The March monthly handicrafts plan is here! I am so excited to start doing these handicraft plans once a month. No more planning crafts for your littles, I got you covered!
Let me plan your handicrafts for you. Sign up for the FREE monthly handicraft plan here!
What are handicrafts?
First, let’s talk about what a handicraft is. Charlotte Mason, a British educator who invested her life in improving the quality of children’s education, advocated that children learn handicrafts. According to Simply Charlotte Mason, handicrafts should embody four things:
- The end product should be useful
- Teach the children “slowly and carefully” what they are to do
- Emphasize the habit of best effort
- Carefully select handicrafts and life skills to challenge but not frustrate
The monthly handicraft plan aims to fulfill all of the above. My hope is that not only will the crafts be enjoyable for you and your family, but that they will be useful and even teach a new skill at times!
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How does the monthly handicrafts plan work?
I reached out to you guys and it turns out we all struggle in very similar ways when it comes to doing crafts with our kids.
My biggest hurdle with crafts was planning. If I didn’t plan the craft ahead of time, we didn’t do it. I either didn’t have the supplies or couldn’t find a craft the kids (and I) really wanted to do.
I want to make crafts easier and more enjoyable for you and your kids! In comes the monthly handicraft plan!!
About a week before the month ends, I’m going to post a list of all the supplies you’ll need for 4 handicrafts. This way you can do one craft a week. You can get all your supplies before the month starts, then you won’t have to think about it until you’re ready to craft each week!
The monthly handicraft plan will have a full supply list for the month and links to all of the craft instructions. It will be geared for ages 4-8, but littles and older ones could definitely participate too!
My goal for this handicraft plan is that it will be budget friendly, nature based, and that it will help teach your children new hands on skills. I’m going to choose crafts that are not only fun, but also useful (and pretty ☺️).
You can do all the crafts, or pick and choose the ones that work for you!
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Handicrafts supply list for March
Here is the full supply list and instructions you will need for all four crafts:
1. Bird feeder – Instructions
This craft and photo are from Make & Create. She has created some beautiful handicrafts and you’ll be seeing her work a lot around here!
- Milk Carton
- Paint
- paintbrush
- wooden dowel ($1.50, Lowe’s pickup is the way to go)
- Glue
- Popsicle sticks
- Thread or Twine
- Knife or scissors
- Birdseed
2. Mini greenhouse – Instructions
This craft and photo are from Cari over at Koti Beth Designs
- Clear plastic container with lid (i.e. spinach or strawberry container)
- Seed starting mix
- 18 paper rolls (start saving these now or order them here if you need extra)
- spoon
- scissors
- black sharpie
- colored popsicle sticks (color your own or order some here)
- seeds (this can be whatever you want to grow, but here are some suggestions: spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, sunflowers, beans).
3. Egg carton puppets – Instructions
This craft and photo is from Make & Create
- egg cartons
- paint
- scissors
4. Create a lion – Instructions
This craft and photo is from Make & Create.
Craft by Make & Create
- cardboard
- paint
- black marker
- scissors
- hole punch
- scraps of old fabric (or yarn)
Time to gather your supplies!
Here is a checklist for you so you can keep track of what you have and what you need! Check your craft supply inventory at home and mark off which supplies you have. Then gather the ones you need.
I’d suggest picking a day out of the week that you plan to do your handicraft. We have deemed Monday as “Make-it Monday” over here. The girls don’t let me forget it either!
I hope this helps take some stress of you and makes crafting more enjoyable for you and your family. Can’t wait to see what you create!
[…] you are looking for some more structured crafts, I recently created a monthly handicraft plan that includes a full supply list and instructions for four crafts. I’ll be publishing these […]