Easy Winter Crafts to Make for Elementary Students
When you're hunkered down indoors for the long dreary winter months, what better way to pass the time with your elementary students than by getting crafty? And, while it may be too cold and wet to go play in the snow, the winter weather can provide plenty of inspiration to get the creative juices flowing. A few staple craft supplies will provide inspiration for many easy winter crafts.
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Snowman Crafts
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Making snowmen is a popular winter activity and, if it's too cold for the outdoor kind, snowmen crafts can be created indoors with various supplies found in a typical classroom or around the house. Consider making a snowman from paper plates, cotton balls, construction paper, Styrofoam or pom poms. Besides creating the snowman, students can construct dioramas or backdrops of winter scenes. With a little more effort, you can create a snow globe from a baby food or other small glass jar. Construct a snowman from wood beads (or another material that will stand up to the water). Glue the snowman to the inside of the lid. Fill the jar almost full with water and add glitter for the snow. Place the lid on tightly. You may want to add some glue to the lid to prevent leaks.
Snowflake Crafts
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Simple paper snowflakes can keep elementary students busy for hours. Fold a sheet of paper into quarters or eighths and cut shapes out of it, from the middle of the paper as well as around the edges. Unfold the paper to see how the snowflakes turned out. Encourage the students to come up with intricate designs or patterns on following attemps. Link the snowflakes together to create a garland to drape across the room, or provide glitter and paint for additional embellishment.
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Make-Your-Own Snow Crafts
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Want to play in the snow, but don't want to venture outdoors? Make your own snow. One popular recipe mixes four parts of Ivory soap flakes to one part water. This makes a thick whip-cream-like substance that can be used to form snow drifts or paint a 3-dimensional snowy backdrop. Other recipes make use of mashed potato flakes, sugar, kosher salt, baking soda or talcum powder. You can experiment with these ingredients to find a suitable mix. Students can "paint" with the snow mixture adding texture and dimension to the paper. Or they may just have fun getting their hands in the "snow" and trying to form snowballs or snowmen.
Other Winter-Inspired Crafts
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Students may be inspired by cold or winter wildlife: they can create penguin mosaic pictures with ripped-up pieces of construction paper, or make a polar bear with a paper plate head and Styrofoam cups attached for ears and snout. Draw inspiration from outdoor winter activities, such as sleds made from craft sticks. Holiday-themed craft ideas include a Christmas wreath made from cut out hand prints, a Star of David made from craft sticks, Valentine's created from paper doilies and a paper lantern made from colored construction paper to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
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References
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