[Milk Carton Crafts] Fun ideas for elementary school kids. Perfect for summer vacation homework!
There are probably plenty of elementary school kids wondering, “What should I make for this summer vacation?” So here are some milk-carton craft ideas that are perfect for summer homework! Milk cartons are something every household has, so they’re very easy to use as a material.
In addition to classics like piggy banks and vehicles, you can make toys that you can play with for a long time.
From moving cars to cute dollhouses, there are lots of different ideas.
Be sure to have fun creating wonderful crafts with milk cartons!
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[Milk Carton Crafts] Fun Ideas for Elementary School Students. Perfect for Summer Vacation Homework! (51–60)
Pinwheel piggy bank
Introducing a pinwheel piggy bank where the pinwheel inside spins when you insert a coin.
Prepare two milk cartons, a lid from a 6-piece cheese pack, a utility knife, a bamboo skewer, and a straw.
For the piggy bank base, make holes for the coin slot, a door, and the hole for the pinwheel’s bamboo skewer in one milk carton.
Next, for the blades, cut off the bottom third of the second milk carton with the utility knife to create the lower section.
Then cut off about the top third of the remaining carton, score folds on the four sides to make it easier to bend, and fold it.
Thread a bamboo skewer through and staple to secure—this completes the inner blades.
Insert the bamboo skewer through the base and fix the blades in place.
Cut the 6-piece cheese lid into a pinwheel shape, attach it to a straw, and secure it.
Your pinwheel piggy bank is complete!
Cube puzzle
If you’re making something for slightly older kids, cube puzzles are a great choice.
Use the bottom half of milk cartons to make cubes, line them up, and turn them into a puzzle.
The pictures can be anything—favorite characters, numbers—whatever works! You can start with as few as four cubes for a smaller version, so the size is completely flexible.
Try adjusting it to suit the child’s age.
soccer ball
The ball used for playing soccer is usually made of fabric, but how about making a soccer ball out of milk cartons? Cut out 20 hexagons from milk cartons and 12 pentagons from black colored paper.
Connect the pieces, stuff the inside with newspaper or similar so it doesn’t get crushed, and you’re done! You’ll be using a lot of box cutters, so be careful not to get injured.
Paku-Paku Shark
Even making a kinetic piece is fun, and that excited “Will it really move?” feeling sparks your imagination, doesn’t it? This Chompy Shark is a quick craft you can play with, and you can make it using materials you already have at home.
Cut the bottom of a milk carton into an L-shape.
The piece you cut out will become the chomping mouth.
Poke holes and insert a bamboo skewer, place a wheel made from the bottom of a plastic bottle inside the carton, and assemble the mouth section—then when you move the milk carton back and forth, the mouth opens and closes.
Depending on how you decorate the milk carton, you could create all sorts of animals!
[Milk Carton Crafts] Fun ideas for elementary school kids. Perfect for summer vacation homework! (61–70)
Frisbee
The “frisbee” uses two milk cartons.
Since it needs to be cut according to the template, it’s a good idea to prepare a pattern or have an adult help.
You’ll make many small slits, but they’re all straight cuts, so even lower-grade elementary students won’t find the work difficult.
If you color it or decorate it with stickers, it will spin colorfully in the air when thrown, delighting the children.
boomerang
A simple craft that you can also play with is the boomerang.
It’s easy to make, so children from lower to upper elementary grades can create and play with it together.
Cut a milk carton into three strip-shaped pieces.
Make slits in them, stack them, and staple them together—then it’s done! You only need scissors and a stapler, so it’s easy to make.
Magic hand
You can make a magic hand that stretches with a boing when you push it, and whose arm at the tip can grab things, using milk cartons.
First, cut off the top and bottom so the milk carton becomes a tube.
On the tubular carton, draw a line 2 cm from the edge and cut along it; prepare three of these pieces.
Tape the three pieces together with cellophane tape, then attach straws on both sides so they cross over each other.
Finally, attach one of the cut-off bendable sections to the tip as the gripping arm, and it’s done.
If you increase the number of tubular milk carton sections, you can make a longer magic hand!