Activity Kits for Kids - Put Together a Gift Your Child will Love

Is your child a budding artist? Does she love science? Is he always building things? How putting together a kit full of the things your child loves best?

Of course, you could buy one, but if you have the time (and the money - a lot of little things can add up fast!) it can be better to make one yourself. One problem with the pre-made variety is that the companies that make theset things don't know your child. This means your child will likely run out of what he or she likes best while other materials go untouched. Another problem is that often these kits are packaged in such a way that it is difficult to make everything fit back in the bin once your child is done for the day. You know your child, so you can put together a kit that is likely to be well used and much loved.

Three kits I would not advise making from scratch are magic kits, playdough kits (though you can make the actual playdough yourself), and most science kits. Better to buy those pre-assmebled. However, below, you will find several ideas for kits that do work well to assemble from scratch.

Craft Kit  Great for the child who is loves to create. A plastic bin that opens from the top and has several compartments works well to hold the materials in this kit. You can find everything you need at your local crafts store. Some things you might want to include:

• construction paper
• colorful tissue paper
• sheets of colored foam
• Felt rectangles
• pre-cut foam or felt pieces
• colorful feathers
• colorful puff balls
• colorful pipe cleaners
• Fimo or other oven-baked modeling clay
• Popsicle sticks
• sequins, buttons, beads 
• glitter
• yarn, lanyard, ribbon
• tacky glue, Elmer's glue, glue sticks
• colorful Duct Tape
• scotch tape, double sided tape
• scissors, pattern scissors
• Markers, crayons, colored pencils

Art Kit Here is the kit for the child that is serious about drawing.Go to a quality art store for supplies. An artist's box or segmented tackle box works well for everything but the sketch pad.

• a good set of drawing pencils (HB-B4)
• a pencil sharpener
• a white eraser and a kneaded eraser
• drawing charcoal
• quality colored pencils
• quality water colors
• several paint brushes
• sketch pads: large, medium, and pocket sized
• aname or other drawing book

Cooking Kit  Kids love to have their own cooking tools. Find ones that are kid-sized if possible, plastic, and brightly colored. Put it all in a big plastic mixing bowl.

• measuring spoons
• measuring cups
• mixing spoon
• spatula
• rolling pin
• mixing bowls
• Kid-sized apron
• Kid-sized chef hat
  
• Kid's cookbook 
  

Electricity Kit  Kids can have a lot of fun, and learn a lot by building circuits. Give them lots of supplies so that they can really explore. You can probably find most of this at Radio Shack. All of it online. Plastic bins with sections work well for this.

• 6-8 D cell batteries
• Battery holders
• flashlight-sized light bulbs
• light bulb holders
• a small buzzer
• a small motor
• insulated wire cut into 6" pieces (15 or so)
• wire strippers
• Kid's experiments with electricity book

Naturalist's Kit Great for the child who loves nature and always wants to be outdoors. Put it all in a good-quality backpack.

• backpack
• water bottle
• compass
• binoculars
• magnifying glass
• plant, insect, bird identification cards or books
• flashlight
• pocket knife (for older child)
• Utility tool with no blades (for younger child)
• Sun screen, bug juice
• Trail Mix,
• Small first-aid kit
• whistle
• sunglasses
• hat with brim
• digital camera

Garden Kit  Sometimes kids are more willing to help in the garden if they have tools of their own. You could put all of these in a child-sized wheelbarrow.

• trowel
• small shovel
• small hoe
• small rake
• flower and vegetable seeds
• watering can
• sunglasses
• sunscreen, bug juice
• gardening book for kids
• child-sized wheelbarrow

Tool Time Kit Make your child a kid's tool kit with real tools. Put it all in a tool box, of course!

• hammer
• screwdrivers (flat and Philips)
• pliers
• wrenches in various sizes
• tape measure
• level
• nails, screws
• wood glue
• wood
• tool belt
• kid's project book

Bath Time Kit Make bath time fun for your little one. Put it all in a big plastic basket or a bath net that hangs from the wall with suction cups.

• rubber duckies (of course!)
• different sized cups and containers
• funnel
• boats
• bath paints or crayons
• Bath stickies - letters, animals etc.
• egg beater (fun with bubbles)
• bubble liquid and wand
• kid's bubble bath
• big, colorful towel

If you are traveling with kids, be sure to check out my post on making a traveling kit here

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