14 Great Ways to Use Craft Stick in the Classroom

1. Tape a length of crepe paper to the end of a wide craft stick.  Encourage a child to twirl and swirl the streamer to some lively instrumental muis.
2. Invite children to eat applesauce, pudding, or yogurt using a wide craft stick.
3. Color craft sticks different colors.  Challenge a child to sort the sticks by color, then count the number of stickes in each group.
4. Glue various numbers of dried beans onto a quantity of craft sticks.  Challenge pairs of youngsters to compare the numbers of beans on the sticks, then arrange them in order from least to most.  Ask the pair to group the sticks that contain matching amounts.
5. Program a set of craft sticks with dot sets from one to ten.  program another set with corresponding numerals.  Challenge youngsters to match the sticks, then tap them together the appropriate number of times.
6. Place a supply of craft sticks in your art area.  Encourage youngsters to glue them together to resemble the outline shapes of houses or buildings.  glue the structures on a background to create a city scene.
7. Invite children to work together to make a craft-stick trail on your playground.  Then challenge them to count the sticks as they pick up the trail.
8. Place a supply of craft sticks, construction paper, scissors, tape, and markers in your block area.  Invite youngsters to create signs, then stand them in balls of clay.
9. Stock your sand table with  few craft sticks and shape templates.  Invite a student to use a craft stick to trace a shape into damp sand.  
10. Provide each child in a small group with a pair of sticks.  Use a pair of sticks to tap a rhythm pattern; then invite students to imitate your pattern.
11. Arrange a few sticks in a design on construction paper; then trace around each stick.  Challenge a child to re-create the design by placing sticks within the outlines.
12. Use small rubber stamps to stamp matching patterns onto pairs of wide craft sticks.  Encourage children to match the pattern pairs.
13. Tape feathers, pine needles, or rubberband pieces onto the ends of craft sticks.  Encourage children to paint at an easel using the sticks.
14. Give each child the same number of craft sticks.  Give simple directions, such as "Touch your toe with a stick."  then further challenge children with more complex directions, such as "Place one stick on the floor.  tap your knee with another stick."