Popsicle Stick Bookmarks
I’ve always loved the idea of being a crafty mom, but truthfully, I also hate the mess that often goes hand-in-hand with kid crafts. If that sounds like you, I’ve got your back.
Popsicle bookmarks are a great afternoon project that will leave your home nearly mess free. Of course, I’m not counting the other hundred ways your kids will leave a mess in their wake (let’s be realistic here), but I can assure you that this craft, at least, isn’t likely to make things worse.
Popsicle bookmarks are an easy craft for kids to tackle, without needing a lot of fine motor skills, artistic talent, patience, or supplies. I found it was a great choice for a rainy day, but it would be a great, family-friendly activity to do on any day! Because it needs minimal supplies, it would even be a great activity to pack as a project to keep kids busy during travel.
Materials
Clean wooden popsicle sticks
Washable markers
Stick-on googly eyes
Washi tape
That’s it! While you can get fancy with extra adornments if you want, you can create some pretty cute bookmarks with just the list above.
Building your bookmarks
Step 1 — Use a marker to completely cover a wooden popsicle stick with color. You may want to lay the stick on top of a piece of paper before using the marker, to keep the ink from getting on the table. You can also purchase pre-colored sticks to skip this step entirely!
Step 2 — Peel off the backing from the googly eyes (as many as you want!) and stick the eyes to the top of your stick. Young children will likely need help with this step — older children will get great fine motor skills practice doing it themselves.
Step 3 — Tear off a piece of washi tape and wind it around the stick to “dress” your bookmark. You can use as many different patterns of washi tape as you’d like on each bookmark.
Try experimenting with different wrapping techniques — make stripes by wrapping evenly, or a more random look by criss-crossing the washi tape up and down.
Step 4 — Use a marker to complete the face of your new bookmark. You can keep it simple and just add a smile, or go for more details by adding a nose, mustache, hair — whatever you’d like! Once you’ve added all the details you want, your new popsicle stick bookmark is done and ready to use!
Beyond bookmarks
While these popsicle stick bookmarks are fun options just for keeping your place in a book, they also double as engaging reading pointers. Reading pointers encourage children to work on reading word by word. This helps limit overwhelm from trying to focus on the entire page all at once. Using a reading pointer that they’ve created themselves can also help motivate kids to want to read more often!