[Indoor Activities] A Collection of Craft Ideas Recommended for Elementary School Students
These days, DIY has firmly taken root as a go-to hobby.
When you visit a home improvement store or a 100-yen shop, you’ll even find dedicated sections for it.
Plenty of households probably already have the materials and tools on hand.
In this article, we’ve rounded up craft ideas recommended for elementary school students who are interested in making things!
We’ll introduce everything from board games everyone can play together to practical ideas you can keep using at home after you’ve made them.
Find the project that suits you best and give it a try!
- Crafts you can make with 100-yen shop items! A collection of fun project ideas that elementary school kids will love
- Simple yet amazing crafts: craft ideas that elementary school students will want to make
- [For Elementary School Kids] Handmade Toy Craft Ideas
- [Let’s Make and Play!] Handmade Toy Ideas You Can Create Yourself
- [Summer Vacation Crafts for Lower Grades] Make It with Everyday Materials! Simple Yet Awesome Craft Ideas
- Handmade games: DIY craft ideas you can make and play
- [For Upper Elementary Students] Simple but Awesome! A Collection of Summer Vacation Craft Ideas
- [DIY] A Collection of Handmade Moving Toy Craft Ideas
- [For Kids] Fun Indoor Game Ideas for After-School Day Services
- Toys you can make from cardboard crafts! Authentic ideas you can build and play with
- For summer vacation homework! Simple and amazing crafts for elementary school students that you’ll want to make after seeing them
- For upper-grade boys! Simple yet awesome craft project [Don’t call it lazy]
- Crafts parents and kids can enjoy together. Recommended craft ideas to keep children entertained.
[Indoor Play] A Collection of Craft Ideas Recommended for Elementary School Students (91–100)
Dinosaur Snow Globe
Many children love dinosaurs, don’t they? Some probably have lots of dinosaur merchandise, too.
So let’s make a summer vacation project using dinosaurs: a snow globe in a glass container filled with liquid laundry starch (or school glue) and purified water.
Use a hot glue gun to attach a dinosaur figurine to the inside of the glass lid.
Be careful when using the glue gun, as it gets very hot.
Pour the laundry starch (or glue) and purified water into the container, then tint it with paint in your favorite color.
If you add glitter, you’ll get a sparkly, authentic-looking snow globe.
Close the lid and turn it upside down, and you’ll have a beautiful snow globe with a dinosaur inside.
Insect interior
This is an idea for turning insect specimens into stylish interior decor.
When you think of specimens, you might picture them in a box, but what we’re introducing here uses a jar.
You’ll need a jar with a cork lid, an acrylic sheet, and an insect specimen.
The process is simple: first, cut the acrylic sheet to a size that fits inside the jar.
Next, make a slit in the cork lid, insert the cut acrylic sheet, and secure it with adhesive.
Finally, attach the insect specimen to the acrylic sheet and close the lid to finish.
Using a clear acrylic sheet makes it look as if the insect is floating inside the jar, creating a very chic look.
Sea memo stand
Some families may go swimming at the beach during summer vacation, right? When we think of the hot summer, many children surely picture the sea.
So why not make a memo stand using resin with an ocean theme? Prepare parts to embed in the resin, such as seashells, sea creatures, and clear or blue stones.
Of course, it’s also nice to include shells you picked up at the beach.
Place your favorite parts and the memo stand into a container, then pour in the resin.
After that, leave it undisturbed for the specified time.
At this stage, the key is to prevent dust and debris from getting in—for example, by placing the piece in a box.
If you include seashells you collected at the beach, you can create a lovely piece that captures your summer memories.
Creeper made from a milk carton
Minecraft is a hugely popular game among kids.
Creepers are characters that appear in Minecraft and explode when they get close to the player.
Let’s make a craft that captures that feature using an empty milk carton.
Besides a milk carton, prepare green plastic bottle caps, bamboo skewers, and oil-based clay as well.
Cut the milk carton and wrap it with green vinyl tape to make the Creeper’s body.
Then cut the body section further and attach parts.
Use another milk carton for the head along with vinyl string or rubber bands to create a mechanism that “explodes.” Because kids use fine motor skills to build it, it helps improve their concentration.
Once it’s finished and displayed at school, you can almost hear friends saying, “Wow, that’s awesome!”
Eyeball Tile Coaster
Here’s an idea where you use cork coasters sold at 100-yen shops as a base and decorate them with stickers and more.
Lately, tile stickers that were popular in the Heisei era have been making a comeback, and you can find a variety of patterns at 100-yen shops as well.
Decorations using remake sheets—those you stick on furniture or walls—are also recommended.
With a bit of creativity, the possibilities are endless, so go ahead and make coasters full of originality!
stone art
Let’s make stone art using materials close at hand, like those from rivers and parks.
Start by collecting stones and twigs.
Choosing stones without sharp edges will help you create cute pieces.
Also, selecting twigs with branches is a key tip for making a lovely work.
Arrange the stones and twigs you found on a frame or cork board, which you can also buy at a 100-yen shop.
As children think, design, and create on their own, it boosts their imagination.
You can paint the pieces, and it’s also nice to add pinecones, leaves, and other items besides stones and twigs.
Accessory box made from an empty box
Some children who love fashion may have lots of charms for rings or clothes, right? Since they can easily get lost, it’s handy to have a box that can store them all together.
Here’s an accessory box that’s practical too.
You can make it with an empty box you already have at home.
Add thickness by attaching pieces cut from a quilted surface to the lid and the sides of the box.
The soft, cushioned thickness gives it a luxurious feel, turning it into a proper jewelry box.
If you roll up some felt fabric and place it inside the box, you can store rings neatly.
The finished product won’t look like it was made from an empty box, so give it a try for inspiration!
Let’s make a bamboo lantern
Here’s how to make a bamboo lantern that looks beautiful when it glows at night.
Use a saw to cut the bamboo.
Make slits in the cut bamboo, then gently tap from above with a hammer to create openings where the light will shine through.
The key is to tap with the hammer without using too much force.
Drill holes to create several small windows for the light to leak out.
Wrap yarn around the top and bottom of the bamboo tube, using double-sided tape to secure it.
Place an LED light inside, switch it on, and let it shine.
It emits a soft glow that gives off a traditional Japanese ambiance.
Mini violin made of clay
There are many kinds of musical instruments with different shapes, and those differences heighten our expectations about what kinds of sounds they can produce.
Focusing on the shapes of instruments, this activity has you use paper clay to make a violin shape.
A real violin has a unique form made by combining pieces of wood, so let’s carefully reproduce the details, such as the indented areas.
Once the overall shape is refined, paint it and attach separate parts like the strings to finish it as a realistic-looking violin.
Tyrannosaurus made of paper clay
When it comes to cool dinosaurs that boys love, the Tyrannosaurus is number one! So this time, let’s make a Tyrannosaurus out of paper clay.
First, create the dinosaur’s base using aluminum wire and cardboard.
Once the base is ready, add volume with paper clay.
After the clay dries, paint it and add patterns and facial details.
When the paint dries, it’s finished! If you want your Tyrannosaurus to stand on its own, be sure to fix the wire in the legs to the base before adding the clay.
