Creative Family Fun

Your one-stop shop for kids activities and family fun

Crafts

Panda Reading Pointer Craft

By

A reading pointer is a great tool for beginning readers. It helps them track the words on a page and trains the eyes to follow along.

You can grab any sort of reading pointer, but if you’ve got a kid that loves animals, they’re going to definitely love this fun panda reading pointer.

Use a craft stick to make this simple panda reading pointer for kids. It's a fun tool for beginning readers and animal lovers!

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Also, CraftProjectIdeas.com sent me some of the supplies used on this project. All ideas are my own.

Supplies needed for your panda reading pointer

Jumbo craft stick
White craft paint
Black craft paint
Black felt
Glue
Small googly eyes

How to make your panda bear reading pointer

First, paint the entire front and back of your craft stick with white paint. Allow it to dry completely.

While your paint is drying, cut two small circles from your black felt to use as your ears.

Once your white paint is dry, add your details with the black craft paint. Add too ovals for the eyes and a small circles underneath for the nose. Draw your simple mouth details. Finally, add two half circles under your face for your paws. Let all your black paint dry.

If you need something to do while your waiting for paint to dry, read a great book about pandas! Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas by Natasha Yim is a fun choice. It’s a Chinese American retelling of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

After your paint is dry, glue your felt ears to the back of the top of your craft stick.

Attach your googly eyes on your eye ovals. I found that using self-sticking googly eyes made this step really easy!

Once your glue is dry, your reading pointer is ready to use! Let this cute panda help your child practice reading.

Make this simple panda bear reading pointer for your beginning readers.
Yield: 1 Reading Pointer

Panda Reading Pointer

Panda Reading Pointer

Make this simple panda reading pointer out of a craft stick. It's a great tool for your beginning reader.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Active Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Difficulty Easy
Estimated Cost Under $5 (depending on the supplies you already have on hand)

Materials

Tools

Instructions

  1. Paint your entire craft stick with the white paint. Let dry.
  2. While your paint dries, cut two small circles out of your black felt for your panda's ears.
  3. Once the paint is dry, add details with your black paint. Add two ovals for your eyes and a small circle for the nose. Add a simple mouth and two half circles for your paws. Let dry.
  4. Once your black paint is dry. Glue your two ears to the back of the craft stick at the top.
  5. Add your two small eyes to the black ovals.

Notes

If you don't have any black felt you can use craft foam or black card stock instead.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

© Terri Thompson
Project Type: reading pointer / Category: Crafts
Use a craft stick to make this simple panda reading pointer for kids. It's a fun tool for beginning readers and animal lovers!

You may also like one of these animal crafts

Cardboard Tube Panda Craft

Arctic Fox Camouflage Craft

Koala Bear Bookmark Craft

The Cutest Panda Crafts for Kids

Panda Corner Bookmark at Red Ted Art

Use a craft stick to make this simple panda reading pointer for kids. It's a fun tool for beginning readers and animal lovers!

Use your panda bear reading pointer with one of these great books:

It would be so much fun to use your new reading pointer with a great book about pandas.

For nonfiction, try National Geographic Readers – Level 2: Pandas by Anne Schreiber.

Or, if you’re up to chapter books, try Magic Treehouse: A Perfect Time for Pandas by Mary Pope Osborne.

Here are some other books you may like:

Do you want to do more activities with your kids?

Join our fun Facebook community, Creative Family Fun for Busy Families, for daily activities that are great for kids and families. We’ll chat, share, and have fun. It’s a safe and private place to share ideas for family and kids activities.

I’d love for you to join me! Just click the link below, request to join, and answer the questions (they’re easy, I promise). Come join the fun! Join the Creative Family Fun for Busy Families community here.

Panda Bookmark Craft for Kids

By

What do you like to use to save your place in your current book?

Do you just grab a scrap of paper or do you prefer a cute bookmark?

At our house, we love a cute bookmark, like this simple panda bookmark craft. It’s so cute and so much fun!

Save your spot in your current book with this easy panda bookmark craft for kids using this simple drawing tutorial and a few supplies.

Let’s grab a few supplies and get ready to create. You’ll have a new, fun bookmark to use in just a little bit of time.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Supplies needed for your panda bookmark craft

White cardstock
Pencil
Ruler
Scissors
Black marker
Craft knife

How to make your panda bookmark

Start with drawing a circle for your head at the top of your piece of cardstock. If you want to use a template, a milk carton lid is about the right size.

Next draw two parallel lines coming down from your head, approximately 5 inches long. Make sure they are wide enough apart to give your bookmark some support, about 1-3/4 inches apart.

Join the two parallel lines with a straight line across the bottom.

Add two rounded ears at the top of your head.

Next, add your paws underneath the head. Make a simple u-shape.

Now, it’s time to add our facial features.

For your eyes, add two large ovals with smaller circles inside.

Add a small circle nose and a simple mouth.

After you’re satisfied with your drawing, trace all the lines with the black marker.

Use the marker to color in your paws, ears, nose, and larger ovals around your eyes.

Use the scissors to cut out your bookmark.

Save your spot in your current book with this easy panda bookmark craft for kids using this simple drawing tutorial and a few supplies.

Finally, use your craft knife to cut around the paws. Leave your paws connected at the top so that you can slide it over your pages.

Note: I have this ceramic craft knife that I love to use. It’s easier to hold, stays sharper, and is much safer than a retractable craft knife. If you are ready to let your child use a tool like this, this is a great choice. If not, have an adult do this step.

Your panda bookmark is ready to save your place in your current book! Let’s get reading!

Save your spot in your current book with this easy panda bookmark craft for kids using this simple drawing tutorial and a few supplies.

You may also like one of these animal crafts

Koala Bookmark Craft

Cardboard Tube Panda Craft

The Cutest Bear Crafts for Kids

Fork Print Panda Bear Craft

Use your bookmark to save your place in one of these great books!

Are your looking for a great book for your new panda bookmark? Here are some fun choices that I would recommend.

Do you want to do more activities with your kids?

Join our fun Facebook community, Creative Family Fun for Busy Families, for daily activities that are great for kids and families. We’ll chat, share, and have fun. It’s a safe and private place to share ideas for family and kids activities.

I’d love for you to join me! Just click the link below, request to join, and answer the questions (they’re easy, I promise). Come join the fun! Join the Creative Family Fun for Busy Families community here.

Preschool Paper Plate Umbrella Craft

By

Winter is winding down and spring is on it’s way.

It’s time for flowers, birds, and rain!

To celebrate this upcoming season, we decided to make a fun paper plate umbrella craft that is perfect for preschool and toddlers.

Preschoolers and toddlers will have so much fun making this simple paper plate umbrella craft that is perfect for a rainy day!

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Supplies needed for your umbrella craft

Paper plate
Tape
Paint
Cotton Balls
Black Construction Paper

How to make your Paper Plate Umbrella craft

To prep your project you will need to cut a paper plate in half. Then, I gave one half to each girl.

I let each of my girl picks out a couple of colors of paint. I then poured a little bit of each color onto an old plastic lid. This makes it so much easier and neater than putting brushes into the little pots of paint.

But, for this project, we used cotton balls to paint with instead of the paint brushes. It’s always fun to paint with different things!

The girls got to work. My 2-year-old dabbed her paint while my 4-year-old decided to smear hers.

To finish the project, I used the black construction paper to cut out the handles. Once the paint was dry, we attached out handles to the back of our umbrellas with tape.

We then hung our paper plate umbrella craft in the window to remind us that the snow was going away and rain would come with the changing season.

Preschoolers and toddlers will have so much fun making this simple paper plate umbrella craft that is perfect for a rainy day!

You may also like one of these fun weather crafts:

The Snowy Day Book & Craft

Simple Cloud Painting Activity

Rain and Raindrop Crafts for Kids

Weather Crafts for Toddlers

Raindrop Suncatchers at Pre-K Pages

How to make a paper plate umbrella. This is such a fun and simple craft for preschool.

My recommended craft resources

It’s so easy to have a successful craft time with your kids, if you keep some simple supplies on hand. Here are the supplies we used for this project, that you can also use for many other kids crafts.

Do you want to do more activities with your kids?

Join our fun Facebook community, Creative Family Fun for Busy Families, for daily activities that are great for kids and families. We’ll chat, share, and have fun. It’s a safe and private place to share ideas for family and kids activities.

I’d love for you to join me! Just click the link below, request to join, and answer the questions (they’re easy, I promise). Come join the fun! Join the Creative Family Fun for Busy Families community here.

Cardboard Tube Panda Craft

By

We’ve made cardboard tube elephants. We’ve made tigers. And, now we’re making a fun cardboard tube panda craft.

These pandas are so cute that you’re going to want to make a whole family of them.

So, let’s grab our craft supplies and get started.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Supplies needed for your panda bear craft

Empty cardboard tube/toilet paper roll
White craft paint
Black craft paint
Black marker
Scissors
Black construction paper (just a scrap will work)
Glue
Googly eyes

How to make your Cardboard Tube Panda Craft

For the first step, grab your white paint and paint your entire cardboard tube white.

While you wait for the paint to dry, cut two small circles from your black construction paper for your ears. Your circles should be about the same size as a quarter. (Or about 1-inch in diameter.)

After your white paint is dry, grab your black paint to add the details.

You’ll want to paint two ovals tilted to the side for your eyes and a small circle between them for the nose.

Next, paint a black band under the face. The band circles your tube with it lower in the front and higher in the back.

Let the black paint dry for a few minutes.

Create a pretend play zoo and add this simple cardboard tube panda bear craft. It's a simple and fun craft for kids that makes use of recycled materials.

After all the paint it dry, add your final details.

Glue your ears to the inside of the top of your tube. Center an ear above each eye.

Glue your googly eyes inside your black eye ovals. They need to be near the top of the oval.

Create a pretend play zoo and add this simple cardboard tube panda craft. It's a simple and fun craft for kids that makes use of recycled materials.

Finally, use the black marker to make your mouth underneath the nose circle.

After the glue dries, it’s time to play! This panda bear craft makes a great DIY toy!

Yield: 1 panda

Cardboard Tube Panda Craft

Cardboard Tube Panda Craft

Use a recycled paper tube and a few simple supplies to make one of these cute cardboard tube pandas.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Active Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Difficulty Easy
Estimated Cost Under $5 (depending on the supplies you already have on hand)

Materials

Tools

Instructions

  1. Use your white paint to paint your entire cardboard tube.
  2. While the paint is drying, cut 2 small circles (about the size of a quarter) from your construction paper for your ears.
  3. Once the white paint is dry, use your black paint to add details. Add a black collar, small black nose, and two tilted ovals for the eyes. Let the black paint dry.
  4. Glue your ears to the inside of the top of your tube so that half of the circles sticks out from the top.
  5. Glue your googly eyes to the top of your eye ovals.
  6. Finally, use your black marker to draw a small mouth.

Notes

If you don't have an empty toilet paper roll tube, you can cut a paper towel roll to size.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

© Terri Thompson
Project Type: cardboard tube animal / Category: Crafts
Cardboard Tube Panda Craft for Kids
Create a pretend play zoo and add this simple cardboard tube panda craft. It's a simple and fun craft for kids that makes use of recycled materials.

You may also like one of these animal crafts:

Panda Bear Masks

Cardboard Tube Bear Craft

Koala Bookmark

LEGO Panda Building Instructions

Create a pretend play zoo and add this simple cardboard tube panda craft. It's a simple and fun craft for kids that makes use of recycled materials.

My recommended supplies

If you want to make this cute cardboard tube panda, you’ll need a few simple craft supplies. First, make sure you save a couple of empty toilet paper rolls! The rest of the supplies are some that you should keep on hand to make many fun crafts for kids.

Do more activities with your family!

Join our fun Facebook community, Creative Family Fun for Busy Families, for daily activities that are great for kids and families. We’ll chat, share, and have fun. It’s a safe and private place to share ideas for family and kids activities.

I’d love for you to join me! Just click the link below, request to join, and answer the questions (they’re easy, I promise). Come join the fun! Join the Creative Family Fun for Busy Families community here.

Egg Carton Easter Basket Craft

By

I recently found myself staring at a pile of egg cartons and wondering how we could use them. Certainly there’s an Easter craft project we could try?

What could we do? After a few moments of creative thinking, I had an a-ha moment. They would be perfect for making a cute little Egg Carton Easter Basket or two.

Recycle your empty egg cartons into this simple and pretty Egg Carton Easter Basket craft for kids. It's so much fun to make!

This project takes very few supplies, it’s easy to prep, and it’s a lot of fun to make. In fact, you probably already have everything you need to get started on this easy egg carton Easter craft.

So, go grab your supplies and let’s get started crafting.

Disclosure: CraftProjectIdeas.com sent us some of the supplies we used in this craft. All ideas are our own. There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Supplies needed for this Easter basket craft

Egg carton
Craft paint
Sharp pencil
2 pipe cleaners (fuzzy craft sticks) for each basket

How to make an Egg Carton Easter Basket

We divided an egg carton into sections of four cups apiece.

The egg cartons we have tear easily. If you don’t have the same type of carton, you may have to get out the scissors.

We each took a section of the egg carton and started painting.

I got out as many pretty pastel colors of paint as I had, but feel free to use any color.

Try stripes, polka dots, or just solid colors. Any pattern will look pretty on the baskets.

While waiting for the paint to dry, we twisted two different colors of pipe cleaner together.

Once they were twisted, we curved them into a u-shape to make a handle.

This next step needs to be done by an adult. If you’re working with a large group, you can do this step before painting.

Before we put in the handle, I used the sharp pencil to poke a hole in each side of the egg carton.

We then put the ends of the pipe cleaners into each hole, curving up the ends and twisting it around itself.

This simple Egg Carton Easter Basket craft for kids makes a fun and pretty little container to hold your plastic eggs or dyed Easter Eggs.

That’s it. You’ve finished your egg carton Easter basket!

This Easter basket craft was so simple and fun. We filled our baskets with plastic eggs and added them to our Easter decorations. They’re so pretty.

If you find yourself with a few extra egg cartons, turn them into Easter baskets!

This simple Egg Carton Easter Basket craft for kids makes a fun and pretty little container to hold your plastic eggs or dyed Easter Eggs.

You may also like one of these Easter activities for kids:

Watercolor Easter Eggs Garland

Easter Egg Dye Pour Painting

Painted Easter Egg Suncatchers

Spring Chicks Egg Carton Craft at Typically Simple

Pair this craft with a great Easter book

It’s so much fun to pair a craft with a fun book. And, since you need to wait for your paint to dry, it’s the perfect time for a quick story time. Here are some great Easter books that would pair perfectly with this craft:

Do you want to do more activities with your kids?

Join our fun Facebook community, Creative Family Fun for Busy Families, for daily activities that are great for kids and families. We’ll chat, share, and have fun. It’s a safe and private place to share ideas for family and kids activities.

I’d love for you to join me! Just click the link below, request to join, and answer the questions (they’re easy, I promise). Come join the fun! Join the Creative Family Fun for Busy Families community here.