Village Craft for Kids

You can make a 3-D scene of your own back yard, your town, a city, or a village. Think of a special place you have visited or read about; you can create a replica of this special location, and it's very easy!

To begin, collect all of your materials. You will need:

• 2 sheets of construction paper 8x10, one white and the other any color that you would like for a background
• Pointed scissors-you may need an adult to help you with the cutting
• Pencil, markers, colored pencils and/or crayons

   

To get started you'll need to use your pencil to draw out your scene on the white construction paper. Try and stick with 5 or 6 objects for your first Pop-Up Village. I drew two trees, a car, a house, and a store on mine.

Scatter the pictures around your paper. Remember to leave some space between them so that you'll be able to cut around them easily and so there'll be enough support to help them stand up. After you draw all of the pictures in your village, put a dotted line across the bottom of each one. For example, the base of the tree will not be cut so the dotted line is a reminder for you not to cut there.

Next, color in each object that you drew, and use details when coloring to make your pictures even more interesting. Add windows and windowpanes, a mailbox, and doorknob to a house; how about tree roots to your trees? There is no need to color the background unless you want to.

Now it's time for your scene to pop up and come alive. Carefully cut out each picture, but remember that you will just be cutting out the top and both sides-the bottom must stay attached. That is where you will fold it to make it stand up (see picture). You may need a parent or adult to help you with the cutting; it can be tricky.

You can make a pop-up store, city, farm, or anything else you can think of. As always, be creative, use your imagination, and have fun…and don't forget to sign your work of art. 

Article provided by Homesteader