Construction paper is an easy and inexpensive medium for students to express their creative side! Here are 35 crafts for kids to refine motor skills and complete a fun project with their friends. Activities span a wide range of ages, seasons, and types. Have fun exploring all that you can achieve with this staple crafting material!
1. Paper Chain Caterpillar
This is a fun craft for students to complete after reading Eric Carle’s famous book. Students must tape strips of paper together in interlocking rings to form a chain link. Help them add googly eyes, antennae, and a smile to finish it off.
Learn More: DLTK Kids
2. Fish Mobile
These fish mobiles make easy and colorful party decorations for a class party. Students use an accordion fold to fold two sheets of paper and join the straight edges. To finish, they can add a googly eye and tail before stringing them up around the classroom.
Learn More: Buggy and Buddy
3. Paper Hyacinths
Paper flowers make beautiful Mother’s Day gifts! To make these beautiful paper flowers, students will first roll tubes for the stems. They must then carefully fold short strips of paper, fringe one side, and finish by gluing these strips to their stems.
Learn More: S & S Blog
4. Handprint Octopus
Animal paper crafts are a great way to reinforce the letter “O” or the number eight. Students will trace both of their hands and overlap them under the “face”; a circle cutout. They then add decorations and curl the “legs” to complete these sweet octopi.
Learn More: Simple Everyday Mom
5. Handprint Bunnies
This craft is perfect for Spring! Again, students trace their hands and draw feet, ears, and faces to bring their bunnies to life. They can finish by folding down the thumb and pinky to form the “arms”.
Learn More: One Little Project
6. Twirling Ladybugs
This craft makes wonderful end-of-year party decorations. Students first cut out four circles of construction paper. Then, they can decorate their bugs with black craft paint. Help them glue the “wrong sides” together and add a string to hang.
Learn More: Crafts by Amanda
7. Easy Rainbow Craft
This craft allows students to explore mosaic textures. It also makes beautiful card art and reinforces colors. Cut up colored construction paper and place it in piles. Then, using the template, ask students to fill in each area.
Learn More: Kidz Craft Corner
8. Paper Fish Origami
This fun construction paper craft is great to include in your ocean unit. Students will cut and glue strips of colored paper in a herringbone pattern. Then, they can add a contrasting color for the face and add a heart for the lips.
Learn More: Ocean Child Crafts
9. Folded Paper Butterflies
These butterflies are a beautiful and visually effective way to decorate your classroom. With just a few simple folds, each piece of construction paper forms several butterfly wings. Help students glue the layers of paper at their joins and bind them with string.
Learn More: Red Ted Art
10. Twirling Parrot
These colored construction paper parrots are a great activity to accompany lessons on the rainforest. Ask students to pick a construction paper “body” to decorate with a face and beak. Then, help them thread paper strips through openings for wings and a tail.
Learn More: I Heart Crafty Things
11. Paper Twirl Snakes
This fun craft for kids is short enough to work into a transition or small break. Ask students to decorate strips of construction paper like a snake. Then, help them wrap their paper strip around a pole or dowel rod to form a twirly snake.
Learn More: Our Kid Things
12. Rolled Paper Wreath
This multi-colored wreath is a beautiful decoration to celebrate a unit about color. Using many different colors of construction paper, students form cone shapes and arrange them in rainbow order. Students can change the color palette for a monochrome effect.
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13. Woven Placemats
Cut up a large amount of construction paper strips in various widths. Help students explore woven textures and designs and make patterns as they weave them together. Ask them, “what happens if you angle the strips or change the over-under pattern?”
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14. Olympic-Inspired Torch
Crafts for kids don’t have to end with the school year. This is a fun paper craft to complete over the Summer or at camp with students. They can use popsicle sticks to form a base and add construction paper flames to form the iconic Olympic torch.
Learn More: Fireflies and Mudpies
15. Cardboard Tube Trees
Again, using an accordion fold, students can make a small Christmas tree with green construction paper. Hand out pom-poms and a star for decoration. Using hot glue, help them attach their tree to a piece of toilet paper roll.
Learn More: Easy Kids Craft
16. Paper Pizza
Help students understand fractions or express preferences with this tasty and fun craft. Have them start with a circle of brown paper, followed by a scalloped circle of “sauce”. Then, they can use pieces of construction paper for toppings.
Learn More: Our Potluck Family
17. Construction Paper Frog
These construction paper frogs are a fun project for kids to celebrate spring. Using a piece of paper, students form two graduated cylinders and stack them one on top of another. Then, they can add legs, tongue, and face and place the frog on a lily pad.
Learn More: Easy Peasy and Fun
18. Valentine Puppy
These homemade Valentines are perfect for February. Help students cut out hearts for the face, ears, and eyes in pink, red, or white. Then, they cut the largest heart in half to form the ears. Finally, they can cut out a tongue and a black construction paper nose.
Learn More: Crafty Morning
19. Sunshine Doily
First, students can glue a lace paper doily to blue construction paper. Once students color the doily yellow and add rays, they can use a black marker to draw a face and glue it on pink paper cheeks.
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20. Handprint Campfire
This construction paper craft idea is on fire! Using basic supplies, including colorful construction paper, glitter, and popsicle sticks, students can commemorate their first camping trip. Brown construction paper could also be used to form logs if they don’t have popsicle sticks.
Learn More: Glued To My Crafts Blog
21. Paper Poppies
These paper poppies are another fun flower craft, but this one may be better suited for older students. Using fancy scissors or pinking shears, students can cut circles to form petals. Then, they should fringe the black center. Help them glue everything to a paper stem to finish.
Learn More: Design Improvised
22. Paper Strip Cardinal
This simple paper craft only uses two small pieces of paper to form this modern-looking cardinal. Students will simply cut out the template and glue the pieces together to bring their birds to life!
Learn More: Buggy and Buddy
23. Bee Mine
In this cute Valentine’s craft, students use yellow and black paper to cut three matching hearts in each color. Then, they can use red paper to cut two larger hearts for wings. Finally, students can use black paint or a marker to add the face.
Learn More: A Mother Thing
24. Paper Lanterns
Make Independence Day more festive with a stack of construction paper, some ribbon, and a few star die-cuts. Students can fold each sheet into a tube and partially cut lengthways, and then fold it in half to form the “edge”. They should add a strip of paper to hang the lantern.
Learn More: The Crafting Chicks
25. Tube Turkey
Using just a few basic shapes, students can build their own turkeys. They can add some googly eyes and a pipe-cleaner waddle for a cute finish. Simply prepare toilet rolls, brown paint, assorted construction paper, glue, and googly eyes.
Learn More: Mom Brite
26. Woven Fish
Pre-cut a large fish body in several base paper colors. Then, students can partially cut through the fish’s body to weave strips of paper through it. Provide strips of fancy scrapbook paper so students can add some sparkle.
Learn More: Krokrotak
27. Heart Collage Raccoon
This adorable raccoon only uses paper, googly eyes, and a glue stick. First, cut out several different kinds of hearts. Then, students can glue them together to form the raccoon’s face. Once complete, students could exchange them with classmates as Valentines.
Learn More: Crafty Morning
28. Mosaic Egg
Cut up a variety of construction and scrapbook paper. Then, ask students to use a glue stick and scrap paper to fill in their eggs. Add grass and some butterflies, and use these eggs to decorate your bulletin board to celebrate spring.
Learn More: The Pinterested Parent
29. Talking Dinosaurs
These clothespin dinosaurs are hilarious! First, students can cut two halves of a circle and glue one half on each side of the clothespin. Then, they can add eyes and triangle scales. Students can use them as puppets or clip chip bags closed.
Learn More: Gluesticks Blog
30. Spring Dog
Use this paper spring dog to introduce children to 3D craft projects. Show students how to fold two contrasting paper strips for the “spring”. Then, model how to attach the pre-cut features, ears, and tail. Encourage students to be creative in their color choice.
Learn More: Mess for Less
31. Easter Craft
This is a beautiful and easy craft to celebrate easter. Ask students to cut out their cross template and lay it over black construction paper. Then, show them how to achieve a stained-glass effect with pastels. Finally, carefully remove the template to reveal their art.
Learn More: The Crafty Classroom
32. Handprint Bouquet
These bouquets would be a lovely way for students to thank those who have helped them during the year. Students first trace their own hands several times. Then, they attach the “flowers” to stems and glue them on cardstock to form the bouquet.
Learn More: The Best Ideas for Kids
33. 3D Paper Pumpkins
Use a mix of construction paper and craft paper, and cut them into strips. Show students how to join both ends of all the strips using metal brads. Then, they can fan them into a globe shape and attach green pipe cleaners and a brown stem.
Learn More: It’s Always Autumn
34. Christmas Garland
Cut four lengths of strips in a variety of colors of paper. Show students how to fold each strip into a loop and tape them all together. Then, students will flatten the loops to form a tree and top with a star. Tie each tree to a string to form a garland.
Learn More: Average But Inspired
35. Paper Swan
First, help students sketch and cut out their swan head and body. Then, they can use a variety of white and pastel-colored paper to cut out their hands. Glue the paper hands on either side of the swan to form 3-D wings.
Learn More: 123 Easy Paper Crafts DIY
21 Superb Student-Centered Activities 