Ah, the holidays. Free time for the kids. Time to roam and relax, to explore and educate. Time to cook, craft and create. In a word, quality time.
All too often, though, holidays pass in a blur of missed opportunities. We've all been there – you imagine a diary jam-packed with activities before realising the holidays have passed and you've only ticked one off the list.
It's easily done. But if you want to make sure your kids have a productive Easter holiday that's equal parts productivity and play, why not do a cave craft project?
Caves are a great starting point for craft projects because they're so diverse. Caves themselves are diverse – they can be hideaways for Stone Age people, superheroes, bats or, well, anything else. And the wide choice of materials offers almost endless versatility.
Paintings! Jewellery! Costumes! Paper mache! All can be used to make cave-inspired crafts with just a few simple materials.
So, what are you waiting for? Here are four great cave craft projects for the Easter holidays.
1. Cave paintings
What were cave people like? The cliche has it that the average Stone Age person was a knuckle-dragging oaf – the sort of person you wouldn't trust with a pan of boiling water, let alone a hunting spear.
In fact, there's plenty of evidence that cave people were creative, artistic types. We see this in the fragments of musical instruments found in caves from hundreds of thousands of years ago. We also see it in the many amazing cave paintings found across the world.
Yes, it seems that early humans had the craft itch just like we do. There are many beautiful examples of cave art. Most of them focus on animals and human-like figures. Others include hands.
This Easter, why not get a book of cave paintings or look up some examples on Google Image Search? You can then draw your own with pastels or charcoal for an authentic look, or use any other drawing material for a contemporary twist.
You could take it a step further by making your own Stone Age paint.
Our Stone Age ancestors made paint in different ways. Most versions involved some combination of dirt, crushed-up rocks and animal fat. Others included charcoal and berries.
If you want to embrace a bit of messiness in your cave painting project, why not make some Stone Age paint out of dirt from the park or garden and some margarine? You can then apply your prehistoric-style mixture to, well, pretty much anything: wood, stone, canvas… As with all of these ideas, the only limit is your imagination.
2. Build a cave
If you're feeling ambitious, why not build a cave at home?
There are many ways you can approach this. We've listed several of them our guide to
making a cave at home . You can make a miniature rocky hideaway out of a balloon and paper mache. You can make a fort out of blankets and chairs. Or you can use shoe boxes, paints and other materials to make a cave.
If your cave is big enough to get into, you might want to add some decorations. Rugs, cushions and cave paintings are all possible additions – or how about a sign at the cave mouth?
Depending on the size of your homemade cave, you could add stalactites and stalagmites made out of cardboard tubes or pipe cleaners. Use spray paint to add that signature gleaming white appearance.
Last but not least, why not add some wildlife to your cave? Bats, spiders, snakes – all can be found in caves across the world. Again, how you go about this depends on the size of your cave. You could buy toys or make your own.
Big or small, creepy or cosy, a DIY cave is an ambitious but fun project that could keep the kids busy this Easter holiday.
3. Make a Stone Age costume
The beauty of crafts is that you can tailor projects to your skill levels. Take the example of a Stone Age costume. This could be as simple as repurposing a few bits of cardboard as a Stone Age club or as complicated as sewing a leopard print smock and furry boots.
