Easy paper crafts for kids

Before you start

Safety note. Scissors are for children aged 7 and up, or for a grown-up to use. Choose rounded-tip scissors and cut slowly. We use no staples and no elastic, which removes two common hazards for children under 7. Keep scraps, glue-stick caps and other tiny pieces away from children who still put things in their mouths.

Age hints are only a guide, because you know your child best. For more to try, see Play and learn.

1. Paper fan

Age hint: 5 and up.

Materials: two sheets of paper, crayons, glue stick.

1. Colour a pattern or a scene across a whole sheet of paper.
2. Fold the sheet back and forth in strips about as wide as a finger, like a concertina.
3. Pinch the folded paper in the middle and hold it tight.
4. Glue the bottom edges of the folds together to make a handle, then fan it open.

Make it yours: Draw a rainbow or your name on the sheet before folding.

2. Paper chain

Age hint: 3 and up, with help.

Materials: scrap paper, crayons, glue stick.

1. Colour both sides of a few sheets of scrap paper in bright stripes.
2. Fold each sheet in half lengthways and tear along the fold into long strips.
3. Glue the ends of one strip into a ring.
4. Thread the next strip through the ring, glue it shut and keep going.

Make it yours: Repeat a colour pattern, such as red, blue, yellow, and hang the chain on a shelf.

Tearing is safe for little hands, so no scissors are needed.

3. Folded paper boat

Age hint: 6 and up.

Materials: one rectangular sheet of paper, crayons.

1. Fold the sheet in half, then open it to see the middle crease.
2. Fold the top two corners down to meet at the crease, like a roof.
3. Fold the bottom strip up on both sides, front and back, to form a hat.
4. Open the hat, flatten it into a diamond, fold the lower corners up and pull the tips apart.

Make it yours: Colour a sail or a flag on your boat and float it in a tray of water with a grown-up close by.

The boat is only folded, so no scissors are needed.

4. Pop-up greeting card

Age hint: 7 and up, or any age with a grown-up.

Materials: one sheet of coloured paper, one plain sheet, crayons, glue stick.

1. Fold the coloured paper in half to make the card.
2. Grown-up or age 7 and up: use rounded-tip scissors to make two short cuts side by side in the folded edge, about two fingers wide.
3. Push the strip between the cuts inwards to make a step, then crease it well.
4. Draw a flower or an animal on the plain sheet, glue it onto the step and write a message inside.

Make it yours: Pop up a favourite animal and give the card to a grandparent.

5. Paper-plate mask

Age hint: 5 and up, with help.

Materials: one paper plate, crayons, glue stick, scrap paper.

1. Hold the plate to your face while a grown-up marks where your eyes are.
2. A grown-up cuts out the eye holes with rounded-tip scissors.
3. Colour the plate as a cat, a lion or a sun, and glue on scrap-paper ears and whiskers.
4. Glue a strip of folded paper to the side as a handle, so there is no elastic and no staples.

Make it yours: Invent a voice for your character and put on a short play.

6. Woven paper placemat

Age hint: 7 and up, or with a grown-up.

Materials: two sheets of paper in different colours, crayons, glue stick.

1. Fold the first sheet in half and ask a grown-up, or an age 7 and up child, to cut slits from the fold almost to the edge.
2. Open it out and cut the second sheet into long strips.
3. Weave a strip over and under the slits, then weave the next strip the other way round.
4. Push the strips close together and glue the ends down. Decorate with crayons.

Make it yours: Colour a pattern along each strip before weaving.

Recycling idea: the scrap-paper box

Keep a box for used paper, envelopes and old drawings. Colour on the blank side, then tear or fold it into chains, fans and masks. When a craft is finished, put it in the paper recycling.

More to do on Rangooo

Fold a sheet into a gift with handmade cards for kids. Try festival projects in Diwali crafts for kids, use fallen leaves and petals in leaf and flower crafts for kids, make a clock or a fish with paper plate crafts for kids, then practise your colouring with easy drawing ideas for kids. For a hands-on experiment, see easy science activities for kids, or read a story together in stories and activities. Teachers can find classroom ideas on the for teachers page.

Questions

What do we need for these paper crafts?

Just paper, a glue stick and crayons. Some projects use a paper plate, and cutting needs scissors, which are for ages 7 and up or a grown-up.

Can young children do these crafts?

Yes. The paper fan, paper chain and paper boat need no cutting. Children under 7 can fold, colour and glue while a grown-up does any cutting.

Why do the crafts avoid staples and elastic?

Staples are sharp and elastic can snap back, so we use glue and paper handles instead. This keeps the projects gentler for children under 7, with a grown-up close by for any cutting.

What can we do with leftover paper?

Keep a scrap box. Tear scraps into large pieces, glue them flat into a collage, or have a grown-up cut them into strips for the next paper chain. Sweep up tiny scraps so little ones do not put them in their mouths.