As a child, I loved playing with the little circular plastic ball mazes that I found in Christmas crackers and party gift bags.

I now know that playing with ball mazes develops hand-eye co-ordination and that making them is a great STEM activity promoting the development of a number of skills including designing, constructing, problem-solving, ...

Play dough is an easy to make, inexpensive, modelling material. Using just a few ingredients your kids can make their own modelling dough and sculpt it into their own role-play toys, models and decorations.

Play dough is also a brilliant resource for using in more focused play activities that introduce, practice and develop maths concepts ...

Grab a bowl of water, a few empty washed out plastic food containers and some spoons and get playing.

Water play is a fun, sensory activity that encourages exploration, investigation and creativity. Water play activities can be set up indoors, or outdoors, and help your child to develop language, motor, cognitive and social skills.

What ...

An inexpensive craft that keeps kids busy and develops creativity. Display their art on the wall, or fridge, or use it to make inexpensive personalized cards or bookmarks.

What you need:

• Wax crayons or oil pastels

• Paper

• Tempura or acrylic paint

  (Top tip: ...

Get your kids being creative maths detectives and investigating tessellation using 2D shape patterns. Display their art on the wall, or fridge, or use it to make inexpensive personalized cards or bookmarks.

What is tessellation?

Tessellations are repeating patterns of 2D shapes that ...

Play dough is an easy to make, inexpensive, modelling material. Using just a few ingredients, your kids can get creative making their own modelling dough and sculpting it into their own role-play toys, letters and models.

• Store your home-made play dough in an airtight container in the fridge and re-use it.

Print the Play ...

Get busy and creative, recycling empty plastic bottles into bowling pins (skittles). Try knocking the bowling pins down with a ball and develop your maths skills while you play.

What you need:

• Recycled plastic bottles
• Glue (Top tip: White craft glue dries clear)
• Materials ...

These Spring Chicks are easy to make and look great displayed on a wall, or fridge, or used as greetings cards.

Make the egg open and close and become a design technology detective as you explore using simple hinges and levers.

What you need:

• Card, construction paper/paper (for making the egg and chick)
• Materials ...

Get your kids being creative making pictures from 2D shapes. Display their art on the wall, or fridge, or use it to make inexpensive personalized cards or bookmarks.

What you need:

• 2D shapes to draw round;

Go on a shape hunt around your house or garden. Find 2D ...

An easy, inexpensive craft that keeps kids busy and creative. Display their art on the wall, or fridge, or use it to make inexpensive personalized cards or bookmarks.

What you need:

• Recycled cardboard tubes from inside rolls of kitchen towel, gift wrap or aluminium foil etc.
• Paint (poster paint, acrylic ...

Make a delicious picnic for your Teddy Bears with air dry salt dough.

Air dry salt dough is an easy to make, inexpensive, modeling material. Using just flour, salt and water, your kids can get creative making their own modeling dough and sculpting it into their own role-play toys, models and decorations.

• Salt ...

Be a creative, science detective. Make your own Whirly, Twirly Spinning Top toys, have fun playing with them and think about how you can make them spin faster and longer. Try out your ideas.

What you need:

• A piece cardboard
• A circular object e.g. tin, cup, small bowl to draw around or ...

Looking for an easy, inexpensive craft that will keep your kids busy?

Get busy and creative, recycling empty yogurt pots into decorative containers that make great paper clip holders or ornaments.

What you need:

• Recycled ...

An easy, mess free and inexpensive craft that gets kids being creative. Display their art on the wall, or fridge, or use it to make inexpensive personalized cards or bookmarks.

What you need:

• Felt tip/marker pens
• A piece of kitchen paper towel with an embossed design on it
• A piece of card, paper ...

Looking for a no mess craft that will keep your kids busy?

Let them get creative with just a piece of card and some strips of recycled paper, ribbon, fabric etc.

What you need:

• A piece of card-stock, or card cut from a used e.g. cereal box (If this is your first attempt at paper weaving, an 8.5" x ...