[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!
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[Indoor Activities] Craft Ideas Recommended for Elementary School Students (21–30)
cool pen holder
Let me introduce a very handy and stylish pen holder.
Prepare a wooden box, wooden boards, an interior mesh frame, paint, a brush, glue, and sandpaper, and let’s get started.
Cut the wooden boards, paint them, and glue them together.
Glue on the interior mesh frame as well.
Once it’s dry, it’s complete.
This pen holder makes the contents easy to see and offers great ventilation—give it a try! Adding illustrations or decorations to give it a personal touch will make it even more wonderful.
Rubber band gun with two materials
Here’s a simple rubber band gun idea you can make with about three pairs of disposable chopsticks and around ten rubber bands.
Split all the chopsticks into single sticks; leave three as they are, and cut the rest into three different lengths.
If you use a utility knife for cutting, handle it with care.
It’s also a good idea to sand the cut edges for safety.
Combine the cut chopsticks to build the body, grip, and trigger, and finally create a notch at the front end of the body where the rubber band will hook.
The body tends to be long and unstable, so reinforce it by bracing it from below with shorter chopstick pieces.
A rapid-fire chopstick rubber-band gun
This is a rubber band gun made from chopsticks, finished with a mechanism that allows rapid fire by combining small pieces cut from disposable chopsticks with rubber bands.
The base is essentially a bundle of chopsticks tied together with rubber bands, to which you attach parts such as the rubber band hook (which serves as the ammunition), the grip, and the trigger components.
Although the structure is complex, the only tools you need are chopsticks, rubber bands, and scissors, so once you get used to the steps, it feels fairly simple.
It’s also important to firmly secure each part so it can withstand the tension of the loaded rubber bands.
An exceedingly simple chopstick gun
A simple rubber band gun made from disposable chopsticks and rubber bands is a craft project that both kids and adults can get hooked on.
However, the one introduced here is surprisingly authentic, with steps that even involve using a utility knife and a screwdriver.
Kids should make it together with an adult and enjoy the process.
You can also make targets easily with chopsticks, so once you’re done, you can have fun playing a target-shooting game! It’s simple, but you can customize it with a bit of creativity, letting you experience the fun of making things.
Be sure to build and play together—kids and adults alike—and enjoy a great time!
Extending Sword
Here’s how to make an extendable sword using a plastic wrap core and paper.
First, cut the core and use construction paper or similar to make the handle.
Next, make the blade with calendar paper.
Cut the paper so it’s as long as possible.
Roll it tightly so it fits inside the plastic wrap core.
Apply cellophane tape to the paper and adjust it so it matches the inside of the core, then stick it in place.
Once it’s the right size, you’re done! You can twist to extend and retract it for play.
Be careful not to pull it out too far.
5 Easy DIY Crafts You Can Try
Kids love crafts, but as first graders it can be hard to stay focused for a long time.
So here are some quick craft ideas you can finish in a short time.
You can make five things: a moving boat, a guitar, a fortune slip (omikuji), a ghost that pops out of a box, and a spinning top.
The materials are mostly recyclables—things you likely have at home—such as milk cartons, plastic bottles, wooden chopsticks, straws, ice cream sticks, and plastic bags.
You can play with each item after you make it, so once you’re done, decorate it however you like and put it to use as a fun at-home activity.
Rifle-style chopstick rubber band gun
This is a chopstick gun assembled into a shape like a rifle, clearly conveying a strong, powerful image.
Each part is made by aligning chopsticks and gluing them together, then assembling pieces of different lengths and widths into a rifle form.
The rubber band firing mechanism is simple: a rubber band hooked at the front is released by moving the trigger.
Because of that simplicity, the visual impression of strength depends on how much heft and presence you can express in other aspects.
You can showcase individuality by either making the most of the chopstick material itself or by adding solid decorative elements.
Even grade-schoolers can make it! Triple-shot chopstick rubber band gun
You might think it’s just a simple chopstick rubber band gun, but it actually has a feature that lets you fire three rubber bands.
The building process is straightforward: attach a handle to a bundle of chopsticks that serves as the base, then install a movable trigger so that it’s sandwiched in place.
What’s crucial here are the trigger shape and the positions where the rubber bands are hooked.
By attaching three rubber bands at different positions, they will fire in sequence.
The hooking method for each band is also intricate, so doing that accurately is a key point.
Powerful! Chopstick Gun
Prepare seven pairs of disposable chopsticks and plenty of rubber bands as materials.
First, use five pairs of chopsticks to make the main body.
Stack the chopsticks for the body alternately left and right so that about two-thirds overlap.
Secure them firmly at two points with rubber bands, then cut a notch at the front end to hook a rubber band.
Attach a short, cut chopstick to the rear of the body as the trigger, and glue another chopstick fixed in a V-shape behind that as the grip.
Your powerful chopstick gun is complete!
Paper yo-yo made from disposable chopsticks and wrapping paper
Let me introduce a paper yo-yo made from chopsticks and wrapping paper that’s fun to stretch and snap back.
Prepare some chopsticks and wrapping paper, and let’s get started.
Measure the length and cut the wrapping paper into a rectangle, then join the pieces with glue or tape.
Secure a chopstick with tape and roll the paper around it.
The key is to roll it tightly so there are no gaps.
Finish with decorations, and it’s done.
Try different wrapping papers to make your own original paper yo-yo and have fun! Be safe and don’t aim it at people.