Crafts and Holiday Activities For Children:

Kids Plastic Model Airplane Kits

The memory that comes back to you from crafts and holiday activities for children might well be making plastic model airplane kits when you were a kid. Both my homeschool children love making kids models, so I asked them to give you their advice on holiday crafts for children and help you choose the best plastic model airplane kits for your kids.

I got some help from Rob too! Does everyone have a husband who can still recite the specifications of a Gloucester Gladiator?

Holiday Crafts For Children

When it comes to the holidays, you can let your children loose on crafts and activities which take a bit longer to complete. Plastic model airplane kits are perfect for many children, but a word of warning. You need to choose from all the different kids models to get the best one for your children.

You don't have to start with plastic model airplane kits.

When it came to holiday crafts for children, Catherine started at age 5 making kids models of dinosaurs. Her glue-together homeschool Triceratops model had blue stripes and looked very groovy.

Some of us homeschool parents struggle a little with the military theme of many plastic model airplane kits, so it's worth remembering there are different models you can make which offer a peaceful alternative to holiday activities for children!

Tips for Choosing Plastic Model Airplane Kits

• If your children are just starting out on kids models, a commercial airplane model like Concorde may well be easier and less complex than military plastic model airplane kits with fiddly gun turrets.
• It's best to choose homeschool holiday crafts for children that are going to be relatively quick and easy to complete, at least for the first few models! You can get clip together plastic model airplane kits for kids which work well.
• Scale and size are very important when choosing your model airplane. You want holiday crafts for children which encourage them to move on to bigger and harder models, so starting with a successful small airplane like the FW-190 or the famous Spitfire should help your children get into kids models.
• You need to check the scale and the level carefully on plastic model airplane kits. A beginner would do well to start at a 1:72 scale, with something equivalent to a starter level 2.

Advice on buying specific plastic model airplane kits:

• In terms of makes, Airfix wins the nostalgia vote from those of us who remember making models as kids. Airfix airplane models tend to be simpler and better for beginners.
• Revell usually sell higher quality models which are generally more complex and suit more skilled model makers.
• Mono-planes are generally easier than bi-planes.
• The Mosquito is one of the easier bombers to make and would be a good choice for kids who have already completed a beginner model.
• Once you are ready to move into more complicated plastic model airplane kits, the Lancaster or the Flying Fortress are good choices.
• For really advanced model-makers, why not try a bi-plane like Catherine's Tiger Moth? They are fiddly but look great when finished.

Making Holiday Kids Crafts Fun For Everyone

The key to making sure everyone enjoys homeschool holiday crafts and activities is in the preparation! You're not going to be too happy with glue and paint on your best table-top and your children will get on much better making plastic model airplane kits if they have plenty of space to work.

More tips for success with homeschool craft activities making models:

• Use a really sharp modelling knife and have a cutting board to hand. You'll need sandpaper to file down rough edges on the plastic.
• Homeschool crafts always look better if they are well painted. Good brushes are a must and you won't get great results on your models unless you stir the paints well beforehand.
• All homeschool crafts look better with the right color paint so it's worth paying extra to get the proper colors.

Homeschool Holiday Kids Crafts

Plastic model airplane kits aren't the only choice when it comes to homeschool kids models. Holiday crafts for children certainly take on a different dimension with our homeschool dinosaur robot models; check out our pages on homeschooling activities to see how to use household junk to make a scary T-Rex with plastic fork prong teeth and an air freshener head.

Also, plastic model airplane kits are often a natural progression from the simple pleasure of making and flying paper airplanes. William takes you through all the stages to make his top flyer in his page on how to make paper airplanes.

The great thing about holiday activities for children is to choose crafts which your kids will enjoy and get a lot out of. I'm sure that for many children making plastic model airplane kits ticks all the boxes! And your children will pick up loads of crafts skills along the way, as well as learning about subjects like history and technology.

In our house, there is an added advantage. Rob and Catherine love working on models together, and maybe that's something you'd like too. Holiday activities for children can be so much fun you don't want to be left out!

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