Father's Day Crafts for Small Children

My four year old son, Matthew, saw a little do-it-yourself treasure box in a recent issue of High Five (a magazine from Highlights for preschool children) and just knew he wanted to make this for Father’s Day.  It turned out super cute!

You will need a large number of craft sticks, and glue.  I thought Matthew might like to paint his box, but he chose not to, and I really like the natural look of the finished craft.

First, make the “floor” of the box by gluing a row of craft sticks between two other craft sticks:

Then begin dotting each corner and layering craft sticks up all four sides:

This is what it will begin to look like:

Make a lid the same way you made the bottom of the box:

Then go outside to find some decorations for the top, and something to use as a handle for the lid.  It helps to ride your bike around the yard while you are looking.  Or you can just ride your bike while Mama finds a few things per your instructions. 😉

Come back in and arrange your decorations:I hot glued these in place for Matthew.  The rock makes a great handle for lifting the lid off, and it just looks neat, doesn’t it?  Nuts, washers, and a few bolts would look great too!

This turned out to be a lot of fun for my preschooler to create, and was super simple to make, although we did have to let all the glue between the craft sticks dry for a day or so.  I think Daddy is going to love it!

Other Father’s Day Craft Ideas

Salt ceramic paper weight:

This is an easy homemade recipe – mix 1 cup of salt, 1/2 cup of cornstarch, and 2/3 cup of water in a saucepan and stir over medium heat until a ball of dough forms.  Once it is cool, form into any shape you want and give your child an assortment of materials to stick in it.  Super easy, and they look great!  It dries very hard, but takes several days, so plan extra time for this.

Craft stick photo frame:

I used a very sweet photo of my husband and Matthew for this little project.  Matthew made a craft stick frame for it, which said, “I love Daddy” in foam stickers, and was decorated with more stickers.  I don’t have a picture of this because my husband took it to work and it’s been there for 2 years now. 😉  It was definitely a hit.  Unknown to Matthew I made a copy of the same photo and made him a craft stick frame too, which says, “Daddy loves Me”:  He was very surprised and loved it!  It’s been hanging on his bedroom wall ever since, and he still likes to say that he and Daddy are looking at the same picture of them together at the same time.  So sweet!  It’s a good way to make a connection between the two of them when Daddy is away at work so often.

Enjoy your Father’s Day and all of the wonderful men in your lives!

Find more preschool art and learning activities at Nicole’s personal blog, Tired, Need Sleep.