Creative Family Fun

Your one-stop shop for kids activities and family fun

Terri Thompson

Fun With Elephant & Piggie: Cardboard Tube Elephant

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Elephant and Piggie taught my oldest daughter how to read.

Seriously.

They lit that spark that made her love reading. And, that spark gave her the motivation she needed to keep at it.

Now, even though she’s far past their reading level, she still loves to pick one up and giggle along with her old friends.

So, of course, we had to make our own version of this lovable duo, starting with this cardboard tube Elephant craft.

This cardboard tube Elephant craft inspired by the Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Willems is so much fun to make and to play with.

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure Page for more details.

Supplies Needed:

Empty cardboard tube (a toilet paper roll is the perfect size)
Small piece of thin cardboard (from a cracker or cereal box)
Gray craft paint
White craft paint
Paintbrushes
Scissors
White glue
Black permanent marker

This cardboard tube Elephant craft inspired by the Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Willems is so much fun to make and to play with.

How to make your cardboard tube Elephant

To begin, draw 2 ears and a trunk on your thin cardboard.

Elephant’s ears are curved on top and straight across on the bottom. They look like simple arched windows.

For the trunk, make a simple curved L shape.

This cardboard tube Elephant craft inspired by the Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Willems is so much fun to make and to play with.

Next, grab your paint and paint your cardboard tube, ears, and trunk with the gray paint.

Let everything dry.

You can read a couple of Elephant and Piggie books to pass the time!

This cardboard tube Elephant craft inspired by the Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Willems is so much fun to make and to play with.

Once everything dries, cut out the ears and the trunk.

This cardboard tube Elephant craft inspired by the Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Willems is so much fun to make and to play with.

Glue the short side of your trunk shape to your cardboard tube. Glue it about 1/3 of the way down from the top.

Use your white paint to make two circles for Elephant’s glasses.

While your white paint dries, glue your ears to the back of the tube. You’ll want at least half of each ear to stick out from the sides.

This cardboard tube Elephant craft inspired by the Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Willems is so much fun to make and to play with.

After everything is glued and your white paint is dry, add your details with a permanent marker. (I love Sharpies for this step.)

Trace the white circles and connect them in the middle. Add lines going toward each ear. Put a dot in the middle of each and you’ve got your glasses.

Put two little comma shapes over each eye for the eyebrows and make a simple half moon under the trunk for the mouth.

Elephant is done! And, now you’ve got a reading buddy to help you read all of your favorite Elephant and Piggie books.

Or, use your cardboard tube Elephant (and Piggie) as puppets to act out the books. It’s a great way to make reading even more fun than it already is!

This cardboard tube Elephant craft inspired by the Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Willems is so much fun to make and to play with.

Kid-Made Bird Feeders for a Bird-Friendly Yard

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Birds certainly are fun to watch, aren’t they?

A house never quite feels like home to us unless we’ve got birds fluttering around.

We like to attract them to our yard with bird feeders that we keep filled all year long. Most of ours are store-bought, but it’s always fun to offer a kid-made bird feeder to our feathered friends.

Invite the birds to your yard with one of these kid-made bird feeders. DIY bird feeders are a great family craft and a fun way to learn about nature.

You can buy a bird feeder, make your own, or have a combination of the two if you want a bird-friendly yard.

Keep reading below for some fantastic ideas for kid-made bird feeders. They’ll all attract fun feathered friends to your yard.

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure Page for more details.

Invite the birds to your yard with one of these kid-made bird feeders. DIY bird feeders are a great family craft and a fun way to learn about nature.

For the Little Kids

(pictured left to right)

A bird feeder doesn’t have to get more complicated than stringing bird-friendly food. This Cheerio Bird Feeder is super-easy to make and the birds love it.

Add some berries and you’ve got these great Cheerio and Berry Bird Feeders from Happy Hooligans. I love how you can make them into lots of different shapes.

One of my favorite simple bird feeders is a Toilet Paper Roll Bird Feeder. The Resourceful Mama shows you how to make this simple project.

Before throwing away fruit that’s past its prime, turn it into these “Clean Out the Cupboard” Bird Feeders from Happy Hooligans.

Turn a pine cone into a bird feeder. You can find the instructions for a Pine Cone Bird Feeder at Juggling With Kids.

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Invite the birds to your yard with one of these kid-made bird feeders. DIY bird feeders are a great family craft and a fun way to learn about nature.

For the Bigger Kids

(pictured left to right)

Turn a simple wooden frame from the craft store into a fun (and colorful) refillable bird feeder. You can find the instructions for Homemade Bird Feeders Using Frames at Buggy and Buddy.

Decorate your trees with pretty shaped bird feeders. Kitchen Counter Chronicles has the instructions for these simple Cookie Cutter Bird Feeders.

Clean out a lotion bottle and turn it into a bird feeder. Find out how to make this recycled bird feeder at Teach Beside Me.

Have you ever seen those beautiful bird feeder wreaths? Did you know that it’s a project you can do with your kids? Suger, Spice, & Glitter has all the instructions you need for creating a Kid-Made Bird Feeder Wreath. 

Turn a gourd or small pumpkin into a bird feeder. Check out Kitchen Counter Chronicles for this pretty project.

Don’t forget to keep track of all your feathered friends with a Bird Watching Journal!

Invite the birds to your yard with one of these kid-made bird feeders. DIY bird feeders are a great family craft and a fun way to learn about nature.

You may also like one of these fun bird activities:

Family Bird Watching Club

Bird Watching Journal

After School Fun – Hummingbird Suncatchers

All About Birds Scavenger Hunt at Inspiration Laboratories

Summer Fun Ideas and the After School Linky Party – Week 44

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Do you have a lot of summer left, or is school starting up soon?

We still have over a month, so we’ve got a lot of summer fun left to do.

I love the ideas I found on last week’s link up. They’re simple, fun, and will keep your kids learning all year long.

(Pictured left to right)

Day 1: Have some fun with DIY Origami Flying Discs. Relentlessly Fun Deceptively Educational shows you how to make them.

Day 2: Have some chilly fun with ice! Mini Monets and Mommies has a great selection of ice art and science ideas.

Day 3: Learn about the Olympic and Paralympic values at Bits of Positivity.

Day 4: Practice time with O’Clock Ladybug Puzzles at Boy Mama Teacher Mama.

Day 5: Can you make a tower that won’t topple? Have fun with this fun science project from Relentlessly Fun Deceptively Educational.

You can find even more fun ideas from this week’s link-up.

Make sure to visit all the After School Activities Hosts:

Check out the link up below for even more great after school ideas. If you’re a blogger, please link up any ideas for elementary-aged kids (ages 5 and up).

After School Linky Party – Week 43

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Summer has been fun, but busy. We haven’t even had a chance to squeeze in fun learning activities. But, once things slow down, I’ve got a great list of things to try. Many of which I found at the After School Linky Party.

Stop by every week to find fun ideas for your elementary-aged kids. You’ll find math, reading, STEM, crafts, and just plain fun ideas.

Check the linky below for this week’s great ideas.

Make sure to visit all the After School Activities Hosts:
The Educators’ Spin On It
Planet Smarty Pants
Boy Mama Teacher Mama
Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational 

Check out the link up below for even more great after school ideas. If you’re a blogger, please link up any ideas for elementary-aged kids (ages 5 and up).

 

 

Summer Fun Ideas and the After School Linky Party – Week 42

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Find some great summer learning ideas at the After School Linky Party

 

How many more weeks of summer do you have left? We’re only half-way through, but I know others will be starting back to school much sooner. There’s still time for some fun summer learning. I loved the ideas that I found last week.

I’ve pulled some fun ideas from last week’s linky and you’ll definitely find some good ideas this week. Scroll down to the bottom for all the great ideas!

Day 1: Use Jolly Ranchers to make your own fun striped lollipops with this idea from One Little Project.

Day 2: Play a fun watermelon-themed compound word game from The Classroom Creative.

Day 3: Learn about money with a fun book. Math Geek Mama has a great round-up of money books.

Day 4: Play a fun printable board game to help learn time over at Boy Mama Teacher Mama.

Day 5: Make your own pirate’s chest! You can find the instructions for this craft over at The Classroom Creative.

Check the linky below for even more great ideas.

Make sure to visit all the After School Activities Hosts:
The Educators’ Spin On It
Planet Smarty Pants
Boy Mama Teacher Mama
Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational 

Check out the link up below for even more great after school ideas. If you’re a blogger, please link up any ideas for elementary-aged kids (ages 5 and up).