Activities To Teach Kids About Creativity

Creative activities help children express themselves and create something from nothing, explore materials and activities and use their imagination.

This is a collection of my favorite creativity activities for toddlers, preschoolers and older kids. Depending on the activity, even babies can join in the play.

DIY felt pizza

I can see my kids ask for this felt pizza quiet activity again and again. It seems easy to make and makes for fun open ended play.

Felt flower bouquet busy box

For this activity you get to make a fun flower bouquet busy box. It includes a free printable that guides you how to cut out the flowers and vases.

Sensory tea time play

This sensory quiet time activity is a very creative way of using your kid's teaset without using water or just air - use rice instead!

You simply fill a sensory bin with rice, add a toy teaset, and voilà - imaginary sensory play.

This activity is better with one kid at a time (except if you have two teapots).

Ice transfer sensory bin

Focus. Let’s transfer some ice!

Ice is fun to play with for kids and it's something everyone has in the house. This activity is great for the summer or warmer weather because one bin is filled with water and the other bin is filled with ice. You fill the bins and kids use tools to transfer the ice into the water.

Pipe cleaners and plates quiet bin

This pipe cleaners and plates quiet activity is really simple and engaging. You just need plastic lined paper plates and pipe cleaners for your kids to play in different ways. You take the paper plates, poke a few holes in and add it together to a quiet bin.

Pipe cleaners quiet bin

This is a one ingredient quiet bin - just pipecleaners. Kids can twist the pipecleaners into chains for bracelets and other jewelry. Just cut the pipecleaners into smaller bits and it's ready to go.

Free printable farm kids movement game

The free printable looks so vibrant and colorful and fun. It would be great to print out and laminate and keep on hand for a quick way to get the kids moving.

Printable animal puzzle

Kids can have so much fun mixing and matching these animal puzzles. They can create new and fun animal combinations or match a complete animal. You can laminate these for durability.

Felt imaginary play

I like that you get to make a fun landscape toy with the felt that kids of all ages can play with. They use their imagination to play with the landscapes in different ways. You just need a few sheets of felt and whatever figurines you have to play.

Threading station

I like this activity because kids of different ages can play with it in their own way and you don't need too many supplies or a big setup. All you need are pipe cleaners and straws and a storage container. If you keep it in a sensory bin it will contain some of the mess.

Eggs in the grass sensory bin

With a little creativity you can turn regular rice and pom poms into an Easter themed sensory bin. Just dye rice green to look like grass and add colorful pom poms to look like Easter eggs. You can also add plastic eggs to the bin if you have it. My kids love sensory bins and this Easter themed one is a lot of fun.

Rainbow rice sensory bin

I always thought that making rainbow rice would be complicated, but it's actually very easy, and it dries in about 1 hour or less.

It looks so much more fun to play with rainbow rice than with plain rice and you can keep it, so your kids can play with it again and again.

Drawing to music art

This activity takes art to a higher level by letting the kids listen to music first, then drawing what the music makes them feel.

It's a simple activity where you only need art supplies and paper with no setup. Because it is so simple, you can do this activity with your kids tonight.

Bubble foam sensory play

This bubble foam sensory activity is squeaky clean messy play.

Take tear-free bubble bath, and whip it up with water and food coloring. Make as many batches of different colors as you need.

Kids can use their imagination and play with this bubble sensory bin any way they choose.

Yarn and sandpaper kids activity

I like simple activities like this one where you only need a few items to make a great educational toy. You take sandpaper and yarn to create a yarn drawing board. You can also create pattern boards for your kids to replicate. Or they can create designs on their own.

Frozen paint art activity

This frozen paint art and sensory activity is so simple and it makes painting interesting again. Depending on the temperature of the weather it will be a different experience. In warmer weather it will be quicker to melt and in colder temperatures it will be slower to melt. But either way it will be fun to paint with frozen ice and can go together with a frozen theme.

Puppet making quiet bin

This puppet making quiet bin is open ended, meaning there is no right or wrong way to play with it. Such activities are some of my kids’ favorite activities. It also only uses a few easy to find supplies which won't break the bank.

Outdoor color changing volcano activity

Explode. Color change. Wow! “Let’s do it again, mommy”, your kids say as they watch the magic of a color changing volcano unfold.

Most kids have seen and participated in traditional volcano eruption kids activities but most haven’t seen a color changing volcano activity. It’s so easy to take two colors and let the volcano change to the mixed colors.

Sticker busy bin

Give your kids a container filled with stickers with their favorite character and fun shapes and images and it’s sure to entertain them for a while.

Stickers are great for practicing fine motor skills and creativity. You can buy different types and shapes of stickers for kids to play with. Add crayons or markers for drawing and they are ready for quiet time.

Popsicle stick and pins quiet bin

What’s this? Popsicle sticks and clothing pins? What can I build with it? Let’s find out!

This quiet bin is a great building activity that helps foster creativity. Popsicle sticks and clothespins are all you need for this educational activity. Kids build different things by attaching Popsicle sticks to the clothes pins.

Pipe cleaners stickman copy

This pipecleaners stickman activity is so cute because kids get to copy the printout and bend the stickman according to the printout. Move the arms up, legs down etc. You make the pipe cleaners men and then kids get to bend it in different ways. Free printable included.

Taste safe moonsand recipe

Moonsand is great to play with and so easy to make.

You can either make it with baby oil, coconut oil or other oil.

It is a bit messy so I suggest you play with it outside, inside on a table cloth or (like we do) in a little pop-up swimming pool.