Paper cup crafts that elementary school kids will love! A collection of fun project ideas
By using familiar materials like paper cups, you can easily create projects that make people say “Wow!” There are lots of fun crafts that also let you learn about the wonders of science, such as beads that bounce with sound, pinwheels that spin, and planes that float gently through the air.
They’re perfect for summer vacation research projects, too! Even kids who aren’t good at crafts can make wonderful creations by following the steps.
Here, we introduce a variety of fun and mysterious crafts made with paper cups.
Be sure to read to the end!
- Let's play with paper cups! Crafts and indoor play
- Let's make toys with paper cups! Simple and fun handmade toys
- [Craft] How to Make a Paper Cup Rocket: Ideas to Make It Fly Far
- A simple yet amazing craft using paper cups! An idea that’s also great for independent research projects.
- Fun crafts using straws
- For summer vacation homework! Simple and amazing crafts for elementary school students that you’ll want to make after seeing them
- Simple yet amazing crafts: craft ideas that elementary school students will want to make
- Craft ideas using plastic bottle caps [for boys]
- [Nursery/Kindergarten] Crafts you can play with after making them
- [For Adults] Simple yet Impressive Crafts: A Stylish, Eye-Catching Collection
- Crafts parents and kids can enjoy together. Recommended craft ideas to keep children entertained.
- [Milk Carton Crafts] Fun ideas for elementary school kids. Perfect for summer vacation homework!
- [For toddlers] Simple but amazing craft ideas — including toys they can play with
Paper Cup Crafts That Elementary School Kids Will Love! A Fun Collection of Ideas (51–60)
Paper-cup hat
How about trying to make a tiny hat using a paper cup? Cut off the rim (the drinking edge) of the cup, then make thin, evenly spaced slits.
Crease each strip diagonally about halfway down, and from there, start folding and weaving them so they overlap with the neighboring strips.
It might seem a bit tricky at first, but once you get used to it, you’ll be fine—and it becomes fun as you go.
Tuck in the ends to finish the weave, then decorate with ribbon or felt.
If you use a craft-style paper cup, you can make a straw hat.
Paper Cup Monster
Paper cup monsters, made by decorating a paper cup base, have no complicated steps, so kids can enjoy making them.
The process is simple: just decorate the cup with a ghostly face.
You can stick on googly-eye stickers from a dollar store, or use pipe cleaners and washi tape to make facial and body parts and attach them—simple tasks that make it easy to keep trying new craft ideas.
Display the finished monsters somewhere they can be seen every day!
boomerang
Wouldn’t you like to make a paper cup boomerang that flies so well you’d never guess it’s made from paper cups? It’s a fun craft that’s twice as nice—make it and play with it! Stack two paper cups together and cut eight equally spaced slits.
It may be easier if you mark guidelines beforehand.
Next, open up the slitted edges on both cups firmly and paint them in your favorite colors.
As long as it’s not too heavy, you can also decorate with origami paper or stickers.
Finally, align the two pieces and tape the wing sections together to finish.
Now go have a blast playing with your new favorite boomerang!
perpetual calendar
A perpetual calendar made out of paper cups—believe it or not! Take two stacked paper cups and attach or write number stickers from 1 to 9 on them.
Make two sets of these.
Next, take another pair of stacked paper cups and write the abbreviated month names in English.
Put a small mark on the lower cup of each pair, and you’re done.
Now you’ve got a calendar you can use for millennia—no, for billions of years! And it’s safe because you don’t even need scissors!
string telephone
A classic paper cup craft: the string telephone! Make a hole in the bottom of each of two paper cups and thread some twine through them.
If you use a toothpick to make the holes, it’s safe even for elementary school kids! Tie a small piece of toothpick to the end of the twine and tape it to the bottom of the cup to secure it—done! If you keep the string taut while you talk, the other person will be able to hear you!