Simple Paper Craft: Who Lives Here?

This is an easy paper craft I used to make with my kids when they were toddlers.  I recently revamped the idea and made it appealing for my older kids too, who love drawing. 

This is a version I did years ago.

Materials

Paper (or light cardboard)

Drawing materials

Scissors 

How to

One

Print 2 pages from the template: a top house page and base character page.  I have included 5 different pages to pick from in the template.

Page 1: House with numbered windows (for younger kids)

Page 2: Farm animals (to colour in)

Page 3: Aussie animals (coloured)

Page 4: Blank window template with guide lines (for older kids who like to draw)

Page 5: House with unnumbered windows (for older kids)

Click the picture below for the PDF file.

 

Two

Colour pages if desired. 

Three

Cut along three sides of all windows to allow them to open.  For the door cut along the bottom, top and in the middle, allow the doors to open both ways.  This is the only tricky part.  I usually do this, depending on the age of the child.  I used scissors this time, but for best results, a craft or Stanley knife on a board works well.

Four

Use paper glue to attach the top page to the bottom page. Avoid gluing over the pictures so the window don’t stick.

Meet the People

I was surprised how engaged my older kids were in this activity. Like all best activities, it turns into something more.  In this case, a drawing activity turned into character development and story telling. Both my 10-year-old and 8-year-old drew characters in each window, named them, and formulated a back story. It was fantastic! Then, later at bedtime, we used the house as the story.  Below are Miss 10’s characters. 

This is Tim. Tim is a teenager who likes to be on his own. He spends a lot of time starring out the window, off in his own world.

This is Amy. Amy is in her 20’s and is a tour guide at the local Botanical Gardens.

This is Tabby the cat. He belongs to a family of five.  Of the three children, the youngest is the most interested in the cat.

This is Kacey.  Kacey is an imaginative young girl who loves to look at things in a different way, and is fascinated by the world around her.

This is Josh.  Josh is a laid-back Dad who is fun-loving and creative with his family.  He likes to help with the family chores. He is confident and doesn’t care what other people think of him.

This is Susan. Susan is a joyful, happy young girl.  She loves pink and playing with the family bird.

This is Francesca and Matt. Francesca is confident, popular, pretty in her personality. Matt, on the other hand, is sporty and laid-back.

Games

Below are some games we play with this simple paper craft.

• Open the numbers in sequence
• Create animal sounds at each opening
• Play memory and guess who is in each window
• Make up a story
• Sing ‘Old MacDonald’ Had a Farm’
• Draw your own characters

When you have kids in a wide range of age brackets, it’s fantastic if you can cater an activity to appeal to them all. 

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