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DLTK's Crafts for Kids
Egg Carton Ant

This is another faithful old craft idea that I've done with my daughters and, way back when, as a child myself.  Accompany it with a tasty snack of "ants on a log" (cheese whiz coated celery sticks sprinkled with raisins), a rousing song of "The Ants Go Marching" and a fun children's story like The Little Red Ant and the Great Big Crumb.

The ant craft is fairly correct from an anatomic standpoint -- three body parts (head, thorax and abdomen), 6 legs and 2 antennae

Materials:

  • cardboard egg carton - you need three cups attacked
  • scissors
  • yellow, brown, red or black tempra paint (or another color if you want to make a creative ant)
  • paint brush
  • 4 pipe cleaners (chenille) -- three for legs and one for the antenna
  • sharp pencil
  • wiggly eyes, 2 cheerios or 2 fruit loops
  • black marker
  • glue

 

Instructions:

  • cut a strip of cups (3 cups) from the egg carton -- adults can do this before craft time.
     
  • paint the cups and let dry
     
  • using a sharp pencil, poke two holes in the top of the first cup -- adults can do this step before craft time.
     
  • from inside the cup, poke both ends of the pipe cleaner through the pencil holes (one end through each hole) to make antennae
     
  • using a sharp pencil, poke one hole on each side of each cup (6 holes in total) -- again, adults can do this step.
      
  • Push a pipecleaner through the holes in the first cup.  
    • Make the same amount of pipecleaner stick out the sides -- these are two legs -- you can bend little feet into the ends of the pipecleaner if you like.
    • Repeat with the second cup and third cup
    • You should end up with 6 legs when you're through
       
  • glue the wiggly eyes onto the head (you could substitute 2 cheerios or 2 fruit loops)
     
  • OPTIONAL:  draw on a mouth with black marker

 

Printable version of these instructions