Family Literacy Night Crafts That Connect to Reading
The craft table is always the busiest spot at a family literacy night. Kids love making something, and parents love having a project to do side by side.
Why Crafts Belong at Family Literacy Night
A family literacy night invites families into the school for an evening of books, games and hands-on activities built around a fun theme. Families move from station to station, and everyone goes home with something they made together.
I love adding crafts because they give families a reason to slow down and talk. While little hands are gluing and coloring, parents and kids are chatting about the book they just read. Crafts also make the night feel welcoming for families who might not feel confident about reading themselves. Everybody can make a craft, and every craft can connect back to a story.
Literacy Crafts with a Purpose
The best family literacy night crafts don’t stop at cute. They connect to a book, a character or a word, so kids are talking and retelling while they create. Here are the crafts my families loved.
Book Character Puppet Crafts
Puppets give kids a way to retell a story in their own words, and they make a great take-home.
Camping Book Character Puppets
Our kids made puppets of Dee the dog and the bear from A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee. I later added them to our Camp Read-a-Lot bulletin board!
I included everything for this one in my Camping Family Literacy Night (Camp Read-a-Lot).
Puppet Buddies: Curious George Retelling Puppets
At movie night, families listened to Curious George Goes to the Movies and made puppets of George and the man in the yellow hat to retell the story.
You’ll find this one in my Movie Theme Family Literacy Night.
Storybook Puppet Studio: Make a Book Character Puppet
Students listen to a story and make a puppet of a character. You can make it an open art station or use templates. I made a pig, elephant, chicken, duck and cow, perfect for Elephant & Piggie or Click, Clack, Moo.
This station is part of my Read Across Your School Family Literacy Night.
Superhero Literacy Crafts
Secret Identities Superhero Mask Craft
Students decorated a cardstock mask and used yarn to wear it. Simple, inexpensive, and it got every kid talking about the superhero they’d be.
Want to try it? It’s in my Superhero Family Literacy Night.
Movie Night Literacy Crafts
Concession Stand Creations Candy Bar Wrapper Contest
At our movie night, kids got a piece of white cardstock and designed a wrapper for the most delicious candy bar they could imagine. They wrote their name and grade on the back and added it to the stack for their grade level. The next day we judged the entries and picked a first place winner from each grade. The prize? A microwavable popcorn tub filled with snacks, a book and a deck of cards for their own family night!
You’ll find this one in my Movie Theme Family Literacy Night.
Fall and Winter Literacy Night Crafts
Book Character Pumpkin Decorating Contest
Families decorate a pumpkin template (or real mini pumpkins) to look like a favorite book character. Add googly eyes and yarn and turn it into a contest!
I included everything for this one in my Fall Festival Family Literacy Night.
Design an Ugly Sweater Contest
This one is fun whether you make it a contest or not. I included certificates like Most Creative and Most Colorful if you want to hand out awards.
You’ll find this one in my Winter Wonderland Family Literacy Night.
Scarecrow, Snowflake and Snowman Crafts with Writing
Other seasonal favorites: a paper plate scarecrow with an acrostic poem, a watercolor resist snowflake, and a snowman craft that goes with a how-to writing piece.
This station is part of my Fall Festival Family Literacy Night and Winter Wonderland Family Literacy Night.
Retelling Crafts for Reading Comprehension
Beginning, Middle and End Retelling Crowns
Kids illustrate the beginning, middle and end of a book and turn it into a sentence strip crown they wear around the event. So cute!
Want to try it? It’s in my Read Across Your School Family Literacy Night.
Mousetronaut Retelling Wheel
At 3-2-1 Blastoff!, we projected Mousetronaut being read aloud on YouTube, and kids colored and wrote on a retelling wheel.
I included everything for this one in my Space Theme Family Literacy Night.
Bookmark and Nonfiction Crafts
Save Your Spot! Bookmark Design Station
I love a good bookmark! Students design their own, and I post a few samples so they can see what bookmarks usually have, like a saying about reading or a pun.
You’ll find this one in my Read Across Your School Family Literacy Night.
Fun Facts Nonfiction Bee Craft
Nonfiction doesn’t get enough attention when we celebrate reading! Kids listen to a nonfiction book like Diary of a Bee, gather facts and make a craft to show what they learned.
This station is part of my Read Across Your School Family Literacy Night.
Printable Family Literacy Night Crafts and Stations
Puppets, masks, crowns and seasonal crafts with templates for all ten themes are in the bundle.
- 10 themes: camping, space, superheroes, pirates, amusement park, beach, fall festival, movies, game night and winter wonderland
- Editable flyers to invite families
- Station posters, punch cards and family reading pledge cards
- Handouts for the stations plus my tips for putting it all together
More Family Literacy Night Ideas
- Family Literacy Night Reading Response Activities Families Can Do Together
- Family Literacy Night Reading Activities Families Will Love
- Fun Family Literacy Night Writing Activities Kids Love
- Family Literacy Night Games: Word Work and Vocabulary Stations
Plan Your Own Family Literacy Night
I hope these ideas get you excited to plan your own family literacy night! If you’re just getting started, my free family literacy night planning guide walks you through it step by step, and How to Plan a Family Literacy Night (Without the Stress!) has my favorite tips. Still choosing a theme? Browse my 11 family literacy night theme ideas.
And if you’d love to skip the prep, the Family Literacy Night Bundle has every theme ready to print.
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