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I have worked with teenagers as an artist myself, with friends who have home schooled children, and I have found that when offered a choice, they will often choose projects that distinguish themselves. For those who have some skill and exposure, you might choose those projects that have a less predictable outcome, a less structured process, so that creativity can take over. Given enough materials, they will teach you a thing or two.

Every project does not have to be a success. I'm not sure where anyone got the idea that young people must end every endeavor just as hoped or planned, that they are somehow damaged by disappointment, but in art the best often comes from experimentation and much is learned in the process. The end result is often secondary to the experience of working with materials, seeing mistakes overcome or turned into "technique", and patience can be taught through trial and error. Don't be afraid to challenge them by allowing them to use the materials in new ways.

Having said that, there is nothing wrong with young people just having a good time. We do not have to be teaching every minute of the day. The fact is they are learning even when we don't intend it.

T-Shirts
Clothing is always a hit and requires nothing more than some over sized t-shirts and solid color bandannas and some textile markers. But if you really want to see them take off, provide iron-on fabric scraps, sequins, seed beads, fabric paints and brushes, puff paints, and needles and thread or a sewing machine. I had one student who went on to make her own very professional bags from old jeans, each with a colorful bandanna belt and handmade button of polymer clay.

The bandanna can be embellished, or cut up and sewn as add ons to the T's. I also encouraged them to alter the structure of the T-Shirt, to cut sleeves, to add strips of fabric threaded through slits cut around the hem, and to create patches for jackets and other clothing, or to sew on pockets made from the bandannas.

Journals
Kids have secrets and many of them enjoy having a place to hide their thoughts. Plain, blank, hardback journals can be had for as little as 1.99 and then decorated to suit the young person's taste.

Almost any material one can think of can be used to decorate the jacket of the books, including their own drawings, stickers, ribbons and cloth, fabric and fiber trims, natural found items, old or current photos, pictures from the web printed on a home computer, old keys, wallpaper samples and the list is

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