How to Make Easy Piggy Banks for Kids

Your piggy bank can be painted any color you like.

A piggy bank is an money saving icon. You can make an easy piggy bank for kids by recycling common household packaging materials. One idea is to use an old rectangular tissue box to form the piggy bank's body and coin deposit, while its feet are fashioned with toilet paper rolls. This project is ideal for older children, who can do it on their own. Young children will need some adult guidance. Once it's finished, use the piggy bank to teach your children about saving money.

Things You'll Need

• 2 toilet paper rolls
• Scissors
• Pink paint
• Paintbrush
• Tissue box
• Pink construction paper
• Glue
• Cereal bowl
• Pencil
• Marker
• Cotton ball

Instructions

1. Cut two toilet paper rolls in half to create four short cylinders for the feet. Adults should do this step for younger children. Paint the feet with pink paint using a paintbrush. Allow them to dry.

2. Wrap the empty tissue box with pink construction paper and glue to secure. Cut a small hole at the top -- over the tissue box opening -- for the coin slot.

3. Draw a circle for the pig's face on a piece of pink construction paper using a cereal bowl as a guide. Cut the circle out and draw eyes and a mouth on it with markers. Glue a cotton ball into the center of the face for the pig's nose. Cut out two triangles for the pig's ears and glue them to either side of the pig's head.

4. Glue the pig's face to one of the short sides of the pink tissue box. Make five equally spaced 1/2-inch cuts around the top of each of the toilet roll feet to create tabs for easy gluing to the pig's body.

5. Press the cut tabs on the toilet roll feet down and apply glue to the tabs. Then press the tabs onto the underside of the pig's body. (This is the side opposite the coin slot.) There should be two front feet and two back feet. Allow them to dry.

Tips & Warnings

• The pig's body can be wrapped in pink wrapping paper.

• You can use corks instead of toilet paper rolls for the feet.

• Another way to create a piggy bank is to blow up a balloon and apply papier-mache around the balloon.

• Adults should supervise the use of the scissors for this craft.

References

• Enchanted Learning: Piggy Bank
• DLTK: Piggy Bank Craft

Resources

• American Bankers Association: Teach Children to Save 2011