My best friend and I joined 4-H at the recommendation of my 6th grade science teacher. He saw how much we loved the insect collection project we did that year, and he wanted us to be able to continue that learning. We were definitely in it to win it. We took turns winning Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion every year for our collections. We collected insects together at her house and mine. We branched out into painting ceramics and doing demonstrations. We even hosted Japanese exchange students the same summer.
Fair was our favorite time of year. We loved the taffy pulling machine. We loved the animal barns. We loved judging and games and looking at all the club booths. We spent many happy hours there.
So, naturally, when my kids hit the ages that they could be members, we joined. We had 13 years of projects and field trips and hosting our own Japanese exchange student and we loved it all. In fact, this is the first year since Fall 2010 that neither of our children is participating in 4-H or the fair. I am feeling a bit sad this week as I see the fair photos from my friends’ kids. So, I decided that all of us could use a little fair in our lives this week and got this craft ready for you! And, as you likely expect at this point, I have an awesome Balloon Pop Game on sale to help you target the vocalic AIR sound with your kiddos – maybe before or after a day at the fair.
Supply List
- Coffee filter
- Toothpick
- Background paper
- 4 colorful scraps of paper
- Red paint
- Paint brush, cup, apron, and table covering
- Black marker
- Scissors
- Glue
Step-by-Step Directions
The first step is to get the coffee filter cut into the shapes you need for the tent. I fold the coffee filter in half first and then cut on the fold. For the top part of the tent, I cut out the very center half circle to give space for the poles and flags. For the bottom part, I fold the half filter in half again and cut it.
Now you want to get your coffee filter painted. Full disclosure, if you would rather just color it with markers, that is just fine. I like to paint, so I gave mine some lovely red stripes. I did kind of a triangle for the flap part of the bottom – you could always just keep with stripes, I don’t think it matters.
While your paint dries, you have time to cut your paper flags. I just chose 4 bright colors that I had in paper scraps. You need the triangles to be pretty small – around a half inch wide at the base or so.
Next, you need to cut your toothpick in half to make your posts. If you really wanted to, you could paint these as well. I did not do that.
After things are dry, you want to fold the tent flaps in. There is really no wrong way to do this, just choose a side to be the outside and then fold the point of the other side up and out. Repeat for both sides.
Now I glue the tent sides and flaps to my background paper. I like to leave a pretty nice opening for people to walk through, but you could make them closer together. I also glue the flaps back at this point.
The top part of the tent gets layered over the base now. I did not get mine completely centered, but it still looks good. I am sure yours will, too.
You can attach the toothpick halves to the points on top of the tent. They don’t have to be very tall, no worries.
Use your marker to draw the ground, the shadows in the entryway, and the string for the flags on.
Our last step is to glue the flags along the marker line. It usually ends up completely filled, so it is really more of a guide.
There you have it! And amazing and inviting fair tent craft!
As I say every week, my goal with this blog is to make sure that people leave each of my posts feeling equipped to practice articulation or phonics with their learner. So, I always have a game from my Teachers Pay Teachers store (Autumn Emigh Creative Communication Solutions) on special sale for you. This week, it is a game called “Fair Balloon Pop.” The product includes instructions with a link to a digital Google Slides game. You also receive printable game boards in color and black and white. The digital and printable versions of the game contain the same 12 vocalic AIR sound words for your learner to practice. Get it until August 16th for half price – just $1.00!
Just click on the photo above or HERE to get your copy today! And be sure to fill out the form below to get on my email list. Not only are my email subscribers the first to know when each of my blog posts goes live, they also get information about products, events, and summits each week. I’ll always do my best to make it worthwhile for you to stick around, but it is super easy to unsubscribe if you ever wish to.
That’s it for this week. I hope you get to attend a fair and get something fried and/or on a stick! I will be back next week with a Clothespin Grasshopper craft and a Grasshopper Hop game.
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