Unleash Your Child’s Creativity with the Fun & Colorful Totem Pole Craft Kit
11 Totem Pole Craft For Kids
Traditional Native American artwork often takes the shape of totem poles. The totem pole is a cultural artefact that represents a family, tribe, or clan and its history.
It’s malleable enough to be sculpted into the likeness of any number of different animals, people, and historical moments. They use totem poles to pass on their myths and history.
Native Americans believed that symbols could speak to them and had power beyond what they could see with their eyes or touch with their hands.
Traditional Totem Pole
There are a few different ways to carve totem poles. Some people start at the top and work their way down, while others carve from the bottom up.
Others will start in the middle and work their way outwards or inwards, depending on how they want it to look when it’s finished.
The tradition of carving totem poles started as a way for Native American tribes to celebrate important events and pass down stories from generation to generation.
Animal Totem Pole
Totem poles with animals on them are very popular and can be found in a tribe from Alaska to Hawaii. They were made by Native Americans to honor their leader.
In these tribes, totem poles with animals on them are very popular for many reasons:
They tell stories about the clan’s history, including how they got started, who their ancestors were, and what happened during the years before Europeans arrived in the area.
Totem poles with animals on them represent important people who have something to teach us such as courage or respect for others’ opinions even though our own opinions might differ from theirs at times!
The totem pole’s design represents an animal that has been seen by someone close to them or even themselves before so they know exactly what kind of animal/person they want carving onto their family’s pole!”
Paper Cup Totem Pole
Here are the steps to make your own paper cup totem pole.
Gather all of the materials needed to make your paper cup totem pole. This can include a large paper cup, construction paper, markers, paint, and glue.
Decorate both sides of the large paper cup using markers and/or paint. One side will represent the front of the totem pole while another represents its backside. You may also want to draw faces on each side as well!
Cut out two circles from construction paper that are slightly larger than what you have left over from step 2 above (you’ll need these for later). These circles should be placed inside each other so that they overlap at least halfway around their edges-
this will make sure that when glued together they form a cylinder shape like an actual log found within real-life totem poles! If needed cut out more than one circle per side so there’s enough room between the inside.
4 For example if one side has 4 inches worth then cut out 5 inches worth then add another layer around those four inches making sure both layers meet evenly between each set point where they overlap together…etcetera…
Handprint Totem Pole Craft
Handprint Totem Poles are a fun and easy way to teach kids about Native American culture. The design of the totem pole is based on the Native American family’s totem, which represents their clan or animal.
The totems were used to symbolize important things that happened during that time period. For example, if someone was sick, they could make a totem pole with their handprint on it as a way of telling stories about what was happening at the time.
Handprint Totem Poles are also good for teaching kids about how people lived back in those days too!
You could even pretend like you’re an Indian tribe leader who needs to tell some stories but doesn’t have any paper around so you’ll just use your hand as a drawing board instead! What will those drawings say?
Paper Bag Totem Pole
Cut out a square shape from the paper bag, and then fold it in half, then half again.
Fold that folded piece in half again and then once more so that you have an eight-sided shape (called an octagon).
Fold up the bottom of your bag to make it easier to carry around with you as you assemble your totem pole crafts for the kids’ craft project
Cereal Box Totem Pole
- Use a cereal box and a marker to make a totem pole.
- Let the kids be creative, and have them make their own totem poles that are animals or people or faces or letters or numbers or shapes.
Toilet Roll Totem Pole
Toilet roll totem poles are a great craft for kids of all ages.
They are easy to make, but they look amazing once they’re finished.
All you need is some toilet rolls and glue!
First, use a glue gun to stick the toilet rolls together in order. Then decorate your finished totem pole with paint or glitter.
If you like, add some other decorations on top of your totem poles such as feathers or beads if you have them lying around the house (or buy some). You can also draw faces on each colored paper roll using crayons or markers.
Clothespins Totem Pole Craft
Crafts to make with clothespins are a breeze. They’re easy to find, easy to store, and easy to paint. Plus, you can use them for all sorts of projects—from clothespin dinosaurs and totem poles!
You may already have a box of clothespins stacked up in your closet somewhere. If not, check the dollar store or any craft stores near you for a big bag of them at an affordable price.
The nice thing about using this type of material is that it’s very versatile: it can be painted into whatever colors you want; it’s durable enough for kids’ hands; and there are so many different ways you can decorate these little critters!
Clothespin Totem Poles
If you’re looking for a way to make a colorful totem pole, clothespins are the way to go.
Unlike paper bag totem poles that are only made with brown, white and green paper bags, clothespin totem poles can be made from any color of clothespins.
Use blue ones for water and green ones for the earth. If you have enough red ones, use those as fire! The possibilities are endless when it comes to making colored clothespin totems!
Popsicle Stick Totem Pole
For this project, you will need a lot of popsicle sticks. You can use different colors to make it more colorful.
You can paint the popsicle sticks or make designs using markers on them.
You can use glue to attach the popsicle sticks together. Or you can use a glue gun to attach them together and then let it dry for a few hours before continuing with other steps in creating your totem pole craft for kids.
Egg Carton Totem Poles
Egg carton totem poles are a fun and easy craft for kids. The best part is that you can use any type of egg carton, but the larger ones work best.
Kids will have fun creating totem poles and then painting them with bright colors. If you have several egg cartons on hand, create several different totem poles at once by using different colors on each one!
Empty out the eggs and save them for later in a glass jar or airtight container
Take an empty egg carton and cut it down to size (you will want to make 2-3 cuts depending on how long you want your pole)
Have your child decorate the pole with markers, crayons or stickers
Native American-influenced crafts can be fun and interesting.
A totem pole is made from wood, and it’s carved with symbols.
Totem poles tend to be tall, and they often depict animals or people.
totem poles for kids
Totem poles are tall wooden structures made by Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest coast of North America, such as the Haida, Tlingit, and Kwakwaka’wakw. They are carved with symbolic figures and creatures, and are used to tell stories, commemorate ancestors, and mark family crests.
For kids, you can:
- Explain the history and cultural significance of totem poles.
- Encourage kids to learn about the animals and symbols featured on the poles.
- Have kids make their own miniature totem poles using craft materials.
- Take kids on a virtual tour of a totem pole park or museum exhibit.
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Conclusion
I hope you have enjoyed these ideas for totem pole crafts. If you would like to see more, check out my Pinterest board where I have pinned many other Native
