Selecting a Native American-themed craft that is easy for children to make can be done by adjusting activities to the age group you are working with. Most of these fun and educational crafts appeal to a variety of ages and result in a great toy, decoration or useful creation.
Preschool
An easy craft for preschoolers is to make a tepee from paper, using straws, twigs or craft sticks. Children can be creative, using markers, stickers or paints to decorate a wide strip of paper in a cone shape. Tape or glue two sticks on each side of the tepee's opening, and then use the third stick to support the other side of the cone.
Another preschool craft is making a totem pole out of a toilet paper tube. Use crayons, scissors and glue to create animal faces on paper, and glue them on the roll. Cut out large horizontal wings and glue them on the pole as well. Children also can use favorite animals or family photos to make a personal totem pole. Information about printable templates for these projects is in References.
Five- to 8-year-olds
For early-elementary-age children, Native American crafts can have more utility. Make a dream catcher by using plastic rings as bases and net bags for weaving surfaces. Use a darning needle with colored yarn to wind yarn around the ring, covering it, then adding beads or feathers. Attach more yarn to dangle from the bottom, stringing on more beads and feathers. Or make a "talking stick," a stick that a member of a group holds in order to speak. Just wrap a ribbon around a stick or dowel, taping it at the ends. Tie a piece of leather thong at one end; thread beads on it, and add feathers to the ends.
Another favorite children's craft is the rainmaker. Use a snack tube with a lid and decorate it. Roll a large piece of aluminum foil into a thin cylinder, taping one end to the bottom of the tube and twisting it into a spiral. Add some dried rice or beans to the tube, glue the other end of the foil to the lid and glue the lid on.
Nine- to 12-year-olds
Older children can make more complex, realistic crafts, such as a corn husk doll. Step-by-step diagrams are linked in References. Use wet corn husks to shape a fan, tying the tops together. Pulling the long edges over the top of the short ones will form a head, tied with string. Rolling another husk makes the arms, and tying again makes a waist. Shoulders and a skirt for the doll are made with more husks and string, and legs can be added as well.
Older children with skill and patience may try a realistic Native task: making fiber cords from bark strips, root fibers or plant stalks. The process is a repeated twisting, rolling and adding of new fibers to form a cord. An instructional guide is in Resources. Older children may also try making a birch bark container, using their handmade cord as a handle. Diagrams showing fold several types of birch bark containers are also in the Resources.
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