Have you been asked to be in charge of the next classroom party at your child’s school? No problem because we’ve got you covered.
By: Andrea Mulder-Slater
Here are 5 easy, affordable and fun craft projects for classroom parties. All of these crafts can be completed in an hour or less and make use of readily available, inexpensive materials.
#1 – Funky Frames
- Simply gather some pre-cut picture framing mats (these can be found at most dollar stores), glue, and any assorted bits of craft items you might have kicking around – like tissue paper, sequins, pompoms, feathers, etc.
*Note: if you can’t find the mats, you can pre-cut some cardboard into picture frames. - Ready set, go and provide students with an assortment of items to glue onto their mats. The idea is to fill the picture frames with bright, bold items. When finished, a photograph (class photo perhaps?) or drawing can be taped into the middle of the mat and a piece of yarn can be taped to the back so the frame can hang on the wall.
#2– Wild Wish Sticks
- Simply gather sticks (collected from outside), paint, brushes and water containers, leather cording (or plain yarn), beads, glue and magic markers.
- Ready set, go and make sure the sticks are free of any bits of dirt or moss. Next, encourage students to paint their sticks using their favorite colors. Once the sticks are painted, set them aside and have the kids plan out some fun designs & symbols. A symbol is a picture or image that tells a story without using words, like a sunshine or moon face. When dry, symbols can be drawn onto the painted stick using magic markers. Next, some colorful beads can be added to the leather cording and tied to the stick. Colorful feathers are a nice final touch.
#3 – Sassy Shoes
- Simply gather old shoes that no one will ever wear again (see if the kids can bring some in from home), some paint (acrylic is best), brushes, water, scrap paper, pencils and maybe a few pictures for inspiration.
- Ready set, go and take the laces (if any) out of the shoes and if there is enough time, it’s a good idea to “prime” the shoes with white paint before beginning. Have kids sketch out a few creative shoe-painting ideas on paper and when they feel comfortable with their images, they can paint away! Once the paint has dried, glitter glue can be drizzled on the shoe for a funky effect.
#4– Shiny Suncatchers
- Simply gather some paper towel tubes, a drinking straw (or wooden dowel), multicolored tissue paper, glue, string and a pair of scissors.
- Ready set, go and instruct students to cut the paper towel tubes into small slices – about 1/2″ wide. Next, they can poke a hole in either end of each slice and string yarn through the holes. Then, colorful tissue paper circles can be glued to one side of each of the circles. Finally, kids can tie the ends of the strands around a drinking straw or wooden dowel to create a mobile.
#5 – Doodle Designs
- Simply gather some pencil crayons (multi-colored), pens or thin tip markers (black ink is best) and plain, white paper.
- Ready set, go and encourage the kids to begin making lines on paper using a black pen. Have them make as many different types of lines as you they think of including lines that are wavy, jagged, dotted, dashed, thick, thin, curvy, curly and spiky. Tell the kids that they should repeat each type of line many, many times, until they fill their papers with marks. The idea here is to make designs up as they go – not to try to create a recognizable picture. Then, colorful pencil crayons can be used to fill in some of the blank spaces. No two will ever be alike!
