Arts and crafts are more than just a fun activity for children—they also help serve as a fundamental part of their development. One of the easiest ways to help develop your child’s skills is to give them creative reign over a craft project. Since we do a lot of crafting at our house, I always like to find ideas that are super accessible and affordable. It doesn’t get much cheaper than construction paper!
Not only are construction paper crafts for kids easy on your budget, but they can also help foster so many crucial skills in your children. From learning colors to wielding their first pair of kids’ scissors safely, these paper projects are equal parts fun and educational. Here is a list of 25 different construction paper crafts for kids to try, ranging from preschool all the way up to elementary!
8 Construction Paper Crafts for Kids in Preschool
Taking the time to do construction paper crafts for kids at a young age can be incredibly beneficial for your little one’s creativity as well as advancing their fine-motor skills. As you may know already, children learn best through play, particularly in this age group.
With these fun, age-appropriate construction paper crafts for kids in pre-k, your child will be actively learning while simply enjoying the act of creating. When helping your little one use construction paper to create these crafts, you can use this time to reinforce how to:
- Safely learn how to cut with scissors
- Learn the primary colors of the rainbow
- Use their imagination to visually create their own stories
Take a look at these paper craft ideas for your next arts and craft day with your preschooler!
1. Paper Chain Caterpillar | DLTK’S Crafts For Kids
Paper chains are perfect for preschoolers. Use this project to teach your child about colors and patterns as you select each color. Plus, they’ll love gluing on the googly eyes all by themselves.
2. Frozen Ice Painting | Sugar Bee Crafts
Any kid that is a fan of the movie Frozen (aka every kid) is going to love this one. This mess-free craft will show your child how to “paint” with ice on top of construction paper. This doubles as a great introductory science lesson!
3. Santa’s Reindeer | Education
Besides the elves, Santa’s favorite sidekicks are his reindeer! Have your kids create these super cute reindeer to get in the mood for the holidays.
4. DIY Paper Dinosaur Craft | What We Can Do With Paper & Glue
It doesn’t matter if you have a girl or boy; dinosaurs are always a hit. This ferocious, fun construction paper hat is sure to keep your kids engaged in this fun project—and for hours after as they play make-believe.
5. Sticker Name Activity | Busy Toddler
This is one of my favorite simple construction paper crafts for kids as it really encourages children to learn how to spell their names. It helps them see and understand the shape of their letters too.
6. Paper Heart Penguin | Crafty Morning
These adorable little penguins with googly eyes will be the life of the party. Your kids will love these cute little guys and will be happy to show off their work.
7. Paper Handprint Giraffe | Glued To My Crafts
Handprint crafts are always some of my favorites thanks to the sentimental factor they offer. Your preschooler will be amazed to see how his or her traced hand and arm will transform into a giraffe. You’ll need to help your child trace their hand, but they can handle all the decorating while putting their fine motor skills to work.
8. Twirling Paper Parrot | I Heart Crafty Things
Looking for an awe-inspiring craft for preschoolers? Take a peek at this idea! You will need some construction paper, cardboard, paint, google eyes, and a few other common household craft supplies.
8 Construction Paper Crafts for Kids in Kindergarten
When your child reaches kindergarten, they will be ready to create crafts with a little less help, or even completely on their own! Creating some of these art projects might help:
- Boost their self-confidence
- Create a way for them to start problem-solving on their own
- Challenge their creativity
These construction paper crafts for kids in kindergarten are great for beginners who are still developing their fine-motor skills but are also practicing new skills along the way.
1. Heart Dinosaur Craft | Housing A Forrest
This is another fantastic dinosaur craft your children will enjoy. It’s easy, but entertaining enough to get them excited. Don’t forget to grab the free printable PDF in the craft instructions along with a hole punch before you get started.
2. Bouncing Spiders | Twitchetts
Whether you are learning about spiders or just adding some spooky fun into your day, these bouncing spiders are a blast to make with children. This is a great activity for a rainy day when your little ones have lots of wiggles to get out!
3. Cat Craft | All Kids Network
Have some fans of kitty cats? These adorable cats aren’t just fun to make; they are fun to play with too. Plus, your child will get to practice their fine motor skills while they glue the construction paper eyes, nose, and whiskers into place.
4. Snowflake Ballerina | Krokotak
These snowflake ballerinas are beautiful, and each one will be entirely unique, just like your children. This is a great time to talk to your kids about how unique they are too.
5. Paper Fish Craft | Buggy and Buddy
Everything about these little fish is fun and adorable. Grab some construction paper and child-friendly safety scissors to let your little one practice cutting out shapes.
6. Paper Snow Globe | Education
This glass-free construction paper snow globe gives your child all the magic and fun of a regular snow globe, without any of the dangers. This is a great time for your child to practice making “snow” by using the paper punch by themselves.
7. Mosaic Ice Cream Cone | The Pinterested Parent
These mosaic ice cream cones allow kids to use their creativity to make something beautiful and playful. Plus, it’s always fun to pretend to eat them too!
8. Earth Day Craft | The Simple Parent
Looking for a craft to explain Earth Day? This is a fantastic construction paper craft for kids that can segway into all kinds of interesting discussions about the place we live and how to take care of our planet.
9 Construction Paper Crafts for Kids in Elementary School
At this stage, kids are typically quite independent and want little to no help at all. They tend to need crafts that are a little more challenging and can hold their attention for longer periods of time. These construction paper crafts for kids are much more involved and will stretch your child’s imagination as they craft and create!
1. 3D Paper Heart Craft | Easy Peasy And Fun
The 3D element of this craft adds an extra challenge that elementary-aged children will enjoy. Threading the yarn is also challenging and will teach children patience while they put their hand-eye coordination to the ultimate test!
2. Make Your Own Chalkboards | Come Together Kids
How cool is it that kids can make their own chalkboards?! You will need black construction paper and some chalk, but once this craft is made your grade-schooler will have a blast creating fun messages while practicing their handwriting skills. Let the fun begin!
3. 3D Rainbow | Twitchetts
Elementary-aged kids will get a kick out of making these rainbows! They’re bright, colorful, and look delightful. This is another challenging 3D project that will keep your kids busy for hours.
4. Footprint Unicorn | My Creative Life
Unicorns are a timeless art project that kids of all ages will love. As a parent, I’ve got a bit of an ulterior motive: I love any sort of craft that involves handprints or footprints as they make great keepsakes and gifts. It’s fun (and bittersweet) to look back on them as our kids get older.
5. Swirly Paper Flowers | DIY Cozy Home
This is one of those construction paper crafts for kids that is better suited for children who are further along in primary school. Your child will need to be old enough to make the “swirly” flowers out of paper, but they will love showing off their handiwork once they are done.
6. Cereal Box Monsters | Crafts By Amanda
Don’t toss your empty cereal boxes once finished. Instead, hand them off to your children to upcycle the boxes into these cute and scary monsters. This earth-friendly project gives your child free rein to decorate. Wait and see what their incredible imaginations come up with!
7. Water Blossoms | Babble Babble Do
If you have creative kids that enjoy experimenting, they will love these water blossoms. They can make several different versions with the template provided in the craft instructions!
8. Paper Lanterns | First Palette
I can’t get enough of these paper lanterns, and your kids won’t be able to either. These are especially fun to make around Chinese New Year, and will allow you to explain to your children the different ways people around the world celebrate holidays.
9. Paper Heart Wreath Craft | The Hybrid Chick
With a little patience and creativity, your child can make his or her very own door decor with this fun wreath project. Take it up a notch by asking your child to decorate the construction paper as well before creating their wreath.
From paper dinosaurs to 3D hearts, there are so many options for kids to create with construction paper! Let us know what you create with these fun construction paper crafts for kids!
This post contains affiliate links.
If you enjoyed this collection of construction paper crafts for kids, please share this post on Pinterest!
And if you’re looking for more ways to have fun at home with your little ones, please follow our Kids board where we share all kinds of great ideas we find each day!
