At the very first Thanksgiving feast, in 1621, the Wampanoag children and Pilgrim children ate and played games together for three days. At your table, either for Thanksgiving Week or Day, this craft is a simple and fun way to up-cycle, educate, and entertain your little ones by using coffee sleeves and creating both a Mayflower ship and a Wampanoag Tee Pee.  (Bonus: if one of your ships doesn’t turn out you can always name it The Speedwell.)

 

Materials:

• Cardboard Coffee Sleeves (save or grab a few, with permission of course, from your local coffee shop.)
• Scissors
• Markers
• Sticks from outside or Stir Sticks
• White Paper (basic drawing paper works well)
• Glue Stick or Glue Dots

Coffee Sleeve Mayflower (above)

1. Turn the sleeve inside out: Take your coffee sleeve and carefully open it at the adhesive, use a scissors to limit tearing. Adhere the “inside out” sleeve (corrugated cardboard showing) with a glue stick or glue dot to reconnect the sleeve.
2. Make it ship-shape: Using a cup or tumbler, place it on the shorter side of the open sleeve and trace a half circle. Use scissors to cut out the half circle. Flip it over and you now have the base of the ship.
   Mast be 1620: For the mast draw a trapezoid shape about 2/3 length of your stick. Once you have traced your shape, cut it out. Cut two small slits, 3-4 inches apart, in the center, that are just wide enough to slide the stirrer stick through. Add a “1620” to document the year the Mayflower sailed. Use a glue dot or glue stick to adhere the stick/mast to the smooth inside of the coffee sleeve.
   You are ready to set sail!
3. Make it your own: Decorate your sail and ship with markers, paint, and/or stickers

Coffee Sleeve Stir Stick Tee Pee (above)

1. Turn the sleeve inside out and reconnect the sleeve (see directions above.)
2. Make your opening: Cut a small open trapezoid in the center of your inside out sleeve, on the longer open end.
3. Poles are in: Use two stir sticks, and slide first at the lowest prefabricated slit already in your coffee sleeve, angled diagonally up, and repeat with the other stick on the other side. Tie the two sticks together with yarn where they intersect at the top.
   Time to hide: Using a half sheet of paper (the “animal hide”), wrap it around your sticks and coffee sleeve. Glue to adhere the paper and sticks. With scissors, trim the bottom off any paper that is longer than your base, so that the tee pee can stand. Gently press the edges of the folded paper and stand your tee pee.
4. Make it your own: Decorate or add a “Wampanoag 1621” on the back.

 

 

*Happy to report, this craft has also been featured online at Charlottesville Family Magazine’s website and will be in there November 2015 issue.