hands-on

Today, I’m sharing how to make a wigwam craft for a fun Native American Study.

This wigwam craft is simple and can be done mostly independently by your preschooler or kindergartener.

Younger kids probably need help with the house base.

But this craft will give them an understanding of how the house was built and what it looked like. 

This is a great craft for Native American studies and is perfectly timed to go with a fall season theme too.

Start first by explaining to your kids what are the pre-colonial days.

And learn a bit about the Powhatan Tribe of Eastern Virginia. However, they were not the only Algonquin tribe to build wigwams. 

Some of the other tribes which built wigwams were the Winnebago, Kickapoo, Wampanoag, Pequot, Sauk, Fox, Abenaki, Shawnee, Ojibwe and Oto. 

The Algonquins and Wigwams

They did not live in teepees rather they built longhouses or wigwams for shelter.

Longhouses, while built very similarly, were more permanent structures.

On the other hand, wigwams were quicker and easier to build.

They were often used as more temporary houses like in hunting camps. 

Wigwams were made from birch bark, branches, and poles that were gathered by the men.

And the women would heat up sap from the trees to create a kind of glue or sealer to hold the bark onto the structure. 

Today, our glue will be the tree sap and our construction paper the bark.

This Powhatan Indian Toob is a great addition to turn this craft into a dramatic play activity.

The Powhatans were a tribe of Algonquin Indians, named for the language they spoke.

You could also add this set of Jamestown Settlers.

Then, talk more about the interactions between the natives and the newcomers.

Powhatan Facts for Kids

Wigwams were roughly 15’ wide.

Grab a measuring tape and mark off 15’ inside your house or out in the yard.

Do you think you could live with your immediate family, and sometimes extended family the way the Native Americans did in this small space?

Fires were centered inside the wigwam.

So, it was important to leave a small hole at the top of their structure to allow the smoke to escape.

The ground was covered in animal hides and platforms were used for sleeping.

More Powerful Powhatan Facts

• One of the most famous Powhatans was Pocahontas. She was the daughter of chief Powhatan, whose proper name was Wahunsenacawh.
• Powhatan children did more chores and less play than most children do now. But they did play with dolls and toys like a miniature bow and arrow and hand-held ball games. They learned and played together.
• Powhatan means “waterfall” in the Algonquin language.
• The Powhatan territory was known as Tsenacommacah. It covered all of Tidewater Virginia and the Eastern Shore. Find Virginia on a map and compare where it is to where you live.
• Their main mode of transportation was dugout canoes.

How to Create a Wigwam Kindergarten Native American Craft

You will need

• Smooth scrap cardboard
• Brown construction paper
• School glue
• Foam paint brush
• Scissors

To construct the frame for this craft, cut a rectangle out of a thin cardboard box.

I raided the pantry for this cracker box.

You can make it whatever size you like. I tried to keep mine reasonably scaled to the figures I had.

Then, once you have cut your rectangle, roll it into a tube.

Also, cease it a bit around the roll. This will help it maintain a more rounded shape.

Unroll the cardboard and tape the ends together to form a cylinder.

Cut down from the top about 2” every 2”.

Bend those tabs downward to form the domed roof similar to the way they would have bent poles to form their structure.

Secure with tape or hot glue.

Since it is going to be covered in paper it doesn’t have to be pretty.

Leave a small opening in the center to create a smoke hole.

Now, the fun part for littles. Get them to tear up paper.

I like to task the kids with doing this instead of doing it myself because

1. . It gives them more ownership over their activity and
2. It is a good task for fine motor skill building.

Also, encourage them to tear them up fairly small and in different random pieces.

More Native American Resources

Too, look at some of these other resources:

• Free Native American Plains Indians Fun Lapbook for Kids (& resources)
• Texas Native American History Quick Unit Study (Middle School)
• 100 BEST Hands-on Free Native American Resources

Continuing on with the craft, you are probably going to want to lay down a shower curtain liner or plastic tablecloth. This next part gets messy.

Pour school glue into a bowl.

Then demonstrate for your child how to dip the torn pieces of paper into the glue on both sides.

Scrape excess away on the lip of the bowl.

They can use their fingers or a foam brush to coat everything well.

A foam brush can also help smooth the pieces on the structure.

Let them cover the entire house with their “bark”. This will need to dry overnight at least.

If your child covered the smoke hole that was left you can cut it back out with scissors.

Explain that the smoke needed a place to escape so the Native Americans wouldn’t be closed up with it.

You can use the wigwam to create a simple diorama.

Also, add it to a sensory bin or simply leave it on the shelf with your other resources for your native American study.

Longhouses were similarly built-just long but still dome shaped.

You can recreate one of those as well with the materials and compare the living quarters.