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Samurai Cut-and-Paste Craft

May 28, 2015 By Guest Author

Written by Pam Odd of Keeping Life Creative.

Creating for and with my kids is kind of my thing. Some of my best childhood experiences were sitting with my mom at the kitchen table crafting something, so I guess I want to pass the same happy memories on to my family.

This post contains affiliate links. See full disclosure policy for more details.

With four little girls, there’s never a shortage when I need an art buddy. In fact, there aren’t many passing days that we’re not pulling out paint, play dough, puppet or book-making supplies, and other crafting materials.

crayons3

Even so, it’s been a little sad for my mommy heart to see my oldest and only boy grow out of wanting to sit around the table and spend an afternoon crafting. He’s nine now, and fiercely independent in his own interests and hobbies.

Really, I’m happy. It’s what I’d hoped for in my goals of raising creative, innovative kids. And though bittersweet, I’ve loved watching his creativity morph from those chubby paws awkwardly slopping paint on the kitchen table to his skinny fingers patiently assembling elaborate Lego creations, folding the ultimate paper jet, and scribbling out subplots for a dreamed-up Star Wars comic book series.

These days when I pull out the art supplies I often catch his eye roll, but every now and then he gets excited about participating–usually when the subject interests him–and then it results in a great activity for all of us.

Samurai printable template

This cut-and-paste samurai was one of those win-win projects. We just finished a mini-history unit on Japanese samurai and enjoyed reading aloud The Time Warp Trio’s Sam Samurai. If you use Story of the World or another medieval history curriculum, this craft fits right in with that time period.

Of course, studying the history isn’t a prerequisite for enjoying a samurai craft, but I do think it helped my kids enjoy it more.

To create your own Samurai cut-and-paste craft, you’ll need:

  • FREE Samurai Template Printable
  • white paper or card stock
  • crayons/markers/paint
  • scissors
  • glue
  • (optional) colored card stock or patterned paper

Samurai template color

First, color or paint the samurai pieces. Usually, we prefer to paint our printable template crafts, but the samurai template has lots of small pieces, so we chose crayons this time.

Samurai template cut

Cut around each piece and assemble with glue.

I included several pieces in the printable so the kids could decorate to their imagination’s content. Some will want to go all out, while others may keep it simple. The fun part of template crafts is there is no right way to assemble them.

If desired, mount your finished samurai on colored cardstock or patterned paper for display, or add it to a school portfolio or interactive notebook.

Samurai completed craft

Do you have ideas for fun boy-approved crafts? I’d love your suggestions.

Pam Odd is a homeschooling mom of five, graphic designer, and children’s literature lover. In her pre-mommy life she taught first grade. She believes we all have some spark of creative ingenuity in us and because of that, every day life – even with potty training, electricity bills, and dirty dishes – can be creative. You can find her at Keeping Life Creative.

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4 Comments

About Guest Author

This article was written by a Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers guest author. See the author's full bio in the body of the post.

Comments

  1. Alison says

    May 28, 2015 at 11:49 am

    Thanks for sharing! We just covered the Samurai with SOTW #2, I’m going to print this up this afternoon for my daughter!

    Reply
  2. Alison says

    May 28, 2015 at 11:56 am

    My daughter saw the knight after the samurai, is that one available somewhere too?

    Reply
    • Pam Odd says

      May 31, 2015 at 5:14 pm

      Hi Alison!
      So glad the Samurai printable will work for you!
      The knight template is available here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Knight-Craftivity-Template-1651703

      Reply
  3. Ms. Gee says

    December 3, 2015 at 12:53 pm

    I am teaching the lessons of the Bushido code and the Samurai for my sixth grade class, and the students love making their own samurais.

    Reply

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Kris Bales is the quirky, Christ-following, painfully honest voice behind Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She and her husband of over 25 years are parents to three amazing kids - one high schooler and two homeschool grads - and one son-in-law. Kris has a pretty serious addiction to sweet tea and Words with Friends. She also seems intent on becoming the crazy cat lady long before she's old and alone.

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