For summer vacation homework! Simple and amazing crafts for elementary school students that you’ll want to make after seeing them
A fun summer vacation homework project for kids: crafts! But as children move into the upper grades, they can run out of ideas and worry about making something that doesn’t end up being the same as their friends’.
So here, we’re introducing craft ideas recommended for elementary school students from lower to upper grades.
Many use materials you already have at home or can buy at a 100-yen shop, so they’re easy to try.
The ideas are designed to help kids discover their own unique projects and express their creativity.
Use these as a reference and make some wonderful summer vacation memories!
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- Craft ideas using plastic bottle caps [for boys]
Perfect for summer vacation homework! Simple and amazing crafts for elementary school students that you’ll want to make when you see them (121–130)
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.
A capsule toy machine made from a candy box

Let’s make a capsule toy machine that makes use of candy boxes as packaging! The cool thing about this machine is that you can change what comes out depending on whether you turn the dial to the right or to the left.
Press in the bottom part of the box so it forms a slope.
If you use an empty cylindrical candy container for the turning dial, you’ll have an adorable candy-themed capsule machine! Of course, you can fill it with the candies that came in the box, and you could even put in one different candy or a special “winner” prize inside!
Making cotton ball lights

The cotton balls that make everyone go, “How do they make those?” are real show-stoppers.
Let’s make charming cotton ball lights by placing lights inside cotton balls.
The trick to making the cotton balls is to wrap yarn, dampened with glue, around a small polka-dot balloon.
Once the glue dries, pop the balloon and only the cotton sphere remains.
String together a bunch of them, add lights, and you’re done.
You can even use the same method to make chocolate balls.
If you enjoy home economics/crafts, give that a try too!
Perfect for summer break homework! Simple yet amazing crafts for elementary school kids that you’ll want to make when you see them (131–140)
Animal clay

This craft involves dividing paper clay into parts, then assembling them, painting them, and finishing them in the shape of an animal.
First, check what combination of shapes makes up the animal you want to create, and make parts that match the appropriate sizes and shapes.
After that, attach the parts, refine the overall form, and add colors and patterns to complete it.
If you use a paper plate as a base and attach the pieces onto it, it will look like a three-dimensional picture—highly recommended, too.
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.
Let’s make a tomato with paper clay

Let’s make one of the classic vegetables—tomatoes—using paper clay.
Knead red paint into the paper clay, shape it into a ball, then stick it onto a stand with a wire post.
Paint it further in red, and layer yellow at the top center to capture a tomato’s coloring.
Knead green paint into another piece of paper clay to make the calyx, attach it to the red fruit, and adjust the size and shape.
Add green coloring, and finally paint the stand to finish.
Mounting the tomato on a stand makes it easier to paint and to submit as a finished piece.



