5 Cereal Box Art Projects for Kids

Kids can practice their skills at cutting while exerting their imaginations in new directions with these kitchen table projects.

Money does grow on trees. Paper is a wood product and that goes for cereal boxes. So turn the tables and make a tree. Use cereal boxes and boxes of other varying sizes from the kitchen to assemble into a tree. Larger boxes will be at the bottom, the smallest at the top. Glue the boxes together and spray paint. You can use it for Easter eggs, Christmas ornaments, Halloween symbols, or anything else you want. Repaint as the season changes. Each season offers an opportunity to discuss the season and its symbols and meaning.

Use a column made from oatmeal boxes to create a totem pole. Great chance to learn about the subject and adapt what is learned to the project. Glue boxes together to creat a column, making should the bottom oatmeal box is filled with (dry) sand to provide a sturdy anchor to keep the pole upright. Either spray paint a brown color to resemble wood or cover each with glued on construction paper. Each oatmeal box can be one or two faces. For one make a thunderbird by adding wings using wings cut from a pasteboard box or one of those styrofoam poster boards at the department store used for science projects. Paints and markers can be used for faces. The child can also create faces on construction paper, then, when done, simply glue it onto the totem pole.

Create a mosaic box. Using a cereal box or even an oatmeal box...which is sturdier and may handle the glue better...and begin gluing dry macaroni starting at one point at the box, creating a design suggested by the shape of the macaroni (i.e., curved elbow macaroni), and continue until the box is covered. The box can be spray painted once dry. Another option is to use dried beans of different varieties to create a design, perhaps swirling, or geometric, or free-form. Let dry. Naturally, the natural color of the beans is part of the design, so this won't need paitning.

Make your own Mad Scientist Robot with boxes glued together in a man-like shape. Using long boxes for the straight arms, attach to the robot's upper body with something that will act as a hinge, such as glued pieces of fabric or some other type of flexible fastener. Paint with silver or other colors. Use markers to create eyes. Attach sardine cans, with the lids removed, as ears. Punch small holes in the box that is the head for eyes and push burned-out bulbs from flashlights in so that they extend from the box surface.

Make your own organizer using the small boxes from a package of one-serving cereals. With the empty boxes, remove the tops neatly using your scissors. Glue them together standing upright, side by side, to make one unit. Allow to dry, then spray paint color of choice. Use for pencils, erasers, paintbrushes, markers, and more.