How To Make A Chanukah Menorah Collage Craft For Kids

A few days ago I shared with you how to make cardboard chanukah menorahs, namely my version, and now I’m so excited to share with you how to make a chanukah menorah collage craft for kids. These are the results of doing this craft with fifteen 3rd and 4th grade schoolboys, and wow, it is just too sweet for words. I am so very proud of them for first of all, mostly not copying my example and for just feeling totally free to do it their own way! And while it is true that I did give them a little pep talk about how wonderful it is NOT to copy, I think they just naturally understood that they should do something unique, and that friends is a huge win! Want to do this craft yourself or with a group of kids, lets dive in!

How To Create A Collage Menorah On Cardboard

You’ll Need:

• paper quilling strips in a range of colors, or strips of paper that you’ve precut

• recycled cereal box cardboard, or any cardboard, though preferably not corrugated, though I did use some in a pinch. I prefer the lighter colored background of cereal box cardboard, plus it is much easier to cut!

• a large glue stick

• good scissors

Step By Step Instructions:

1. Make one yourself to use as an example, quite important in order to just show the example and then let the kids work freely.
2. Give each child a piece of cardboard that is roughly the size of the menorahs you’ll be making, and have them pick two quilling strips of the same color.
3. Glue down one strip vertically, and one horizontally, about 1/3 of the way down from the top. Make sure to stress the importance of these strips being as straight as possible.
4. Glue 8 candles total on the horizontal strip, make a base and continue decorating until it looks complete.
5. Add more details with paper strips that are 1/2 the width of the strips used on the base. Show kids how contrasting colors adds depth and interest.
6. Add little squares for the flames or even little squares with a triangle cut out of them, as one of my students did all on his own, bottom right.
7. Cut out the chanukah menorahs and wow, wonderful!

How To Use These Cardboard Chanukah Menorahs

While these little menorahs are as cute as can be, you’ll likely be wondering how to use them? In my case, we are creating a vase full of chanukah symbols, with the chanukah menorah as the show stealer in the center, and I’ll share that with you soon. You might like to do one of the following:

• add an easel back to the menorah so it can stand up

• tape or glue a skewer to the back and stick it in a vase

• make a garland with string and tiny wooden clothespins, and clip the menorahs to the string together with dreidels and other chanukah symbols

• it is so cute, why not frame it?

Hope you’ve enjoyed this craft, let me know how it goes! Ah yes, and do make some cardboard collage dreidels which are just so adorable as well, and check out the cardboard dreidels I made as an example.