DIY Lanterns for Kids

DIY Lanterns are a simple craft your kids will love! Made with a few simple supplies, this project is easy to make, it’s mess-free, and it’s totally fun!

This glow-in-the-dark constellation lantern craft is sponsored by Disney Book Group. It is inspired by the book Unlimited Squirrels: I Want to Sleep Under the Stars! All opinions are 100% my own.

This fall we made the decision to homeschool our two youngest kids. It has been fun, exciting, and challenging all at the same time! It an effort to instill a love of reading in my kids, I’ve been on the hunt for cute books and fun projects or activities that correspond with each other.

We’ve been big fans of the Mo Willems for a while now – he is best known for the Elephant & Piggie series and the Pigeon series (Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus is our very favorite book!) and his newest series, Unlimited Squirrels, is a must-own! My kids were super excited when I surprised them with the newest book: Unlimited Squirrels in “I Want to Sleep Under the Stars” – have you heard of this series yet?

This darling book (3rd in the series) follows the Squirrel pals as they help Zoom Squirrel live his dream of sleeping under the night stars. The books in the Unlimited Squirrels series features a funny, furry adventure AND bonus jokes, quirky quizzes, nutty facts, and so, so many Squirrels! With a hilarious narrative story and surprising nonfiction content, kids are entertained while learning (in this case, learning more about sleeping under the stars!)

DIY Lanterns for Under-the-Stars fun!

After reading the book (which both kids LOVED!), we made these fun Constellation Lanterns. They are easy to put together, and they have provided hours of glow-in-the-dark fun!

MATERIALS NEEDED –

• quart-sized Mason jars
• Constellation Map printable (download for free below)
• scissors
• tape
• black construction paper
• pencil
• glow sticks
• pipe cleaner
• string- ribbon, twine, etc.
• corkboard for poking the paper, optional

DIRECTIONS –

1. Download and print the Constellation printable. Cut out the Constellation Map, then cut the black construction paper to be the same size. Tape the printable to the black paper.
2. Using a sharp pencil, poke each star/dot on the printable so it leaves a hole in the black paper too. We placed our papers on cork trivets, but working on a carpeted area works great too!

3. Detach the white printable by removing the tape, then roll the black construction paper so it fits easier inside the jar.

4. Place a glowing glow stick in the Mason jar.

5. Tie 1 pipe cleaner to the center of another pipe cleaner so they are perpendicular to each other.

6. Wrap one pipe cleaner around the mouth of the jar, and then form the pipe cleaner around the top in the shape of a rainbow and secure it to the other side of the jar by wrapping it around the pipe cleaner.

7. With your handle done, you can add the paper stars (on the top of the printable) to the sides of your lantern for extra decoration by taping them to the hanging pipe cleaner.

8. Take your glowing lanterns outside at night or into a dark room or closet and have fun!

How fun are these???

Unlimited Squirrels: I Want to Sleep Under the Stars! is available now – so grab a copy and get ready for some family fun! And if you make these DIY lanterns, leave me a comment in the section below! I love seeing what you guys are up to!

Happy reading!