Handicraft Ideas for "Little" Boy

I have an almost four year old boy who very much wants to be in the mix in terms of school time :o)

As I have been planning his “school” I guess I have been thinking of handicrafts for him more in terms of building fine motor skills (as you mentioned) and developing basic problem solving skills through games and projects. Some of what we have done/will be doing include:

-Mini sandbox, we already have this and he loves it.

http://www.amazon.com/My-Little-Sandbox-Big-Builder/dp/B0000A9XZ2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1310768870&sr=1-1

-Floor Puzzels

-Legos, he loves them and they are so great for fine motor

-Think-It’s Game, can be used for story telling (great pre-narration practice!) and various memory building type games

-I Spy Jr. Game

-Tangrams

– And this point isn’t really answering your handicrafts question, but in case you were wanting other ideas……for his “school” I am using Five In A Row books. We will read the book of the week several times throughout the week and then I’ll plan one project or activity for he and I to do together related to that week’s book, cook something, build something, do an art activity or project, etc.

Homeschoolshare.com has tons of free resources and ideas based on children’s books.

Hope this helps some. I actually am really excited to hear other’s responses as well as this is something I have been thinking about :o)

Does he like sticks and finding *treasures* outside? You can take things he finds on nature walks/backyard adventures and save them in a tub or something like that. He can then use them in a sensory bin (fill a shallow tub with rice and then bury things in it for him to find). You could also have him sort his treasures (e.g. rocks in one pile, sticks in another). If he brings you flowers (even weeds), you could let him make a card out of them. I have found clear packing tape works well. Just fold a piece of paper in half and help him tape the *flower* down. He could then decorate it and sign his name to give to someone later. My little ones love making homemade cards for others.

He could make bracelets for by putting beads on a pipe cleaner. You can even buy large foam beads if he isn’t able to do the smaller beads yet. These can be saved for gift giving later too.

Stamping is a great activity and again can be turned into a gift/card. Or just a work of art!

Don’t forget collages. If you have old magazines (I don’t get any but my Mom gives me a stash), have him cut out things and glue them on a sheet of paper. You could even make it more advanced by having him go on a scavenger hunt for a certain color or a certain type of item (food, animal, people, etc.).

HTH!

How about making indoor balls with colored wool. All it takes is water and soap and lots of mashing the fibers together which boys can be very good at.