On a boat, like in a house, kids are kids, and entertaining them is a big job. Crafts are one of our go-to things to pass the time. The only difference between crafting at home and crafting on a boat is we have to get creative as our supplies are limited at times. There isn’t a walmart or michael’s around every corner. So here are some “projects” that we have enjoyed making with some basic things that we have on our boat. 
Rainy Day Umbrellas
   Instead of getting cabin fever when the weather keeps you stuck in your boat, why not get the kids to create “what’s going on outside”, with a fun twist. For this project you will need:
-1 large cookie sheet
-shaving cream
-food colouring
-1 fork
-a few cotton balls
–white glue
–black and blue paint
–construction or stock paper (black and white)
–scissors

  • Fill cookie sheet with a layer (about 1cm thick) of shaving cream.
  • Get them to sprinkle food colouring drops of different colors onto the shaving cream.
  • With the fork, make swirls in the food coloring/shaving cream.

  • Gently lay the white construction paper on the shaving cream for 5-10 seconds. Do not press down too much. We want it touching the shaving cream but not to be smeared in it.
  • Remove paper, wipe off excess shaving cream from paper with a paper towel. Set aside paper to dry.

  • Paint black onto cotton balls (to create clouds).

  • Once shaving cream paper is dry, draw the outline of an umbrella on it and cut out. 
  • Glue umbrella and clouds on to your black “rainy” paper.

Both our girls enjoyed this project. And even though they might have thought they were just having fun, they were doing a lot of learning at the same time. It got them working with new sensory “objects” (shaving cream and cotton balls), using dexterity (scissors), and creativity (their rain design and cloud placement).