mesh out of the tub, soak any excess water with a soft sponge, and then gently tap the paper onto a cloth. Let it dry overnight, and homemade paper is ready to re-use.

Another engaging activity to do with the kids is Sand art. The grainy texture of sand will keep the kids happy and engaged, and will keep them hooked to the play for hours. Just buy some clear sand from the craft store near you, along with ziplock bags, and food colouring. Then, place the sand into different ziplock bags, and add a few drops of food colouring or paint (whichever is easily available) to each bag and shake it well so that the sand is evenly covered in the paint. Then add the coloured over a plate or a cloth, and keep it out in the sun to dry out a little. And when it is dry use the sand for art projects like filling jars, making cards, or creating sand paintings.

What is better than not having to expose the kids to harmful chemicals that might be in the boxed paints and poster colours that we buy from the markets? And making some natural colours is not as difficult as one may think! From the market, buy some spinach, beetroot, turmeric, blueberries, coffee, and other products that leave colour. Then, chop the veggies into little pieces and blend them up together to make a paste. Then add some water to the paste and boil it till it reduces and has some residue on the sides of the utensil. Now, strain the mixture to remove solids, leaving only the coloured liquid. Once you have the colour, let it cool, and then dunk the brush into the natural paints for art projects. Spinach will give the perfect green colour, turmeric will be a mix of yellow and orange, beetroot will be a dark red, coffee will be the perfect brown shade, and more.

If you don’t mind a little mess in the rooms in exchange for hours of fun, finger painting is the art to do! And what’s best is that you can use the natural colours made above to do the finger painting. Take large sheets of paper, bowls, and cloth for cleaning the fingers. Then spread out the papers on the floor (don’t keep it on the tables), and let kids dip their fingers into the paint and create patterns, swirls, or even specific shapes. Make them mix and match the blues and greens, and the red and whites to make combination colours, and let them make handprints over the paper and even some round suns and animals with their fingers.

Every child loves Play-doh, and it is one of the easiest things to shape and play with. You can sculpt little animals, make pretend food, build miniatures with it, and so much more. And to put a cherry on top of the cake, you only need some store-bought Play-doh for this activity, and some glitter or beads as the children like. To make some clay art, roll and shape the dough into a large square, circle or rectangle, and allow the children to use bowls, spoons, forks, or the likes to cut out the shapes they like. Or if you do not wish to use home utensils, simply give them large balls of clay, and ask them to make whichever animals or jewellery pieces that they like.

Vegetable art used to be such a beloved art activity while we were still in school! From the flowers with Okra, to the giant sun children made with potato pieces, it was engaging, fun, and super creative.And to do some vegetable art with the children, get some potatoes, ladyfingers, carrots, spinach leaves, and the likes along with paint and some paper. Now, cut the vegetables in half or into interesting shapes, like a star out of the potato, a simple cut on the okra, spinach leaves shaped like Christmas trees, and the likes. Then spread some paint on the veggies, and then stamp the painted side onto the paper to create the drawing and designs that you like.