Popsicle Stick Art

As librarians, we all have some programs that we're really excited about and some programs that seem fun when we first plan them, but then kind of mediocre when the time really comes to do them. Unfortunately this was one of the latter. But, luckily, it wound up being pretty successful anyway!

It was inspired by this link from CraftWhack. When I first stumbled upon it on Pinterest (where else!?), I was really excited to try it out, but when I started to make my own sample (see below), I realized that this was a craft that took patience, concentration, and a relatively steady hand--qualities that kids don't typically develop until a bit later in life.

As soon as I started working on the sample, I immediately felt less excited about the program and less confident that it would be fun for all ages. Therefore, I need a second craft. Craft #2 was simple--just building a scene with skinny popsicle sticks and other collage items (jewels, buttons, and googly eyes). My sample is below--a dragon fly, a flower, and a fence* colored and glued to a piece of paper:

* The fence was a last minute addition (and a hit with the kids!), thanks to my husband. When I left for work on the morning of this program, I told him about what I had planned for the craft and he said, "When I was a kid, I always liked to make a fence with popsicle sticks." So before the program, I threw a fence into the scene and voila! And what do you know, almost every kid wound up making a fence themselves!

The program worked out well. While many kids dabbled at both stations (the tracing craft from Pinterest table and the simple collage table), it worked out that the slightly younger crew mostly did the collage and the school-age kids spent more time with the tracing. And everyone got really creative!

Here are a few fun, finished products of both types:

I was so worried that these crafts were going to be lame, that I was actually overjoyed at how much everyone liked them! Sometimes it doesn't take tons of bells and whistles for success!

What worked least and best: Everything. Another boring answer here. But, other than my own hangups about this being too simple, it certainly seemed like everything about this program worked!