Arts and crafts club/class for kids? What do people want/expect?

[MrsOverTheRoad]

I have a nice venue on offer from which I could potentially run a regular arts and crafts club for children.

I have to pay for the venue but it's not terribly expensive. It's in a good, central spot in my town and though there is one art class on offer in a neighbouring town, it's very expensive and focuses on painting and drawing only.

I would do a different activity each week and attendance could be on a first come first served basis.

I was thinking of finding lots of fun ideas with crafts the children can bring home....not lolly sticks and pom-poms either.

Creative, attractive things which will teach them new skills...though time is an issue as I don't think I would want the class to run for more than an hour. I will need therefore to think carefully about each craft so that time's not wasted in drying items....waiting for paint or glue etc.

How much would you expect to pay? Ages 7-12.

Anyone? Any takers?

I think this is such a wonderful idea and I would absolutely sign my daughter up for it. Depending on what you were making I would be happy to pay between £10-£15 a session (assuming it would be an hour class). I would especially be keen if it could help with art scholarships come secondary school time and would be hoping she would cover sketching forms, etching, printing fabrics, cross stitching, hand sewing, learning how to make mounts and that sort of thing. Best of luck with your endeavours!

Thank you Guardup! That's the region I was thinking about in terms of pricing. It might get tricky if I don't get many bookings as I'll end up out of pocket...but hopefully, it should be fine if I choose my day carefully.

I think you need to team up with someone crafty. The ideas good but you sound lost when it actually comes to ideas - bring equipment from home (this is dependent on people having the stuff then still being happy to pay for supplies on top of the actual class), then nothing that involves drying of glue and/or paint.

My first thought is oragami and jewellery making, possibly weaving but again I think you need someone experienced to lead and teach.

You could YouTube blue peter, art attack and mister maker for ideas.

My daughter (9) does a club at school that charges £65 for 9 sessions over a term, not sure if school charges for use of the space, I would imagine so.

They have done wax resist, monotone/shading, self portraits, making stuff out of clay, still life and some print making using polystyrene amongst other things. I am really happy with it because she loves art but I feel it is channeling her into learning different techniques rather than just slapping paint on paper.

Certainly where I am there is a lack of this sort of class for children her age whereas pre-schoolers are well catered for. I would definitely send her to something like this in her own time out of school.

Cornetta Not sure where you get the idea that I'm lost re. ideas! I've got plenty thanks! I have a degree in art.

My DD does an art club in school which is £35 per half term - so some weeks it is just over £5 and others just under depending on how many weeks there are per half term.
She has been doing the club for probably 4 years or so & comes home with something different each time. Sometimes a pastel drawing, sometimes something painted on wood with a hook on the back, sometimes acrylic paints. Lots of other things too! Definitely building up skills rather than just basic crafting with pom poms.
I don't think we would be able to afford £10-15 per session tbh - might be worth speaking to some people locally as might depend on where you are based.
Good luck - hope it works out!

School clubs tend to recive some funding to assist with the purchase of materials...which is why they're often cheap.

What about having a longer project, as they come in (while dealing with parents etc), they do a craft activity that they can build on over a set period of weeks? Such as sewing a stuffed animal and decorating with stitches? More challenging than the activity on offer that night and something to settle them in and consistent start, plus a very lovely item to take home with a big sense of achievement.

Rat I did think of that but the thing is that I did want to make it a bit more of a drop-in any time and join in thing.

So if projects are ongoing and a child misses a week, it's awkward. Plus there's something attractive about making something immediately to take home that day.

Where abouts are you roughly? I'm in Yorkshire and classes like this would probably be around £10. I think it's tricky because first come first served would put some people off (the first time they're turned away they would be unlikely to cone back I think)but others wouldn't want to commit to a block of sessions. I used to run a similar thing but it was attached to an after school club/facility. The range do ability was huge, from kids who couldn't hold scissors properly to those who could cross stitch well.

My DC go to a class like this and love it. I definitely wouldn't be able to afford it if I paid £15 each a session though - it's less than half that and the price includes materials - so I'd do market research in your local area.

My DD did something similar but got fed up because the woman who ran it constantly adjusted their work to make it 'right'. Please don't do that!

mrs it's run by someone who hires the room from the school & she definitely brings all the resources herself. So I think there are weeks when it is just pastels and paper which are cheap and then there are occasional weeks where it is something like a plate. If there are about 15 kids there then it is £75 for the hour minus the hire of the room price. But I reckon some weeks it would be something like £50 for the hour (which is obviously not taking into account the prep) I think if you do it as a drop in you should make a plan of what you plan to do each week and then people can drop in if it's something they are keen on. Not sure if there is some sort of online booking system you could do. Otherwise I would say get people to commit to a half term of lessons - so 6-7 weeks and then you can be sure how much you will make. You can make it cheaper some weeks by doing things which don't require much outlay & then throw in the odd wow project.

OP, you do say in your first post that you are 'thinking of finding lots of fun ideas' and I think that was why a PP suggested teaming up with someone crafty - because you said you were looking for ideas.

I wouldn't pay £10-£15 for a weekly class, I will pay more than usual for a special class say in half-term so that might be something to do - a few days of activities over the half-term as a holiday club type of thing. For most of my DD's activities a weekly class is more around the £5-£8 mark.