Green Crafts for Kids

Arts and Crafts Caddy by AngryJulieMonday (CC BY 2.0)

What’s ecofriendly and loads of fun? Green crafts! The best part about green crafts for kids is having fun while recreating and re-purposing old things! Green crafts teach kids to reuse and recycle what they have while having a lot of fun. I remember those summer days when Sparkle, Zippy, and I would make some of these green crafts! Getting creative with old unwanted items is so fun! With a little imagination and creativity, you can reuse just about anything into green crafts for kids.

Green Crafts: Terrariums

One of my favorite green crafts is to create a terrarium! They’re so easy to make and lots of fun! You can use a mason jar, a plastic water bottle, or even an egg carton! Green crafts should be truly green.

Inside of a terrarium
Inside a Terrarium (Photo by: LadyDayDream)

For the plastic water bottle terrarium, you’ll need some scissors, seeds, soil, and an old water bottle! Wash out the water bottle and the cap. Remove the label, and along the line where the label was cut the bottle towards the bottom.  Fill the bottom of the bottle with some soil and some seeds, and recover the bottle with the top half. Then place it somewhere in the sun and watch your green crafts grow!

For the egg carton, just spread the soil and plant your seeds. Set it in the sun, and watch it grow! Set it next to your water bottle terrarium and see which green crafts grows the fastest! For the mason jar, fill the bottom with a nice layer of loose soil, then place the seeds and whatever little plants you might want!

Once the plants grow a bit to big, replant them in the ground and start again with a new plant! Growing plants in terrariums is a great green crafts for kids that teaches us about ecosystems.

Arts & Green Crafts

Before you think of throwing out the cardboard tubes in paper towels and toilet paper rolls, egg cartons, and mason jars, hold onto them for green crafts. They are the perfect tools  for creating awesome green crafts for kids.

Using cardboard tubes and cardboard boxes lying around, you can create an amazing cardboard castle, a tree or even a forest. Decorate  it with markers and using scrap paper to make the perfect tower topper! If you don’t have cardboard, consider using old egg cartons to create animals, flowers, you name it, you can make it into green crafts! Cardboard is my favorite material for  green crafts! Especially after a moving day, you can transform old moving boxes into a new fortress. After you’re done with green crafts, recycle the cardboard and create whatever you can think of with cardboard! Green crafts let you re-purpose what you’d usually throw away!

cardboard tree
Returning cardboard to its roots as a tree! Awesome green crafts! (Photo by: Mosman Library)

One of my favorite green crafts is creating your own mini beach by using an old mason jar, some sand, seashells, and water! First fill the bottom of your mason jar with sand, and then arrange your shells as you want them. Then slowly pour water into the mason jar until it’s just short of the rim. Close the mason jar and tie it with a ribbon of your choice! Place it around the house and let everyone view your mini beach green crafts.

Functional Green Crafts

Green crafts can also be functional crafts. Create a birdfeeder! Using a plastic water bottle, cut a hole about a centimeter or so thick so the birdseed can come out. cut a whole in the cap and put in hook so it can hang. There are tons of variations of water bottle bird feeders out there! Make it a project to try as many green crafts bird feeders as you can!

Bird Feeder
A popular water bottle bird feeder! Green crafts are popular! (Photo by: Derek Keats)

Reusing old jars to make new vases is a great green crafts. Get some colorful tissue paper and cut it into small pieces. Use glue to stick it to a mason jar and let them decorate the jar! Now you’ve got a fantastic new vase customized by your child for flowers or a great holder for future green crafts like pens and arts and green crafts supplies.

Green Crafts for Kids
(Photo by: In Paris Texas)

Some green crafts can be loud! Create a colorful noisemaker by reusing a plastic water bottle or a cardboard tube. All you have to do is fill the the bottle with beads, beans, and rice in any combination. If you want to use a cardboard tube, use duct tape to seal the ends, and fill it with beans and  rice for noise. Then decorate to your heart’s content! Some green crafts can be super simple but lots of fun like noisemakers!

Green crafts are tons of fun! Green crafts give you a chance to have fun with your kid and reuse items you’d normally throw out. There’s nothing I like more than having eco-friendly fun!  If you’ve got any green crafts ideas, leave it in a comment below!