Are you looking for a fun summer craft for toddlers that’s both creative and hands-on? Want to try a boat craft for kids that actually floats? You’re in the right place!
This easy DIY boat craft is not only great for hands on creativity, but it really floats and even holds up when fully submerged in water! It’s a fantastic summer activity for toddlers and preschoolers, combining learning with lots of water play fun.
Even better? You’ll be giving your empty milk bottles a second life! The main part of the boat is made from recycled 2-litre milk bottles, turning this craft into a great eco-friendly project. It’s a wonderful way to teach little ones about being resourceful and finding creative ways to reuse everyday materials.
Note: Adult supervision is essential for this craft, both during the making process and while playing with the finished boats. All cutting of the milk bottles, must be done by an adult as it’s too tricky for little hands.
So let’s get started, here is what you will need to make your floating boats:
- 2 litre milk bottles (one per boat)
- Foam sheets
- Self-adhesive foam sheets
- Sea life foam stickers
- Lollipop craft sticks
- Safety scissors
- Ruler
- Pencil
Step 1. Firstly rinse the milk bottle and then an adult will need to cut the bottom off. Leave about 10cm from the bottom so that you have a lot of room to work with. Then wash with soapy water and dry.
Step 2. An adult will then need to cut this into a boat shape. You can use a pencil to draw a boat shape before you cut if you want to.
Step 3. Next make two marks at the top of the sides with the point. This is where you are going to cut to make a slit for your craft sticks. Our marks are about 1.5cm in length and 1.5cm down from the top.
Step 4. An adult will need to cut into those two marks to make two slits. You will need to push the sides flat together to be able to do this and then push it back to normal once complete. Test with your craft sticks that they will fit before moving on to the next step.
Step 5. Now your child can start decorating the boat with stickers, hurray! They can add as many foam stickers as they like to the outside or inside. You can make sure they are firmly on once they are finished. This is a great opportunity to talk about and name the sea life creatures as they are being chosen by your child.
Once your child is finished with adding on their stickers, you will have something like this.
Step 6. Next to make the flags you will use the self adhesive foam sheets. If your child is old enough they can cut these with your help, if not cut these for them.
You can either draw the diamonds yourself onto the backing sheet or use this free template download (link below) to draw around. If you would like to draw your own diamonds the measurements for the template are 9cm high x 3cm wide.
Step 7. Once the diamonds are cut, take away the backing sheet and have your child fold them together with the top of the craft stick inside. Make sure the flags are very well stuck together to prevent water from seeping in.
Step 8. Next have your child pick the colour of the sails from the foam sheets. To make the sails, you can either draw the sails yourself or use this free template download (link below) to draw around. The measurements from the template are 6cm x 10cm. The slits are 1.5cm in from the end and are 1cm wide.
To cut the slits fold the sail at the widest length and cut on the line. You are aiming for a 1cm slit overall. If your child is old enough they can do this with your help, or you can do this part for them.
Step 9. Once you have cut your sails, help your child add them on to the craft sticks and push them up to and under the flags. The craft sticks are now ready to go on the boat!
Step 10. Slot the craft sticks into the slits on the boat so that they weave into the inside. Now your floating boat craft is complete and ready to go!
You and your child can make a variety of boats, with different coloured sails and flags. You could even make a pirate ship if you want to!
The final step is to test these out on water and watch your child have fun playing! One surprise we had found was that we only needed a slight breeze and the boats sailed along in the water nicely.
This was such a fun summer learning activity with my 2-year-old. He learned new ocean and boat-themed vocabulary, practiced his colours, and worked on his fine motor skills. He loved sailing his boat in the paddling pool, and we even tested them in our local freshwater stream. They floated beautifully although we did end up chasing them downstream which was great fun!
Feel free to share this post and let me know what you think in the comments, I would love to hear about your results.
Happy boat crafting!
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