“Green” Crafts for Kids

On this day, March 17, we can look at “green” crafts two ways….those for St. Patrick’s Day and those that help the environment.  The ingenious parent or crafting adult can combine the two.

Re-using materials has always been fun in our family.  I grew up in an era when there wasn’t lots of extra money for craft supplies.  So my siblings and I created with used materials from around the house and out-of-doors.  I also did crafting with my daughter using “found” items.

Image: sxc.hu

“Green” crafts for St. Patrick’s Day:

• Cut shamrock from green wrapping and construction paper saved from previous projects.  (Families can keep a paper recycling bin or box like we do at many schools.) Make these shamrocks into place cards for the table, connect them for shamrock chains, paste them to a larger sheet of paper for a collage.
• Make leprechaun houses from “found” items, such as twigs, leaves, paper, string and stones.  (Some people call these fairy houses.)
• Save cards…greeting cards, postcards, holiday cards.  Youngsters can have such fun making their own cards, collages, mobiles, and more by cutting images from the cards.  If you have any old cards with St. Patrick’s Day designs, they’re very appropriate for this celebration.

What do you do for “green” crafts? We called it being creative with what we had on hand, when I was a youngster.  Or stretching our budget when my daughter was young and I didn’t have money for new craft materials.

Today we’re being “green.”