Five-Minute Twig Raft Craft

When the weather’s good it’s great to be able to do outdoor crafts. Twig rafts are a fun activity, but can be difficult to make for young children who aren’t able to tie the sticks together. I decided to make it much easier for little ones to make themselves by using washi tape instead of string. And as washi tape is biodegradable it won’t harm the environment if the raft gets lost downstream!

Obviously, these rafts are not designed to last a long time – the tape will lose its stickiness after a while in the water – but it’s easy to make more when they eventually fall apart!

Supplies

Four sturdy dry sticks of roughly equal length
A large leaf
A thin stick or a wooden kebab stick with the point cut off
Washi tape
Scissors

How to make the Twig Raft craft:

1. Lay the four sticks closely making sure they touch each other.

2. Take a strip of washi tape and stick it across all four sticks close to one end. Do the same near the other end of the sticks.

3. Turn over the raft and wrap the ends of the washi tape around the other side. Add more washi tape strips if necessary to strengthen.

4. Skewer the leaf onto the kebab stick to make the sail.

5. Push the sail between the middle two sticks of the raft. If it doesn’t stay securely you could push it through some of the washi tape.

5. Have fun floating the twig raft!

Advice for small group classes:

This is a straightforward craft which takes very little time to make. You may need to help young children turn the rafts over when sticking the washi tape.

Some play ideas:

If you have access to an outside area, fill a paddling pool or deep trays with water to float the rafts on. See how many plastic toys or building blocks can fit on the raft, or how many stones the raft can carry without sinking.
If you don’t have access to water, you could have boat races by pushing the rafts across the floor and see whose slides the farthest.