All You Need is Paper (and a little love) ESL/EFL activities

Here are two super simple Easter crafts you can do with different ages. In the first craft, I made a bunny shape out of cardboard and glued on a plastic bottle top to use as a grip for a stamp. Just either paint the front of the bunny or dip it into a little paint from a plate and stamp a paper. Let the paint dry, glue the little tail on and have the kids write Happy Easter. And you're done.  In the second craft, I cut a small strip of paper and folded it in the middle so it would stand up. Next, I dipped my finger in a little bit of paint and stamped  the paper four  times. Let the paint dry and draw either bunnies or eggs and write Happy Easter. These are crafts you can do in one class if you don't use too much paint so everything dries fast. And you're done again.  

I had only one fifth grade student on the last day of class 😊 I had already planned on making a Christmas card with them so I told her we would make cards together. We first folded and cut a red piece of paper like the white paper in the photo. We laid the sheet flat out on the table and drew a wiggly line at the top to be the wire for the Christmas lights, We dipped our fingers in different colored paint to make the lights and while the paint was drying, we cut out 3 green triangles, each one just a little bit smaller than the other. We glued them together, added the sequins, and then glued the tree onto the cut out part of the red paper leaving just enough space to draw the tree trunk.  We added snow with a white pencil and then wrote Merry Christmas. I'm sure if I had more students they would have been creative with the details. We both ejoyed this Christmas card moment together and it was nice to talk as we worked and get to know her better.    

I used this activity with all my groups this year, even adults. On the first day of class, I had them draw themselves. Depending on how old the students are, you can ask them to also write something about themselves under or next to their drawing, so you can get to know them better. Throughout the year, I used these cards to form pairs or groups and choose a helper or someone to read or answer a question. Sometimes I'd let one of the students pick a card too instead of me always doing the shuffling and picking. They were a great classroom management tool, and they really helped me save time. I let the kids take home their drawings on the last day of class. They enjoyed the opportunity to compare how much their drawing styles had changed from the beginning of the year to the present.  

This easy to make Mother's Day paper bag won everybody's heart. All you need is a sheet of paper, any color is fine, 2 paper bag handles, and some more paper in different colors to make the hearts, flowers and circles. Fold one sheet in the middle, glue the handles on the inside like in the photo, glue the sides, draw as many flowers, circles and hearts as you like. Write some words or messages in the hearts, glue them onto the top of a white sheet of paper, and you can let the kids be creative and write or draw something on the white sheet. I glued all the flowers and circles on one side and wrote Happy Mother's Day on the other side. Place the white sheet with the hearts in the bag, and it looks like the bag is filled with hearts. My students really loved making this, and it was pretty easy for them, even though they're still having classes via Zoom. I hope their moms liked them as much as they did.      

  Valentine's Day is here! The much awaited (or not so much) time of the year. Here's a looks-hard-but-it's-easy-to-do card you can make with your students or by yourself to gift someone. You're going to need 2 sheets of papers, a white one and another one in a different color. I made a pink and a black one. I've already posted a video on how to make this here when I wrote about the Mood Tracker, so it's the same idea but this time you can right a person's name on it using different lettering, add doodles and decorate it however you want. You have to do the drawing and writing after the white papers are in place. You can also write something on the cover or maybe even make an envelope for it. Here's the video on how to fold and cut the papers for you again: Hope your students get creative with it. Have a Happy Valentine's day!