I’m constantly inspired by the incredible people online who share creative ways to engage kids and teens, and lately Instagram has been full of great ideas. I pulled together seven craft projects from youth‑focused creators that feel especially perfect for a Boys & Girls Club setting. They’re hands‑on, easy to set up, and flexible enough for different ages. Each idea includes a short video so you can see the activity in action and make it your own.
My favorite kinds of arts & crafts activities involve learning about an artist or an art style and then doing an activity with it. These next two ideas follow that structure. The first, yarn painting, is inspired by traditional artwork from an indigenous people group from Mexico, the Huichol. This craft uses contact paper as the sticky base.
These animal collages are inspired by the work of contemporary artist Derrick Adams. I love highlighting artists that are working now!
This project isn’t tied to a particular artist, but collage is an art form found particularly in folk traditions. It can also be a way to use up all those scraps I know you’ve been hoarding. 😆
I recently went to the André Leon Talley exhibit this art teacher mentions, and it was absolutely stunning. Here, he pairs reading a picture book about Talley’s life with a print making project to create his fashionable caftans! It’s also a way to introduce some career exploration with younger youth, with a range of possible paths existing in the fashion world.
This project could be a fun bridge between younger and older youth, with the older youth creating ceramics inspired by younger youth’s drawings. If you have a traditional Clubhouse with all ages they could pair up, or this could even bring groups from two sites (like an elementary school site and a teen center) together!
Since this flexagon project is a bit more complex, it would be a great option for tweens or teens. You could leave it open to whatever they want to feature, or you could make it part of a larger activity on positive self-messages or emotional health. I really like the bold lettering this teacher uses.
Finally, sometimes you need a quick 10-minute idea to get creative brains moving (or to fill unexpected gaps in a schedule lol). I love the open-ended nature of this kind of template, where youth fill in whatever they want around one printed portion. This teacher is based in another country and doesn’t look like there’s a specific link for the template (and ignore the AI cover) but you could make one easily enough in Canva, and could make a bunch of variations with shapes or lines or anything else.
Have fun creating!
What are your favorite art projects at the Club? How do you incorporate deeper learning into your Arts programming? We want to know! Comment below, on the BGCA Youth Development Facebook page, or email ClubXBlog@bgca.org.
