The last week of June I worked VBS at a local church and helped design crafts for school aged kids. The theme was Colossal Coaster World and was all things carnvial. There were lots of fun crafts for the kids to make and these two extras I found on Pinterest were among my favorites!
These bracelets were a big hit among the 4th - 6th grade kids. They are inexpensive and simple to make with long balloons cut into 2" strips and strung through elastic to make a bracelet. You can see detailed directions at Michelle Paige's blog. I would love to have them as a party favor when Abby is older!
The kids also made snow cones. I will not lie, these were my favorite and the worst craft of the week. I loved how they turned out and the kids wanted to make lots of them, but they were messy! I will totally make them again for a party- they wouldn't be messy if made by adults. Having 40 kids making them at once was a bit much! ;)
They are made by painting cheap craft paint onto small styrofoam balls with a foam brush. You add iridescent glitter while the paint is still wet and then glue the paper base onto them. We did it all while attached to a skewer to minimize the mess!
The template and detailed directions can be found at Creature Comforts blog. I simply added the VBS logo to the paper cone template before copying it for the kids.
If you are going to have kids do these, I would recommend they do the painting and then bring an adult the painted ball on a stick. The adult can then do the glitter (over a bowl) and glue the cone onto the ball. We premade the cones before VBS and had just stapled them shut. We made about 150 snow cones over 4 days! They take a few hours to dry, so be prepared for that.
