Yarn Wrapped Crafts for Children

This simple craft promotes development of fine motor skills, hand eye coordination, focus, and encourages children to finish tasks or activities. 

It also gives the child a sensory experience, just feeling the softness of yarn, which is 

therapeutic.

Just draw some shapes such as Easter eggs, spring shapes such as butterflies, flowers, bees, rabbits etc on the cardboard. You can choose any topics. At the button of this article watch the video. It shows step by step instructions on how to prepare, present this activity to the child.  

Materials you will are:

Cardboard

Yarn or ribbons

Pair of Scissors

Pencil to draw the shapes

Needle

Start by drawing shapes on the cardboard, if this activity is for a two years old child then make sure that you draw the shape large enough for the child to hold it when working with it.

Once you have drawn the desired shapes, cut little slits around the edge of the shapes. This will hold the yarn when wrapping it, especially around the curves. 

If you are drawing a large heart, draw a second heart in the large heart, leaving about two centimetres (or one inch) gap. I normally leave about two fingers gap.

Next cut the heart and then from the centre of the cardboard heart again cut around the
second heart. This will make a large hole for the child to use his/hers hands for wrapping the yarn.

Next cut the yarn or if using ribbons then cut only 70 centimetres (27 inches) long. Not
too long as it becomes too difficult and confusing for the young child to wrap.

Once you have cut the shapes, the yarn and ribbons, have it ready for the child as in
the video.

First show the child how to wrap the yarn, once the child is ready then handover. It could be that after a couple of rounds the child might get tired and stop. Then ask the child whether he/she would like to stop. If the child says yes then ask the child to put away the activity and finish it later or continue next day.

Let the child practice wrapping as young children like to repeat to master their skills. 

                                             Video: Yarn Wrapped Crafts for Children

Video: Weaving Activities for Children - for fine motor skills and dexterity

Learning Shapes by Wrapping Yarn to a Paper Plate

I have put together a collection of weaving crafts for children as young as two years old. Weaving crafts helps younger children develop fine motors skills, hand eye coordination, focus and encourage them to finish tasks.

These activities are simple and the child sees immediate results, that gives confidence to do the next task or activity. It supports their fine motor skills e.g. writing, using a paint brush, daily life skills such as using folk and knives, tying shoe laces and buckles etc.

I have used basic materials such as a colander from the kitchen, yarn, cardboard and natural materials from my garden. You really don’t have to buy materials to support your child's fine motors skills. Look around you to see what you can find that is child friendly and safe for the child to use.

Learning Shapes by Wrapping Yarn to a Paper Plate

Materials you will need:

4 Deep paper plate (paper bowls)

Some thick yarn or ribbons in different colours

Pair of Scissors

Sticky tape

Colours: crayons or water colours

Pencil

Learning Shapes by Wrapping Yarn to Paper Plates (Age 2 1/2 onwards)

This is one of my top hit activities to do with young children. It's super fun for toddlers, kindergartners and preschools. The children not only learn about shapes, but they learn the very basic method of weaving. 

Depending on the age of the child, you can start by giving them some colours so that they can colour each of the plates with different colours. You can ask them e.g. which colour they want to use to paint the circle or the triangle. I normally introduce one shape at a time and gradually go through all the shapes over a period of time.

It normally takes about a day if the child has painted the plate with water colours, as the plate has to dry first. If using crayons then you can start immediately by cutting the shape that you want in the plate.

Once the paper plates are dry, draw different large shapes inside the plates. You then cut each shape from inside.

Now cut the yarn or ribbons about 70 to 80 centimeters in length so that it is easier for the child to wrap it around the paper plate. (Example you will see in the video below). Cut three of each colours

Next using the tape, take one end of the yarn and stick it to the inside of the plate and start to wrap the yarn.

First show the child how to wrap, and then ask the child if he/she would like to try.

The child might try it for two or three rounds, that's fine. If you see the child is tired and would like to stop, ask the child to put it away and tell the child that he/she can continue with the activity later on or next day. 

Use different yarn or ribbons for different shapes.

Video: Learning Shapes by Wrapping Yarn to Paper Plates