Easy Ornament Craft for Kids: Fun DIY Holiday Decorations
Table of Contents
- The Magic of Making: Why Easy Ornament Crafts Matter for Growing Minds
- Setting the Stage for Creative Success
- Our Favorite Easy Ornament Crafts for Kids (with Developmental & Language Focus)
- Speech Blubs: Your Partner in Play and Communication
- Is Speech Blubs Right for Your Child?
- Speech Blubs Pricing: Choose the Best Value for Your Family
- Conclusion
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Have you ever noticed the way a child’s eyes light up when they create something with their own hands? It’s a magical moment, filled with pride, discovery, and an unspoken sense of accomplishment. This feeling is amplified during the holidays, as little ones gaze at the sparkling tree, perhaps pointing to a wobbly, glitter-covered creation and declaring, “I made that!” Crafting isn’t just about creating pretty decorations; it’s a powerful tool for a child’s development, fostering everything from fine motor skills to imaginative thinking and, most importantly, communication.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll dive into a world of enchanting, easy ornament crafts for kids that promise to bring joy to your home and ignite a passion for creation in your little ones. We’ll explore simple, engaging projects using everyday materials, highlight the incredible developmental benefits of each activity, and show you how these hands-on experiences naturally create fertile ground for language growth. We’ll also share how Speech Blubs, a tool born from our founders’ personal journeys with speech challenges, can seamlessly complement these crafting sessions, turning ‘smart screen time’ into a powerful catalyst for communication, helping children speak their minds and hearts with confidence. Get ready to create lasting memories and beautiful ornaments together!
The Magic of Making: Why Easy Ornament Crafts Matter for Growing Minds
Crafting is far more than just a fun way to pass the time; it’s a foundational activity that supports a child’s holistic development. When tiny hands are busy cutting, gluing, and decorating, a symphony of learning unfolds.
Developing Essential Skills Through Play
- Fine Motor Skills: These are the small, precise movements that children need for tasks like writing, buttoning clothes, and eating. Crafts like threading beads onto a pipe cleaner for candy cane ornaments or carefully placing pom-poms on a snowman require significant dexterity. The act of pinching clothespins, manipulating felt, or even just holding a paintbrush strengthens the small muscles in their hands and fingers, preparing them for future academic and life skills.
- Cognitive Growth and Problem-Solving: Every craft presents a mini-challenge. “How do I make the glue stick?” “Which color should I use here?” “How do I attach this ribbon?” These questions, big or small, encourage children to think critically, experiment with materials, and find solutions. Following multi-step instructions, even simple ones, boosts their sequential memory and planning abilities.
- Sensory Exploration: Many crafts engage multiple senses. The squishiness of clay, the roughness of a pinecone, the stickiness of glue, the scent of paint, the sparkle of glitter – these sensory experiences help children understand their world and build connections in their brains. Marbled ornaments, for instance, offer a delightful visual and tactile experience as colors swirl and blend.
- Nurturing Creativity and Imagination: There’s no single “right” way to decorate an ornament. This freedom allows children to express themselves, to imagine a tiny forest inside a jar lid, or to give a snowman a funny face. This open-ended play is crucial for fostering innovative thinking and self-expression.
- Boosting Self-Esteem and Confidence: The pride a child feels when they hold up their completed ornament is immense. It’s a tangible representation of their effort and ability. This boost in confidence encourages them to try new things and persevere through challenges.
Sparking Language and Communication Through Crafting
Perhaps one of the most significant, yet often overlooked, benefits of crafting is its power to ignite language development. When you craft with your child, you create a natural, engaging environment for conversation.
- Expanding Vocabulary: As you work, you can introduce new words related to colors (“red ribbon,” “blue paint”), shapes (“circle cutout,” “star cookie cutter”), textures (“bumpy pinecone,” “smooth clay,” “sparkly glitter”), actions (“cut,” “glue,” “paint,” “thread,” “decorate”), and descriptive words (“tiny,” “big,” “shiny,” “soft,” “hard”).
- Practicing Prepositions and Spatial Concepts: “Put the pom-pom on the snowman’s head,” “The ribbon goes around the cookie cutter,” “Dip the brush into the paint.” These simple phrases reinforce crucial spatial understanding.
- Following Directions: Craft instructions provide an excellent opportunity to practice listening and comprehension skills. “First, get the paper. Next, cut a circle.”
- Describing and Narrating: Encourage your child to talk about what they are doing. “I’m painting the pinecone green!” or “My snowman needs a hat.” Ask open-ended questions like, “Tell me about your ornament,” or “What are you going to do next?”
- Social Interaction and Turn-Taking: Crafting together fosters cooperative play, sharing materials, and taking turns, all of which are vital for developing strong communication and social skills. For instance, when creating felt cookie ornaments, you might say, “My turn to cut the felt, then your turn to add the sprinkles.”
For a parent whose 3-year-old “late talker” loves animals but struggles to articulate their names, creating animal wood slice ornaments offers a fantastic chance to reinforce words like “llama,” “fox,” “ears,” and “tail,” practicing the sounds in a fun, pressure-free way. When a child learns a word like “star” in a dedicated speech app, then physically creates a star ornament, the multi-sensory experience strengthens that neural pathway, making the word stick. This is where the synergy between hands-on play and “smart screen time” with Speech Blubs truly shines.
Setting the Stage for Creative Success
Before diving into the glitter and glue, a little preparation can make a big difference in ensuring a smooth, enjoyable crafting experience for both you and your child.
Preparation is Key
- Gather All Supplies: Nothing derails creative flow faster than having to search for a missing item mid-project. Have everything laid out within easy reach: glue, scissors (child-safe, of course!), paint, brushes, paper, and any specific materials for your chosen craft.
- Create a Child-Safe Crafting Zone: Cover your table with old newspapers, a plastic tablecloth, or even a cardboard box opened flat. This protects your surfaces from spills and makes cleanup much easier. Ensure good lighting and a comfortable seating arrangement.
- Dress for Mess: Put your child in old clothes or a smock. It’s much easier to embrace the mess when you’re not worried about staining their favorite outfit!
- Manage Expectations (Yours!): Remember that for young children, the process is infinitely more important than the perfect finished product. Their ornament might be lopsided, heavily glued, or painted in unexpected colors, and that’s perfectly okay! Celebrate their effort and creativity, not just the outcome.
Talking It Through: The Heart of Language Development During Crafts
This is where the magic truly happens for communication. Turn every step of the craft into an opportunity for dialogue.
- Narrate Your Actions: “First, I’m opening the glue. Now, I’m squirting a little dot.”
- Describe Materials: “This glitter is so sparkly! Do you like the rough texture of this pinecone?”
- Ask Open-Ended Questions: Instead of “Do you like it?”, try “What’s your favorite part of your ornament?” or “Tell me about the colors you chose.”
- Offer Choices: “Do you want a red ribbon or a blue ribbon?” “Should we use a big pom-pom or a small one?” This encourages them to voice preferences and make decisions.
- Reinforce Vocabulary: Repeatedly use the new words you’re introducing. The more they hear them in context, the more likely they are to absorb and use them.
By making conversation an integral part of the crafting process, you’re not just making ornaments; you’re building a foundation for strong communication skills.
Our Favorite Easy Ornament Crafts for Kids (with Developmental & Language Focus)
Here are some fantastic, easy ornament craft ideas, perfect for little hands, each with insights into the skills they build and the language opportunities they present.
Nature’s Treasures: Bringing the Outdoors In
These crafts encourage observation, sensory exploration, and appreciation for the natural world.
1. Painted Pinecones
- The Craft: Collect various sizes of pinecones. Set out washable paints, glitter, and small brushes. Children can paint the pinecones, dip them in glitter, and once dry, attach a loop of twine or ribbon with hot glue (adult supervision required for hot glue) for hanging.
- Developmental Focus: Fine motor control (grasping pinecone, holding brush, painting intricate scales), sensory processing (texture of pinecone, coolness of paint), color recognition.
- Language Opportunities:
- Vocabulary: “Pinecone,” “spiky,” “soft,” “sticky,” “green,” “red,” “sparkly,” “rough,” “smooth.”
- Action Verbs: “Collect,” “paint,” “dip,” “shake,” “glue,” “hang.”
- Concepts: “Big/small,” “more/less paint,” “on top,” “all over.”
- Relatable Scenario: For a parent whose child enjoys outdoor adventures but struggles with descriptive words, painting pinecones offers a fantastic chance to practice “bumpy,” “pointy,” and “soft” (when dried). You can ask, “Is your pinecone big or small? What color are you painting on it?”
2. Mini Landscape Ornaments (Mason Jar Lids)
- The Craft: Repurpose Mason jar lids (the inner flat part). Children can paint the lid backgrounds blue or white for sky/snow. Then, glue on small cotton balls for clouds or snow, miniature trees (craft store find), tiny pom-poms, or small plastic animals to create a tiny winter scene. Wrap a pipe cleaner around the edge of the lid and add a ribbon loop for hanging.
- Developmental Focus: Imaginative play, spatial awareness, fine motor for gluing tiny pieces, storytelling.
- Language Opportunities:
- Vocabulary: “Snow,” “tree,” “mountain,” “cloud,” “animal names,” “tiny,” “fluffy.”
- Prepositions: “On,” “under,” “in front of,” “behind,” “next to.”
- Storytelling: Encourage your child to describe the scene they’ve created: “The bear is in front of the tree.”
- Relatable Scenario: If your child is working on expanding sentence length, creating a mini landscape encourages them to use more words to describe their scene: “My tree is tall,” “The snowman is happy,” “I put the bear next to the small tree.”
3. Stamped Clay Ornaments
- The Craft: Use air-dry clay. Kids roll out the clay with a small rolling pin (great for bilateral coordination) and use cookie cutters to make shapes. Then, they press textured objects like leaves, stamps, lace, or even forks into the clay to create patterns. Don’t forget to make a hole at the top for a ribbon before letting it dry completely.
- Developmental Focus: Sensory exploration (tactile), hand-eye coordination, understanding cause and effect (pressing makes a print), creative expression.
- Language Opportunities:
- Vocabulary: “Clay,” “soft,” “smooth,” “rough,” “bumpy,” “stamp,” “press,” “roll,” “shape names.”
- Action Verbs: “Roll,” “cut,” “press,” “stamp.”
- Comparing: “This one is rough, this one is smooth.”
- Relatable Scenario: For a child who is exploring textures, stamping different objects into clay provides a rich sensory experience. Talk about how the leaf makes a “bumpy” texture, while the smooth spoon leaves a “flat” mark, reinforcing these concepts verbally.
Everyday Household Heroes: Simple Materials, Big Fun
Transform common household items into festive decorations.
4. Popsicle Stick Snowflakes or Trees
- The Craft: Kids can paint popsicle sticks in their favorite colors. Once dry, they can glue them together into snowflake shapes (like an asterisk) or triangle tree shapes. Add glitter, buttons, or small pom-poms for extra flair. Attach a loop for hanging.
- Developmental Focus: Geometric understanding, counting, pattern creation, fine motor for gluing.
- Language Opportunities:
- Vocabulary: “Popsicle stick,” “snowflake,” “tree,” “straight,” “diagonal,” “triangle,” “star.”
- Counting: “How many sticks are in your snowflake?”
- Spatial Concepts: “Glue across,” “put them together.”
- Relatable Scenario: If your child is learning numbers and basic shapes, gluing popsicle sticks into a triangle (tree) or asterisk (snowflake) allows for direct practice. “We need three sticks for the tree. One, two, three! This is a triangle.”
5. Clothespin Snowflakes
- The Craft: Disassemble wooden clothespins (remove the spring). Kids glue the flat wooden pieces together, pointed ends out, to form intricate snowflake patterns. They can then paint them in white, silver, or bright colors and add glitter.
- Developmental Focus: Fine motor (pinching, gluing small pieces), pattern recognition, symmetry, creativity.
- Language Opportunities:
- Vocabulary: “Clothespin,” “snowflake,” “pointy,” “flat,” “glue,” “paint,” “pattern.”
- Comparisons: “This snowflake is bigger than that one.”
- Sequencing: “First, we glue the pieces. Next, we paint.”
- Relatable Scenario: For a child developing dexterity, the precise gluing of clothespin pieces is excellent practice. Talk them through the steps: “We need to glue the pointy parts together, like this. See?”
6. Wrapped Cookie Cutter Ornaments
- The Craft: Provide inexpensive metal cookie cutters in various holiday shapes (stars, trees, bells). Children can wrap colorful yarn, ribbon, or pipe cleaners tightly around the cookie cutters until they are completely covered. Secure the ends with a dab of glue.
- Developmental Focus: Fine motor control (wrapping, tension), color recognition, shape identification, sensory (texture of yarn/ribbon).
- Language Opportunities:
- Vocabulary: “Cookie cutter,” “star,” “tree,” “bell,” “wrap,” “tight,” “loose,” “colorful.”
- Colors & Shapes: “What shape is this? What color are you wrapping?”
- Action Verbs: “Wrap,” “twist,” “cover.”
- Relatable Scenario: A child learning to identify colors and shapes can get repetitive practice by choosing different colored yarns for different shaped cookie cutters. “You picked the red yarn for the star! Now you’re wrapping it around and around.”
Felt & Fabric Fun: Soft, Tactile Creations
Felt is a wonderful material for kids – easy to cut and doesn’t fray!
7. Felt Mountain Ornaments
- The Craft: Have kids cut out mountain shapes from various shades of green or grey felt. They can then glue smaller pieces of white felt for snowcaps and tiny green felt triangles for trees. For older kids, you can introduce simple stitching.
- Developmental Focus: Scissor skills, spatial arrangement, layering, understanding landscapes.
- Language Opportunities:
- Vocabulary: “Mountain,” “snowcap,” “tree,” “felt,” “green,” “white,” “layer,” “top,” “bottom.”
- Descriptive Language: “Tall mountains,” “snowy peaks,” “dark green trees.”
- Relatable Scenario: If your child is mastering scissor skills, cutting out different sized felt mountains provides great practice. You can talk about “big mountains” and “little trees,” reinforcing size concepts.
8. Felt Cookie Ornaments
- The Craft: Use tan or brown felt for cookies and white felt for frosting. Kids can cut out cookie shapes (use cookie cutters as templates) and frosting drizzles. Then, glue on small beads, sequins, or cut-out felt shapes for “sprinkles.”
- Developmental Focus: Imaginative play, fine motor (attaching small embellishments), color and shape recognition, counting.
- Language Opportunities:
- Vocabulary: “Cookie,” “frosting,” “sprinkles,” “bake,” “decorate,” “round,” “square.”
- Counting: “How many sprinkles did you put on your cookie?”
- Verbs: “Cut,” “glue,” “sprinkle,” “decorate.”
- Relatable Scenario: For a child who loves pretend play, making felt cookies can lead to delightful conversations. “Are we making a chocolate chip cookie or a sugar cookie? What color are your sprinkles?”
9. Felt Stocking Ornaments
- The Craft: Cut out two matching stocking shapes from felt. Kids can decorate one side with felt shapes, buttons, or glitter glue. Then, glue the two stocking pieces together, leaving the top open, and add a loop for hanging. They can even tuck a tiny note inside!
- Developmental Focus: Understanding pairs, decorating, imaginative play (filling the stocking).
- Language Opportunities:
- Vocabulary: “Stocking,” “present,” “decorate,” “sew” (if stitching), “fill,” “empty.”
- Concepts: “Inside/outside,” “open/closed.”
- Relatable Scenario: A child who is beginning to understand cause and effect can benefit from decorating one side and then gluing the two pieces together. “Now we’re gluing the two parts together so we can put something inside!”
Paper Power: Simple and Versatile
Paper crafts are accessible, inexpensive, and offer endless possibilities.
10. Pretty Paper Angel Ornaments
- The Craft: Start with a white faux leaf (or cut a leaf shape from cardstock). Kids can add glitter glue to the “veins” of the leaf for sparkle. Pre-cut angel bodies (a circle head on a triangle body) from paper for them to color. Once the “wings” (leaf) are dry, glue them to the angel’s back.
- Developmental Focus: Color blending, fine motor (glitter application), imaginative play.
- Language Opportunities:
- Vocabulary: “Angel,” “wing,” “sparkle,” “fly,” “leaf,” “draw,” “color.”
- Descriptive Words: “Glittery,” “shimmering,” “delicate.”
- Relatable Scenario: If your child enjoys fantasy and storytelling, decorating an angel allows for imaginative conversations. “Where is your angel flying? What kind of magic does it have?”
11. DIY Fan Ornaments
- The Craft: Cut out large circles of tissue paper or decorative paper. Children pinch the middle of the circle and secure it with a twist tie. Then, they fan out the sides of the paper to create a full, ruffled circle. They can draw on the paper or add small stickers before fanning.
- Developmental Focus: Following sequential steps, understanding symmetry, fine motor (pinching, fanning).
- Language Opportunities:
- Vocabulary: “Circle,” “tissue paper,” “pinch,” “fan,” “fold,” “round,” “fluffy.”
- Action Verbs: “Cut,” “pinch,” “secure,” “fan out.”
- Relatable Scenario: This craft is great for practicing action verbs and sequencing. “First, we pinch the middle. Then, we fan out the paper. See how it opens up?”
12. Paper Ornament Garland
- The Craft: Cut strips of colorful cardstock or construction paper. Kids can decorate each strip with markers, stickers, or glitter. Then, glue the ends of one strip together to form a loop. Thread another strip through the first loop, glue its ends, and repeat to create a chain garland.
- Developmental Focus: Pattern recognition, sequencing, fine motor (gluing small pieces), counting.
- Language Opportunities:
- Vocabulary: “Strip,” “loop,” “chain,” “garland,” “pattern,” “link.”
- Counting: “How many loops have we made? One, two, three…”
- Colors: Practice naming the colors of each paper strip.
- Relatable Scenario: For a child learning to count and recognize patterns, creating a paper chain is perfect. “What color comes next in our pattern? Red, green, red, green!”
Personalized & Playful: Making It Uniquely Theirs
These crafts allow for maximum self-expression and connection.
13. Marbled Ornaments (Shaving Cream Method)
- The Craft: Spread a thin layer of shaving cream in a shallow tray. Drop various colors of liquid watercolor or food coloring onto the shaving cream. Use a toothpick to gently swirl the colors (don’t overmix). Lay wooden cutouts or cardstock ornaments gently onto the colored cream, press lightly, then lift and scrape off excess shaving cream with a ruler. Let dry.
- Developmental Focus: Sensory exploration (tactile, visual), color mixing, understanding simple chemical reactions, fine motor (swirling, scraping).
- Language Opportunities:
- Vocabulary: “Shaving cream,” “swirl,” “marble,” “dip,” “scrape,” “colorful,” “pattern,” “wet,” “dry.”
- Descriptive Words: “Swirly,” “messy,” “beautiful,” “smooth.”
- Relatable Scenario: This craft is a sensory delight. Talk about the “fluffy” shaving cream, how the colors “swirl” and “mix,” and how the finished ornament has a “cool pattern.”
14. Personalized Chalkboard/Drawing Wood Slice Ornaments
- The Craft: Use plain wood slice ornaments. Kids can draw directly on them with markers or colored pencils. For a chalkboard version, paint the wood slice with chalkboard paint, then let them write their name or draw with chalk markers. Apply a light coat of decoupage to seal drawings. Add a ribbon.
- Developmental Focus: Letter recognition, name spelling, creative drawing, fine motor for writing/drawing.
- Language Opportunities:
- Vocabulary: “Wood slice,” “chalkboard,” “draw,” “write,” “erase,” “name,” “picture.”
- Pre-writing Skills: Practicing drawing lines, circles, and shapes.
- Self-Identity: Talking about their name and what they like to draw.
- Relatable Scenario: If your child is learning to write their name or identify letters, a personalized ornament makes practice fun and meaningful. “Can you write the first letter of your name, here? What are you drawing on your ornament?”
15. Snowman, Gnome, or Llama Ornaments
- The Craft: These can be made from various bases like wooden eggs, large pom-poms, or pre-cut wood shapes. Kids can glue on felt pieces for hats/ears, cotton balls for beards, small wooden beads for noses, and draw faces with markers or paint.
- Developmental Focus: Understanding body parts, expressing emotions (through facial features), imaginative play, following instructions.
- Language Opportunities:
- Vocabulary: “Snowman,” “gnome,” “llama,” “hat,” “ears,” “nose,” “beard,” “happy,” “silly,” “sleepy.”
- Body Parts: “Where does the nose go? On his face!”
- Storytelling: “What is your gnome doing? Is he going on an adventure?”
- Relatable Scenario: For a child who loves characters and storytelling, creating these figures opens up conversations about emotions, actions, and narratives. “Is your snowman happy? Why is he smiling?”
16. Beaded Candy Canes
- The Craft: Bend a pipe cleaner into a candy cane shape. Kids can thread colorful wooden or plastic beads onto the pipe cleaner, creating patterns or random designs. Bend the ends to secure the beads.
- Developmental Focus: Fine motor (threading), patterning, counting, color recognition, hand-eye coordination.
- Language Opportunities:
- Vocabulary: “Candy cane,” “bead,” “pipe cleaner,” “thread,” “pattern,” “red,” “white,” “stripe.”
- Counting & Sequencing: “How many red beads? What color comes next?”
- Describing: “My candy cane has stripes!”
- Relatable Scenario: For a child working on counting and creating simple patterns, threading beads is perfect. “Let’s make a pattern: red bead, white bead, red bead… what’s next?”
Speech Blubs: Your Partner in Play and Communication
At Speech Blubs, our mission is to empower children to confidently speak their minds and hearts. Our company was born from the personal experiences of our founders, who all grew up with speech challenges and created the tool they wished they had. We are committed to providing an immediate, effective, and joyful solution for the 1 in 4 children who need speech support, blending scientific principles with play into one-of-a-kind “smart screen time” experiences.
While hands-on activities like crafting are indispensable for development, we understand that modern parents also seek effective digital tools. That’s why we’ve developed an app that is a screen-free alternative to passive viewing (like cartoons), offering a powerful tool for family connection. Our unique approach of teaching complex communication skills uses “video modeling” methodology, where children learn by watching and imitating their peers. This technique, backed by science, leverages mirror neurons, making learning feel natural and engaging.
How Speech Blubs Complements Crafting Fun
Imagine your child has just learned new animal sounds and names in the “Animal Kingdom” section of Speech Blubs. Then, you decide to make mini landscape ornaments. As your child places a tiny toy “cow” in their ornament, you can encourage them to make the “moo” sound they just practiced. Or perhaps they practiced “star” sounds with their peers in the app; now, they can proudly point to their star ornament and say the word.
Speech Blubs acts as a powerful supplement to these hands-on activities. It can:
- Reinforce Vocabulary: Words and sounds learned in the app can be immediately applied and reinforced during crafting.
- Practice Specific Sounds: If your child is working on a particular sound, you can gently guide them to use words with that sound while describing their craft.
- Build Confidence: The joyful, supportive environment of Speech Blubs helps build confidence, which then translates into more willingness to communicate during other activities. We focus on fostering a love for communication, building confidence, reducing frustration, and developing key foundational skills. See what other parents are saying about their child’s success.
- Provide Structure: The app offers structured exercises and activities that can be a great warm-up or cool-down activity around your crafting sessions.
- Empower Parents: Speech Blubs gives parents concrete tools and ideas to support their child’s speech development, making them active participants in their child’s growth.
Remember, Speech Blubs is designed to be a powerful supplement to a child’s overall development plan and, when applicable, professional therapy. It’s a tool for active engagement, encouraging adult co-play and support, just like crafting itself.
Is Speech Blubs Right for Your Child?
Sometimes, parents wonder if their child could benefit from a little extra support with their communication skills. We’ve made it easy to get some clarity. Take our quick 3-minute preliminary screener today! It involves 9 simple questions and provides you with an instant assessment and a personalized next-steps plan. It’s a great way to understand your child’s communication journey and gain confidence in the path forward, and it even grants you access to a free 7-day trial.
Speech Blubs Pricing: Choose the Best Value for Your Family
We believe in transparency and providing exceptional value to families. When you consider investing in your child’s speech development, we want to ensure you have all the information to make the best choice.
Our plans are straightforward:
- Monthly Plan: For $14.99 per month, you get access to the core Speech Blubs experience, allowing you to try it out on a month-to-month basis.
- Yearly Plan: This is by far our most popular and recommended option. For just $59.99 per year, it breaks down to an incredible $4.99 per month. That’s a massive saving of 66% compared to the monthly plan!
Why the Yearly Plan is the Superior Choice:
The Yearly plan isn’t just cheaper; it also unlocks exclusive, high-value features designed to provide a more comprehensive and supportive experience:
- A 7-Day Free Trial: The Yearly plan includes a full 7-day free trial, giving you and your child ample time to explore all the engaging activities and see the positive impact for yourselves before committing. The Monthly plan does not include this free trial.
- The Extra Reading Blubs App: As a Yearly subscriber, you also gain full access to our Reading Blubs app, an additional tool designed to foster early literacy skills, further supporting your child’s overall communication journey. This is not included in the Monthly plan.
- Early Access to New Updates: Be the first to experience exciting new features, activities, and content as we continuously evolve and improve our app.
- 24-Hour Support Response Time: Our dedicated support team prioritizes Yearly subscribers, ensuring any questions or concerns you have are addressed quickly and efficiently.
The Monthly plan does not include these additional, high-value benefits. We strongly encourage you to choose the Yearly plan to maximize your savings, get the free trial, and access the full suite of features that will truly empower your child’s communication growth. Ready to get started and unlock all these benefits? Create your account and begin your 7-day free trial today by selecting the Yearly plan. Or you can download Speech Blubs directly from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
Conclusion
Creating easy ornament crafts with your children is a beautiful way to celebrate the holidays, but its impact stretches far beyond a festive decoration. These simple, hands-on activities are powerful catalysts for your child’s development, nurturing fine motor skills, cognitive abilities, creativity, and, most importantly, fostering a rich environment for language and communication to blossom. Each brushstroke, every piece of glitter, and every shared laugh builds confidence, creates lasting memories, and strengthens the bond between parent and child.
By embracing the process, encouraging conversation, and celebrating effort, you’re not just making ornaments; you’re building a foundation for a child who loves to learn and loves to communicate. And when combined with innovative tools like Speech Blubs, which provides “smart screen time” that actively engages and teaches communication skills through video modeling, you have a comprehensive approach to nurturing your child’s journey to speak their minds and hearts.
Don’t miss out on the joy and developmental benefits that await. Make this holiday season truly special by empowering your child’s voice and creativity. Create your account and begin your 7-day free trial today by selecting the Yearly plan to unlock all features, including the extra Reading Blubs app and priority support! You can also download Speech Blubs on the App Store or Google Play to begin your adventure in playful learning.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q1: What age group are these easy ornament crafts best for?
A1: Many of these crafts are adaptable for a wide range of ages, from toddlers to early elementary children. For younger children (1-3 years), focus on simple activities like painting pinecones, sticky paper crafts, or placing pre-cut shapes. Older children (4-8 years) can handle more complex steps like cutting, intricate gluing, threading beads, or personalizing ornaments with drawing and writing. Adult supervision and assistance are always recommended, especially with scissors or hot glue.
Q2: How can I encourage my child to talk more during crafting sessions?
A2: The key is to engage in a conversation rather than just giving instructions. Narrate your own actions (“I’m cutting the paper”), describe materials (“This glitter is so sparkly!”), offer choices (“Do you want the red or green ribbon?”), and ask open-ended questions (“Tell me about your ornament,” or “What are you going to do next?”). Validate their contributions, repeat new words, and focus on the process, not just the finished product.
Q3: What if my child gets frustrated or makes a big mess?
A3: Frustration is a natural part of learning. Offer gentle encouragement, break tasks into smaller steps, or suggest a break. Remember, the goal is the process, not perfection. Embrace the mess as a sign of creative exploration! Laying down newspaper or a plastic tablecloth beforehand can ease cleanup worries. Focus on the effort and the fun, rather than any perceived mistakes.
Q4: How does Speech Blubs help with speech development in conjunction with crafts?
A4: Speech Blubs uses “video modeling,” where children learn by imitating peers, making it an engaging and effective tool. It complements crafting by helping children learn new words, sounds, and phrases that can then be reinforced during hands-on activities. For example, a child might learn animal sounds in the app and then practice those sounds while making animal-themed ornaments. It bridges “smart screen time” with real-world application, building vocabulary and confidence in a joyful way.