This project teaches children about the importance of recycling and instills in them the value of saving money. Use a clean, used cylindrical container, preferably plastic, to make the pig's body. An adult will need to cut a slit in the top for coins to be placed and use hot glue to attach four corks to the bottom as feet. Let children paint their piggy banks -- including the lids -- and customize them with stickers or foam shapes once the paint has dried. Attach two eyes, felt triangles as pig ears, a pink button as a nose and piece of pink pipe cleaner as a tail; have each child curl it with his finger first.
This traditional craft project is likely new to elementary-aged children, and its playful final products create lasting fun. From two different sheets of colored cardstock -- for sturdy pinwheels -- use a ruler to cut equal squares. Draw diagonal lines across the square, using the ruler, which cross in the middle. Use scissors to cut 2/3 of the way along each line. Hold the two squares together at the center, and bend each cut so that its point meets the center; do not crease. Push a pin through the four points and the center of the squares, securing it into a wooden dowel on the other side. Decorate the classroom with the vibrant, spinning pinwheels.
Creating this wind chime is a subtle but effective way to advance elementary-aged children's fine motor skills and creativity. Cut a paper cup until its height is about 3 inches and punch four holes spaced evenly around the new top edge. Decorate the cup with paint or markers. Cut four 12-inch pieces of string and attach a small bell to the end of each. Have the students string beads of different shapes, sizes and colors onto each string in whatever pattern they choose, leaving about 2 inches of empty space at the top. Tie beaded strings to the holes in the paper cup.
A rain stick craft can be integrated into a lesson on culture. The origins of the rain stick are in Chile, where they were made from dried cactus branches and used to ask the gods for rain. Make your own rain sticks in class using a cardboard tube in place of a cactus branch. Decorate the tube with animal shapes for an authentic look, outlining each several times in different colors of paint. To assemble the rain stick, coil a piece of wire the length of the tube and place it inside. Add 1/2 cup dried beans or rice, and seal the tube using the cap or posterboard trimmed to fit the tube's diameter.