Grab-N-Go: Crafts around the world series
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EmailEnjoy learning how to make simple crafts from six of the seven continents: Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, North America and South America.
A cultural learning opportunity for youth has been created and piloted throughout Michigan with Michigan State University Extension’s 4-H Grab-N-Go Crafts Around the World series. The grab-n-go documents were designed initially for hands-on learning experiences delivered at “Crafts Around the World” sessions during the Michigan 4-H Winterfest. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when the need for virtual programming ideas was great, these resources about how to make simple crafts from six of the seven continents—Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, North America and South America—became very popular.
The purpose of this series is to introduce youth to some simple yet culturally traditional crafts from around the world. Through Crafts Around the World, youth can journey around the continents, learning how to make simple crafts and having fun creating. Each activity is written in a lesson plan format for adult or teen leaders to facilitate and includes videos for support.
The lesson plans include objectives and education standards for each activity. The objectives are for K-12 youth to learn the cultural history and origins of the craft, inspire global exploration, develop fine motor skills, and increase cultural awareness and creativity. The education standards are for youth to understand the visual arts in relation to history and culture, and depending on the activity, apply geometric methods to solve design problems.
As a project within Michigan 4-H, experiential learning is also highlighted. Those teaching the craft can help participants reflect on their experiences by encouraging thought and discussion with these questions: What happened? What’s important? So what? And now what?
These “Crafts Around the World” documents posted on the Michigan 4-H Resources website have been piloted, reviewed and edited before posting. This process started at the Kettunen Center in Tustin, Michigan. The 2020 Michigan 4-H Winterfest participants got to pilot, have fun and try out seven activities. Suggestions and comments were added to the piloted activities for improvement, which included the instructional videos. The How to Make an Origami 4-H Clover instructional video was created with closed captioning, and a link to the video was added to the resource document, “Asia – Japan, Origami: 4-H Clover”. If you would like to test out your origami skills even more, check out the MSU Extension news article, “Why I make Japanese origami cranes,” which also includes an instructional video.
The Crafts Around the World series was further piloted virtually during the pandemic. The documents and videos are consistently updated and edited on the 4-H Global and Cultural webpage, based on lessons learned and additional research.
If you would like to pilot one of the new 2025 Crafts Around the World activities, please reach out to Janis Brinn at brinn@msu.edu. Some of the current activities are:
- Europe
- Africa
- North America
- South America
- Asia
- Australia/Oceania
More activities for this series continue to be created for hands-on global and cultural education, with lots of fun to be tried out in various settings. The new videos created include some special guest instructors, culture, traditions and language as demonstrated in the Europe activity, German Kartoffeldruck: Potato Printing.
MSU Extension and the Michigan 4-H Youth Development program help to prepare youth as positive and engaged leaders and global citizens by providing educational experiences and resources for youth interested in developing knowledge and skills in these areas.
Contact your local MSU Extension office for more information about 4-H learning opportunities and other 4-H programs.
