For children, crafting is a multipurpose exercise—they can work on them alone to learn a variety of skills and stay entertained, or it is something you can do as a family to bond and spend some time together being creative.

Collaborative crafting is a great bonding tool and will allow both you and your child to get your imagination working and create something fun together! Here are the top crafts we suggest for parents to do with their children:

Crafts You and Your Child Can Do Together

Paper Plate Hats for Special Occasions. It is amazing what can be made simply from paper plates and markers! By shaping and coloring in the middle of a paper plate, you and your children can create bunny ears for Easter, balloons for birthdays or any other fun thing the two of you can dream up together.

Throw a Pasta Painting Party. With some paints (or markers), construction paper and pasta shapes, you and your children can craft some seriously upgraded macaroni art! Paint directly onto the pasta and then glue to construction paper and draw a scene around it. This is a collaborative activity that requires plenty of creativity on both of your parts.

Create Custom Sponge Stamps. You can transform a pack of dollar store sponges into hours of fun by cutting them into custom stamp shapes to decorate poster board with. Some fun ideas could be animals, paw prints, people or anything else you and your little one can come up with!

Sock Puppet Theater Production. The sock puppet production is a classic for a reason! Use googly eyes, pipe cleaners and anything else you can think of to create a band of sock puppets, then you and your child can come up with characters and a storyline to put on a full play—and as a bonus, this is a great way to help children practice the drama skills they have learned in class!

Popsicle Stick Picture Frames. Colors and decoration abound with this idea! Glue popsicle sticks together in the size of photo print-outs and have a contest to see who can decorate theirs the best.

Ready to enroll your child in a super fun extracurricular activity? Check out our drama classes for kids to see what is currently enrolling!

Between winter weather, spring storms and sweltering summer days, there are many times when playing outside just isn’t an option for children. This can lead to a serious case of cabin fever, but thankfully, there are plenty of ideas for beating boredom indoors!

Between drama activities and entertaining an audience, these ideas will transform your next indoor day.

Top 6 Ways to Keep Kids Entertained Inside

Pass the Story
Get everyone involved in the fun of storytelling by playing Pass the Story. Pick your storytelling device and start the first line, then pass the object around. Each person picks up where the previous person left off until you have a full story formed.

Obstacle Courses
All sorts of household objects can be used to construct an obstacle course in the house—a sheet can become a tunnel, couch cushions can become towers for climbing or the floor can become lava for an abundance of fun.

Drama Exercises
Many drama exercises can be done anywhere, but they are especially useful on days where you have to stay indoors. Classics like Mirror Activity and Dance Your Name are always a blast, as well as any favorites you child has from attending Drama Kids classes!

Play Cooking Show
Baking with your children is a great way to bond, but for truly stuck-inside days, you can make it even more interesting. Find a kid-friendly recipe to make, but pretend you are on a cooking show while you do it! Kids will love getting the opportunity to talk to their audience and explain exactly what they are doing.

Design a Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts don’t have to be city-wide affairs, and they can be adapted well based on the age ranges of your children. Hide various objects throughout your house and give your child clues for where to find them—it’s great for problem-solving and a ton of fun!

Create a Boredom Box
This is an activity that keeps on giving! Sit with your kids and assemble a whole host of activities they can do when they’re bored, and write them down for safekeeping. Not only will this keep them entertained in the moment, but you will also have a resource for the next time you have to stay indoors.

Enrolling your child in drama classes is a great way to have fun indoors! Get in touch for details on our class offerings.

While there is nothing more precious than the bond between parent and child, in today’s chaotic world, it can seem more difficult than ever to keep that bond strong. Not only are children constantly growing and changing, but with the average child spending two to three hours in front of a screen per day, it’s more difficult to get kids to really have a conversation.

To learn more about how your child sees the world, making use of open-ended conversation starters can be a fun way to get them talking! Check out some of our favorites below.

Top 5 Conversation Starters for Kids

1. What Do You Look Forward to Each Day?Whether the highlight of your child’s day is seeing a friend from school or eating a favorite lunch, this question will help you learn about what he or she considers the best part of the day.
2. If You Were in a Play, What Would Your Character Be Like?This question is a fantastic way to encourage your kids to communicate how they see themselves without any external pressures and can give parents a great idea of how children process their actions as they relate to the world around them.

Parents, if your children respond well to this question, consider enrolling them in drama class! Drama classes for kids can boost their self-expression and build up children’s confidence and self-esteem.

3. What Rules Would You Change at Home?Though rules like “no running” are for a child’s own good, getting your child’s input on the house rules is a good way to gauge where children see themselves on the spectrum of independence.
4. If You Could Change One Thing About the World, What Would You Change?This one will get you andyour child thinking! While kids are often silly and lighthearted, their fresh perspective on how they see the world can also offer some serious wisdom.
5. Is There a New Activity You Would Like to Try?Get an idea of what new hobbies your child might want to explore for the first time, such as drama or acting classes for children! Letting your child know that there is a fun, safe environment for him or her to both play and learn is a sure way to pique interest in learning a new skill.

Are you ready to enroll your child in drama classes? We would love to tell you all about the benefits—contact us today!

There are many benefits to drama classes for children, including the development of public speaking and communication skills. increased confidence, emotional intelligence and self-expression. If you think your kids enjoy acting and drama-related activities, enrolling them in a Drama Kids class is the best thing you can do for them.

In addition to participation in Drama Kids classes, building their confidence at home is a great way to enhance their Drama Kids experience!  There are many at home skill-boosting activities can that will allow them to get in some extra practice and have some fun between classes.

Drama Games You Can Play With Your Child at Home

Because drama is such a versatile activity, there are many drama games for children that can be adapted for you to do together. Some favorites include:

1. Tongue Twisters

Tongue twisters are typically a warm-up, but they are also a fun activity you can do with your child just about anywhere. You are likely familiar with some old favorites such as the one about Peter Piper and his Peppers or Sally at the Seashore, but there are so many more you can memorize with your child!

2. Practice Pantomimes

Pantomimes are something you can easily do with your child at home to increase his or her skills. Similar to charades, both of you will put prompts into a hat and let your child draw. Then he or she can proceed to think of creative ways to act out the prompt so you are able to guess it.

3. Mirror Magic

A mirroring activity is especially enjoyable to do with your child because there is no right or wrong way to do it – the goal is for you both to simply succeed! One of you will be the leader and the other will be the follower. The leader will perform motions, slowly at first, and the follower will mirror them. Kids will have a blast seeing how long they can go and what motions they can incorporate as they get more advanced!

4. One-Word Story

All stories are built one word at a time, the only difference is that this one is from two different people! Starting with a single word, you and your child will alternate who says the next word until you have a complete (and silly!) story at the end.

If you think your child would benefit from drama classes, we would love to talk to you! Contact us today to learn more about the programs we offer.

No matter your age, for most people public speaking is an overwhelming and even terrifying thought.

It’s because of this that one of our main goals at Drama Kids International is to help children improve their public speaking and communication skills, while also increasing self-confidence and self-esteem through drama-related activities.

Why Public Speaking Skills Are Important for Kids

There is no way around it: Public speaking will always play a vital role in helping our children develop and build up much-needed life skills. These skills can include being able to analyze a topic, thinking logically, creating meaningful sentences and presenting thoughts in a clear manner when in front of an audience.

Yes, confidence and public speaking are closely related. The more comfortable children become with public speaking, the more you will begin to see dramatic improvements in self-confidence.  These skills and high levels of confidence directly impact how capable they are when facing challenges in the future.

Some Practical Public Speaking Tips

There are many ways for your child to improve his or her public speaking skills.  It’s important to know that most are afraid of public speaking because they are not prepared.

Here are 20 of our favorite public speaking tips for kids:

1. Make sure goals are being set up for the presentation.
2. Decide what is interesting and what isn’t.
3. Have some passion for the subject or topic.
4. Do not read the entire speech or spiel from a paper.
5. Do have a cheat sheet/notes to help you stick to the key points.
6. Always practice a speech or presentation before giving it.
7. Film yourself and review the video, looking for things that were done well and those that need improvement.
8. Accept that being nervous or anxious about public speaking is very normal.
9. Tell stories that can help catch the attention of your audience and bolster the main message.
10. Come up with your own public speaking style.
11. Avoid filler words like “basically,” “well” and “um.”
12. Use your tone, volume and speaking speed to help keep the audience engaged and interested.
13. Never underestimate the power of laughter as an icebreaker.
14. Practice in front of family and ask for their feedback.
15. Remember that no presentation will be perfect, no matter who is giving it.
16. Keep your main points and ideas memorable.
17. Volunteer to speak in front of the class or others for some valuable practice.
18. Study up on others’ public speaking styles.
19. Talk to someone about your public speaking fears.
20. Smile to help convey warmth and make others more receptive to you.

There are many more opportunities for personal growth for children involved with Drama Kids International besides those listed here. Interested in learning about what our programs can offer your child? Click here to learn more!