Edible Crafts for Kids
Fun Candy Projects

Cookie decorating may seem like an obvious craft, but there are loads of ways you can incorporate this into your homeschooling.

Let the children develop their creativity by using the icing to decorate biscuits, cookies or cupcakes.

Fruit and vegetable carving has its beginnings in the Far East. In Japan, both the food and dishes are considered to be a type of art. The more beautiful the food looks, more delicous, it is thought to be.

Pumpkins are not the only vegetable that can be carved. With a little practice, even kids can achieve some pretty impressive results.

Again, this is a craft that can be used with lots of homeschooling projects. Take a look at the culture and tradition of foods around the world, before carving your own decoration. Celebrate a holiday. Make a spring vegetable flower arrangement. Or just study art and design - and let your imagination run wild!

When carving with children, safety is paramount. I find sharp knives safer than blunt ones as less pressure is needed to get results. Show younger children how to hold a knife carefully, and chop away from their bodies. Start with larger vegetables (like pumpkins, potatoes and melons), or with easy to slice vegetables like cucumbers. Keep on the alert and offer help if it is needed. Let the age and dexterity of your child guide how far you take this!

Start simple - you can make a bowl by chopping the top off a melon and scooping out the inside. A potato peeler makes a useful tool for scraping a pattern into the melon skin. Use the bowl to serve a drink, or the scooped out melon balls.

You can also use it for a flower arrangement like the one pictured above. Wooden skewers make great stalks - with radishes, carrot, baby corn, grapes and sliced mushrooms for the flowers.

Need a bit more help? Try these sites for step-by-step instructions :

Modeling is fun with clay - but even better when you can eat it afterwards! This is one of our favourite edible crafts for kids.

If your children enjoy playdough, why not let them experiment with some edible creations. Perfect for a homeschooling crafts session.

Modeling is a great medium for homeschooling. You can build just about anything to go with your project. But sugarcraft modeling makes things even more fun.

Sugar sculptures have decorated banqueting tables since the seventeenth century. Kings and Lords showed off their wealth with lavish table decorations - using artists to build sculptures of food, sugar and other edibles. Tiny sugar paste baskets were popular through the second half of the eighteenth century. They were filled with little bon-bons and 'jewel fruits' and given to the guests as gifts.