10 Arts & Crafts Ideas for Children during Lockdown

Keep your children entertained during the lockdown using our list of arts and crafts ideas. With many to choose from, there is something for every child to enjoy.

Lockdown surely can be boring for many of us, but children must be feeling it the most. As a parent, it can be exhausting trying to think of ideas on how to entertain your kids every day.

As lockdown continues, you must have run out of fun and exciting ideas. However, we are here to help and have picked out 10 amazing and creative arts and crafts activities for your children.

The arts and crafts chosen are budget-friendly and most of the items and supplies can be found in your home. They do not require much effort but are still super entertaining.

DESIblitz presents 10 fantastic arts and crafts ideas for your children to get on with during the lockdown.

Family Tree

Do you need an exciting way to teach your children about who their extended family members are? A family tree is a perfect way to enhance your children’s knowledge as well as keeping them entertained during the lockdown.

There are many ways to create a family tree, no matter how big or small your family is. It all depends on how creative you really want to be.

If you are looking to go all out with your children, painting your family tree on a plain wall in your house is always a good idea. You could either paint a tree on the wall yourself or simply order a stencil for your children to use.

You could also get your children to create a family tree using paper mache figures and make it look colourful.

To throw it all the way back, you could also get your children to make a good old vintage family tree. This can be done using a blackboard, chalk and some old photographs; to make it even more pretty, they could add a frame around the board.

However, instead of being all fancy, you could get your children to create a simple family tree with a bit of paper and some felt tips or crayons. Printing templates from online is also another quick, easy but fun idea.

By the time the lockdown is lifted, your children will have enough knowledge about the whole family. So, pull up their sleeves and get creative!

COVID-19 Pandemic Rainbow

Ever since the coronavirus worsened and the lockdown has been put into place, many children have been creating rainbows to support the NHS.

If your children have not already made one, then now is the time. Once they have made it, simply stick it on the window for everyone to see outside.

There are many templates to choose from online which you can print out. Once you have printed it out, get your children to colour in the rainbow using felts, crayons, paint or even chalk.

However, to be a bit more authentic, they could also create their own rainbow from scratch. Get out all of the art supplies, leave them to it and see what they create on their own!

It would also be nice to think of a short poem to go under the rainbow, making it even more original.

It is important for children to understand the current situation and how we should be protecting the NHS. With their support, it makes everything better.

Chalk Art

Chalk art is one of the most fun activities your children can do, especially when the sun is shining. If your children are bored, order some chalk that is suitable for outdoor use and get them to create some amazing art.

By getting your children to create some chalk art, you can simply leave them to it and have some time to yourself. With a bunch of chalk and some outdoor space, they will be at it for hours, having fun and enjoying themselves.

As schools are closed during the lockdown, you could also use the chalk to teach them outdoors. Do some maths sums or even some spelling on the slabs outside using the chalk.

This will enhance their knowledge as well as keeping them entertained for as long as possible.

So, the next time your children say they are bored, you know what to do! Provide them with some chalk and see what they can create.

Adults also love a bit of chalk, so you could always join your children and have some family fun. It is time for all of us to come together and beat the boredom of lockdown.

Bubble Painting

Bubble painting will occupy your children for hours and hours during the lockdown. It will for sure have them coming back for more as it is so much fun.

To bubble paint, you will need to mix your paint with a bit of water and a drop of washing up liquid. You will then need to blow through it with a straw which will create hundreds of bubbles.

To print the bubbles on to your paper, you will need to place the paper over the bubbles and then remove it. You will need to allow the paper to dry as the paint will still be wet.

Switch things up a little and use more than one colour too. First, blow some bubbles using one colour on to the paper and then using another colour, do the same thing on the same paper.

However, with this activity, you will need to be a little cautious to make sure your children do not suck in the paint through the straw. You will also need to be there when creating the paint mixture to prevent any accidents.

Other than that, once your children get the hang of blowing the bubbles through the straw, they will love it!

DIY Dollhouse

Creating a DIY dollhouse will keep your children occupied for at least a week or two, depending on how snazzy they want it.

There are various ways to make a dollhouse from the comfort of your own home. Recycling your old furniture is always a good idea when making a dollhouse.

Teach your children how to recycle when creating the dollhouse by using items found in your house. To create the house itself, you can use a bookcase, side table or even a wall shelf.

Simply, get your children to paint the structure of the dollhouse using the colours of their choice. Get them to unleash their inner artists and create a top-class dollhouse.

Once they have created and painted the structure, the house will now need some furniture. Beds can be made using cardboard, glue and some acrylic paint.

By searching online on how to create dollhouse furniture at home, there are many things to choose from.

For example, it would be easy to make things like rugs and curtains. Simply find an old cardigan or patterned jumper and cut out a small rug from it.

Creating the wallpaper is pretty straightforward too, your children could either make their own and stick it onto the walls. However, they could also use some leftover wallpaper from your house and use it in their dollhouse.

Not forgetting the little characters who live in the house! Again, your children can either create their own characters or they can use the small dolls they already have.

With a bit of imagination and creativity, your children could make the most amazing dollhouse.

Toilet Paper Roll Flowers

At the beginning of the lockdown, there was a huge toilet roll crisis due to various people hoarding it and panic-buying. However, now that there is so much in stock in many supermarkets, why not recycle the rolls instead of throwing them away?

After all, there has been so much demand for them, so why not treasure them and make proper use of them? There are various ways to re-use them including using them to create pretty flowers.

It also just so happens that the lockdown is in spring, making it the perfect time for your children to create some bright flowers.

To make things even better, this activity does not require many materials. All you need is toilet paper rolls, green paint, a foam paintbrush, coloured card and glue. To finish, you can also use pom poms and sequins to decorate them.

All you will need to do is paint the toilet roll green and cut out some leaves and flowers from the card. You will need to cut two small slits at the top of the toilet roll on each side to slide in the flower a bit.

Glue the leaves onto the toilet roll to, along with the pom poms, sequins and any other decorations your children would like to add.

This activity will leave your children entertained and occupied for hours. When they are finished, you can get them to place them around the house to brighten it up a little!

Craft idea inspired by the best ideas for kids.

Tie-Dye

Here is something a bit different you could do with your children during the lockdown; make some tie-dye t-shirts!

This activity does require a bit more attention compared to the others and there are quite a few steps. However, in the end, the result will be fabulous.

Firstly, you will need a plain white t-shirt, soda ash, dye and string. Next, you will need to fill a bucket with water and get the t-shirts wet.

Using the string, you can get your children to tie knots and twists the t-shirts however they like. Let them get as creative as possible.

To make the soda ash, you will need to add some warm water to the ash and mix it together. Put the tied and twisted t-shirts into the soda ash and wait for 20 minutes.

Next is the fun bit, it is time to dye the t-shirts. Squirt different dye colours onto the t-shirts, your children will love this step as it is time to get messy.

Just make sure they do not drink the dye or put it on themselves. Once they have dyed the t-shirt, you will need to leave it to sit for about 12 hours in a zip lock bag.

Next, you will need to rinse and hang them to dry. Once they are dry, you will need to wash them in the washing machine, dry them and they are ready to wear.

Your children can tie-dye any piece of clothing they like, from their socks to their shorts!

Time Capsule

Bringing authenticity and creativity back, get your children to get creative with a time capsule to remember this lockdown when they are older.

You will need to find a box of some sort in your house with a lid, especially if you are going to be burying it in the garden.

It is important that you explain what a time capsule is to your children so that they add in that extra bit of effort. By making an effort with it means it will be much more fun to open in the near future.

They can put whatever they wish into the time capsule but we also have some of our own ideas. You could get them to draw around their hands, cut it out and put it in to see the size difference later on.

It could also be great fun to get them to get pictures of their current bedrooms or their favourite clothes or toys. Even a picture of themselves to put in the time capsule would be great.

You could even get them to write a letter to their future selves and you can do the same too!

Newspaper cuttings could also be an interesting touch to add to the time capsule. This would be good to add to remember the lockdown and the pandemic.

Once the children have finished adding things into the time capsule, you could also get them to decorate it. Then, get together and bury it in the garden and wait for about 5-10 years or however long you want.

Before burying it, however, make sure you seal it properly so that it does not get ruined or wet.

Cereal Box Aquarium

The cereal box aquarium is great for those children who love to use their imagination. This activity brings so much fun and creativity to your children during the lockdown.

Who knew you could create an aquarium with a used cereal box? It is an amazing idea and is also very easy for children to do.

Grab your cereal box and create a cut-out, it is recommended that you cut it out for your children. Then, using some turquoise paint, get your children to paint the centre of the box to create the sea.

Using a variety of coloured card, cut out some fish, shells and other undersea creatures. Decorate your cut-outs and glue them onto the blue background.

You could also get your children to find some stones from the garden so that you can glue them down at the bottom of the sea using hot glue.

Green pipe cleaners also work amazingly to create some weed at the bottom of the sea too. There are so many things your children can do with this craft idea.

Idea inspired by the best ideas for kids.

Spin Art

Spin art is an impeccable form of art inspired by Damien Hirst and is used widely by children. It is also another perfect way to keep the kids entertained during the lockdown.

Not many materials are needed, yet the results are spectacular. You will need straws, poster paint, scissors, paper plate or A4 paper and a salad spinner.

If you are using paper, then you will need to cut out a big circle. However, if you are using a paper plate, then you do not need to cut it.

Put the circle inside the salad spinner and squeeze a drop of paint onto the paper with your straw. You will then need to close the lid of the salad spinner and spin it.

Take off the lid, take out the paper and you will be left with an amazing array of colours using the spinning technique.

You can use as many different colours as you like at one go to make the paper come out even more amazing. Your children will be occupied with this for hours and will have a lot of fun with it.

Using our arts and crafts ideas for your children, they will never get bored during the lockdown ever again.

These ideas are great for enhancing their imagination, as well as their creative skills. So, get them into some old rags and set them free into a world full of colour, glitter and fun!