Mayflower Craft

Our Mayflower craft is a fun Thanksgiving craft for kids that is a great way to teach them about Pilgrims and their journey to the "new world". Younger kids may need a bit of help with the sails, but they should be able to do the rest of the craft. This is a great craft that uses some fun household materials and makes a great homemade Thanksgiving decoration. Please note, this Mayflower craft is not seaworthy - it will fall apart in the sink.

What you'll need:

  • Small box (a butter box is what we used, but a paper milk carton would work well also)
  • Brown paint
  • Paint brushes
  • Scissors
  • Clay or play-doh
  • Drinking straws
  • Paper (not construction paper)
  • Black marker
How to make your Mayflower Craft
  1. Cut the top off of the box so you have an open, rectangular box to start with.
  2. Paint the box brown and let dry.
  3. Pull one end of the box a bit so that it forms a point to be the front of the boat. If your box won't do this, it's no problem.
  4. Cut a few squares out of paper to make sails. Make them different sizes for a nice look.
  5. Poke a hole in the top and bottom of each square of paper. Thread a drinking straw through both holes and push the top and bottom of the sail towards the center to get it to bend. See the pictures for more detail.
  6. Once the sails are made, place a ball of clay in the bottom of the boat and stick the straw into the clay so that it stands up.
  7. Use a marker to write "Mayflower" on the side of the boat.
 mayflower craft
kids mayflower craft