5 Back to School Craft Ideas for Your Child's Locker

The end of summer is fast approaching and it will not be long before parents start visiting the department stores and wholesale shops to purchase school supplies. However, before those sale ads start arriving and you start clipping coupons, how about helping your child make some fun and useful items to put in their school locker. Today, most elementary schools provide young children with their own lockers, making it a great place to add personal touches and keep your child organized. These five projects are fun and easy to make using items from around the house.

Locker mirror

Glue a five inch by seven-inch mirror to the back of an eight inch by 10-inch photo frame mat. Let your child use stickers, markers, paints, or other art tools to decorate the mat. Add several flat, self-adhesive magnets to the back and it is ready for your child to hang on the inside of their locker door.

Locker clings

Locker clings can be made easily from sheet s of vinyl. Simply draw shapes or letters on the vinyl, cut them out, peel off the back, and apply to any clean surface. Your child can even create pictures for the inside or outside of their locker door, such as a flower garden complete with butterflies, or a sky full of fluffy white clouds, a bright shiny sun, and a multicolored rainbow.

Magnets

Personalized magnets are a fun way to decorate a school locker. Some materials that can be used to make them are foam sheets, sequins, construction paper, gemstones, beads, and markers. Suggest that your child make seasonal or holiday sets of magnets so they can change them throughout the school year.

Photos

Attaching photos of family and friends is a good way to spruce up a school locker. Here is another opportunity to use a seasonal or holiday theme. Use scraps of wallpaper to create unique picture frame mats that make the photos stand out. Apply them to the locker with tape, or glue a flat magnet to the back.

Organizer

If your child has trouble finding pens, pencils, scissors, or other school supplies in their locker, have them make a small organizer to hang on the inside of their locker door. They can buy a ready-made hanging plastic organizer at an office supply store or make their own using a file folder. All they need do is expand the folder several inches, glue construction paper or fabric over the sides, and decorate with stickers, pictures of friends, markers, or paints. If using a file folder, punch two holes in the top and use bent paper clips to hang on the vent slats on the locker door.