Paper Crafts: Make a Boat

Our summer has been filled with trips to coastal locations- Hawaii, North Carolina, Virginia, and Big Sur. My toddler and preschooler have spent a lot of time in the water and have been really excited by all of the boats they’ve seen.

Today I wanted to share a simple paper boat craft we created based on their enthusiasm.

Make A Paper Boat Craft

The boats use very few materials and can be adapted for a variety of ages.

Materials needed to make a paper boat:

  • paper (we used cardstock)
  • stapler
  • scissors
  • stickers
  • crayons/markers
  • popsicle sticks
  • tape
The paper boat templates are pretty simple to create using paper, scissors, and a stapler.

  1. Fold your paper in half.
  2. Fold the paper to make an M (center fold inward and then two folded humps on either side.
  3. Draw the angled sides of your boat.
  4. Trim the sides/top to make the boat the length/height that you want.
  5. Staple the sides together using one or two staples. Your boat should then be able to stand on it’s own. *Cut extra holes in the sides of the boat for the oars if you want.
Once the boat is created you can give your kids a variety of materials and have them start designing their boats!

We also designed popsicle stick people to stick inside our paper boats! You could easily tape your child’s photo onto a popsicle stick instead of having them draw themselves. We had fun making our paper boats float/fly around the house through pretend water.

Do you have any other boat themed crafts or activities you’ve tried?

Here are a few of our favorites boat activities:

  • Make a Viking Ship – this amazing Viking longship can be made from a cardboard box.
  • Sinking Ships – learn about density, buoyancy, and gravity in this fun kids ™ science experiment.
  • Twinkie Submarine Snacks – kids love decorated treats and Twinkie Submarines are easy and fun to make.
  • Learn how to make a diy boat with these fun crafts.

One Comment

  1. Lau Cartin says:

    Kristina, thanks for sharing your crafts, I’ll try to do the ship with our Sunday School kids. Blessings, Lau

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