Hispanic culture and history have always been vibrant, colorful, and full of life. And what better way to introduce this rich culture to your kids than with the help of some fun, quick, and easy Hispanic-inspired arts and crafts!
We’ve listed down 15 of our favorite Hispanic arts and crafts ideas that you can do with your children as you introduce them to Latin-American history and culture.
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Cute Egg Maracas
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Create your own maracas from scratch using plastic eggs and kernels or uncooked rice. All you need are plastic spoons, some tape, and your choice of coloring materials for decorating.
The first step is to fill the plastic eggs with popcorn kernels, beans, or uncooked rice. Next, put the egg between two plastic spoons and secure it by wrapping it with some tape. Let your kid color the handles and tape using crayons or markers and make fun music after!
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DIY Stone Cactus
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You can also create your own stone cacti with your kids with some paint and different smooth stones. Make sure to clean and smoothen the stones so your kids can paint them easier. Prime rocks in gray or white paint, and let them dry. Now you can paint the stones green and add white details to show the spikes of the cactus. Finish them off with some colorful yarn flower tops and place them in a pot for a cute arrangement!
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Mexican-style Pottery
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Even if it’s not Cinco de Mayo, you can always make colorful Mexican-Style pottery with your kids! All you need is a plain pot in white, some ceramic paint, and different paint brushes. Draw the outline of your design around the pot and color it in any way you like. If you have an old oven, you can even glaze and bake your painted pots to give them a shiny finish!
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Llama Finger Puppets
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Llamas are a huge part of South American culture and history. You can enjoy these cute animals by making them into finger puppets! You can start by tracing a llama template or drawing your own with your kid on construction paper. Cut and paste the neck and head to the body of your llama. Make sure to cut or punch four holes at the bottom of the llama cutout for the fingers of your kid.
Once done, you and your child can add tassels to the back of the llama using markers and colored paper. Now you can make your llama finger puppets walk and dance!
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Dia De Los Muertos Rhinestone Skulls
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Celebrate the day of the dead in a fun and colorful way by making festive Muertos rhinestone skulls! You don’t have to worry since you can find all the materials for this Hispanic craft at home or at your nearest dollar store.
Start by getting plain ceramic skulls, an assortment of rhinestones, and tacky glue. You and your kid can follow the lines of the skull as you stick the stones, or make your own design. Guide your child as you do this activity since it requires a lot of patience. Whatever you do, you’ll end up with colorful rhinestone skull decor!
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Paper Cup Lanterns
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Speaking of Los Muertos, you can make much easier Muertos skull designs using an even safer way of making colorful skulls by using paper cups. You can simply let your kid draw and color the skulls according to your child’s liking. Use markers in various colors to make the paper cup lanterns look more festive. To finish things off, you can use LED tea lights and cover them with the newly decorated paper cup lanterns to give them a warm glow.
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Floral Headbands
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You can also make simple floral headbands with your kids for festivals and parties. This craft is as simple as it gets as you’ll only need a plain headband, artificial flowers, pliers or scissors, tape, and glue. You’ll need to trim the stem of the flowers until they’re short enough that you can glue and tape them over the headband. Arrange them in any way you like until you’re happy with the look of these easy Spanish crafts for kids!
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Picado Flags
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These Mexican Picado flag cutouts are traditional crafts that are fun and easy to make with your kids! You’ll need colored tissue paper or construction paper, scissors, washi tape, and yarn for this. Start by folding the paper crosswise twice. You can then do a diagonal fold if you want.
The fun part starts when you guide your kid in cutting oval and heart-shaped patterns and opening the paper up to show the beautiful Picado flag! You can make lots of these flags and make garlands out of them!
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Calavera Paper Plate Masks
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Celebrating the Day of the Dead won’t be complete without skull masks! You can print out templates to stick to the paper plates or draw your own. Decorate them using different rhinestones and colored markers to add your patterns. Add some eye holes and yarn so you and your kids can wear it!
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DIY Taíno Rock Carvings
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Another culturally-inspired craft that you can do with your child is making your own rock carvings! Your kids can either use clay or draw on smooth rocks to carve out various Taino symbols. You can even add holes to the clay carvings to turn them into necklaces!
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DIY Mola Artworks
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Mola art is also a simple arts and crafts activity that your kids will surely love. All you need is glue, scissors, and construction paper. Your kid can draw a plant or animal onto a sheet of construction paper and cut it out after. Make them trace it onto another colored paper, and layer it by sticking more pieces of paper cutouts in different colors. Glue the finished product onto a background and add more geometric shapes until you’re done!
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Muñeca Quitapenas or Worry Dolls
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If you want something to make your kid more comfortable, you can try making traditional Guatemalan Worry Dolls. You can start by getting dry twigs from your yard, some scrap cloth and yarn, markers, and hot glue. Cut the twigs at about one to two inches long. Wrap it using floss or yarn.
Layer the colors to make the clothes of your doll. You can even add hair to the dolls using your yarn. Once you’ve secured the knots, you can then draw the face using a marker. It’s that easy! Now your kid can make lots of these dolls to collect or give away to their friends.
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Huichol Yarn Art
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If you want something different for your kid’s next artwork, you can try out yarn painting or Huichol Style yarn art. This craft is simple, as you’ll only need colorful yarn, glue, and your canvas of choice like a plain cardboard panel or a styrofoam lid.
First, draw a simple picture or patterns like a flower or a leaf onto the canvas. When you’re happy with your drawing, add a thin layer of glue to the drawing. You and your kid can then outline and fill in the drawing with yarn until your yarn painting is done!
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Mexican Bird Rattles
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These cute DIY rattles are often used for celebrating New Year’s to welcome generous and happy spirits and ward off the unhappy ones. These rattles are easy to make since all you need is a toilet paper roll or cardboard tube, a popsicle stick, tape, paint, papers in different colors, scissors, and some unpopped popcorn or beans for your rattles.
Cover one end of the tube before putting your rattles. Place the popsicle stick inside before securing everything in place using tape. You can then use paper mache or paint over the tube directly. Cut out some eyes, wings, and beak to make your bird and you’re good to go!
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Guatemalan or Mayan Kites
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Lastly, another activity that you can do to celebrate the Day of the Dead with your child is by making traditional barriletes gigantes or giant kites! Get an embroidery loop, different colored crepe paper streamers, and watered-down glue.
Start by tracing and sticking your chosen colored crepe paper around the embroidery loop. You can then layer it with more colored paper until you’re satisfied. Next, stick strips of the remaining paper on the sides before hanging them during the Day of the Dead.
Introduce Your Kid to Latin-American Culture with Hispanic Arts and Crafts
Celebrate Hispanic culture and create Hispanic-related artworks that are culturally relevant to your kids. Let your children know more about the rich and colorful history of Latin America with these unique crafts.
Check out the Rayito de Sol blog today for more fun arts and crafts and child development tips and advice.
