Stay At Home Educator

intentional teaching for purposeful learning

  • About
    • Copyright / Disclosure / Privacy Policy
    • Contact
  • Preschool Lesson Plans
  • Literacy
  • STEAM
  • Thematic Activities
  • Shop
    • Cart
    • Checkout
    • My Account

DIY Preschool Graduation Caps

This post may contain affiliate links, which means that at no cost to you, I may earn a small sum if you click through and make a purchase.

May 20, 2014 by Sarah Punkoney, MAT

DIY preschool graduation caps tutorial - Stay At Home Educator

I had a little trouble finding child sized graduation caps at an affordable price that were also high quality and got good reviews, so I opted to spend a few hours making my own caps to give to my preschoolers.  My students were delighted to see their caps, and combined with some T-shirts we had tie-dyed for the occasion, they felt pretty darn awesome!  They can hardly hold in their excitement for the actual preschool graduation next week.

If this is your first time, please join me regularly via  E-mail in the right sidebar, Facebook, Twitter @StayAtHomeEdu, and Pinterest.  For your convince, I have included some of our favorite products relating to preschool graduation.  Any purchase of these products goes directly to maintaining this blog.

Materials:

  • paper bowls
  • poster board
  • coordinating acrylic paint and a paintbrush
  • buttons
  • coordinating string
  • beads (optional)
  • 1/4 inch elastic
  • hot glue

1. Begin by painting the bowls the coordinating color using the acrylic paint.  Give each bowl two coats of paint.  This will make the paint more uniform and eliminate any brush strokes.  The bowls will be the cap portion of the graduation caps.  A larger bowl will help the caps stay on the child’s head better, too.

use painted paper bowls to make preschool graduation caps - Stay At Home Educator

2. While the bowls are drying, cut the poster board down to size.  You can either take the poster board to an office supply store and use their giant paper cutter, or you can use a box cutter and a sewing ruler and cutting mat.  Cut each down to 9×9 inches.  You should be able to get six pieces.  These will be the tops of the graduation caps.

Tutorial for preschool graduation caps - Stay At Home Educator

3.  Make the tassels.  Cut a piece of string about 18 inches long, and a second piece at least three feet long.  Fold the three feet piece of string in halves until the overall length is about five inches.  Take the longer string, (18 inches) and tie the smaller, folded pieces in the center of the longer string.  Use the longer string to wrap around the top of the tassel portion, tie off, and glue so the tassel will hang straight.  Clip the loops of the tassel and cut the strings to length.  Add beads if desired.  If you’re more of a visual person, this is a good YouTube tutorial, however it uses a different technique.

preschool graduation caps - Stay At Home Educator

4. Use hot glue to glue all the pieces together.  Mark the center on each side of the poster board with a small dot.  Center the bowl onto the 9×9 inch piece of poster board.  (Write names or have your students decorate the poster board before gluing).  Cut the tassel string to length.  I think mine ended up being about twelve inches. Glue the tassel on the other side of the poster board, over the marked dot.  Finish with a button to cover the ends of the string.

Graduation caps for preschool - Stay At Home Educator

5. Glue elastic on the inside of the bowl, making a chin strap to help keep the graduation cap on.  I have found that the best length is one that allows the child to wear the cap without actually having to stretch the elastic much.  If the elastic is too short and has to stretch too much when the cap is on, it could have a tendency to slide forward and off.  Although this can usually be countered by tucking the elastic behind the child’s ears.

Now, enjoy the cuteness you have just created…and silly faces.

Tutorial for preschool graduation caps --- Stay At Home Educator

Does it get better than this?

do-it-yourself preschool graduation caps - Stay At Home Educator

Again, enjoy!

Sarah Punkoney, MAT

I am Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home mama of five! I am the owner and creator of Stay At Home Educator, a website about intentional teaching and purposeful learning in the early childhood years. I’ve taught range of levels, including preschool and college, and a little bit of just about everything in between. Right now, my focus is teaching my children and running a preschool from my home. Credentials include: Bachelors in Art, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction

stayathomeeducator.com/

You might also enjoy:

No related posts.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Preschool Graduation

« Dot Number Identification and Counting Cards
Eight Bugs and Butterflies Preschool Activities »

Comments

  1. Veronique says

    April 28, 2016 at 3:02 pm

    I offered to help one of my child’s teachers and found your awesome idea! I can’t wait to make the caps. Thank you so much for sharing!

    • Sarah Punkoney says

      April 28, 2016 at 3:48 pm

      They are adorable! I hope those little preschoolers love them!

Trackbacks

  1. Preschool Graduation On The Cheap says:
    May 28, 2014 at 11:50 am

    […] For a complete tutorial on how to make these super cute preschool graduation caps, see my post DIY Preschool Graduation Caps.  This project cost me a total of […]

  2. End of the Year Activities - Rachel K Tutoring Blog says:
    May 18, 2015 at 12:34 pm

    […] 17. DIY Preschool Graduation Caps […]

  3. Pre-k End of Year Celebration Idea # 5 | Mrs. Sarah's Classroom Blog says:
    May 19, 2016 at 9:26 am

    […] reference to: https://stayathomeeducator.com/diy-preschool-graduation-caps/ […]

  4. 6 idee prese in rete per... la fine della scuola | says:
    May 29, 2016 at 2:43 am

    […] Da piatto a Tocco in poche mosse […]

  5. Preserving End Of The School Year Memories With Printables & Crafts says:
    April 27, 2017 at 10:16 am

    […] end of the year typically means graduation, for some grades. This adorable paper plate graduation cap is a super cute send off craft for […]

  6. Forget me nots: keepsake ideas for the end of the year - #stateoftheART by Creatubbles says:
    May 18, 2017 at 8:33 am

    […] to graduate like the big kids? Here’s a fun way to host your own graduation in your class — DIY graduation caps! You’ll need paper bowls, poster board, acrylic paint, buttons, string, elastic and a hot glue […]

  7. 20+ Ways To Have A Fun & Memorable End Of The School Year says:
    July 3, 2017 at 8:38 am

    […] caps are an essential for the end of the year for many grades. These DIY Graduation Caps would be a fun project for kids to make their own in […]

  8. End of the School Year Activities and Ideas for Preschool Teachers says:
    March 14, 2019 at 9:23 am

    […] at Home Educator shares how to make your own graduation caps if your students will be dressing as graduates during an end of the year […]

  9. 40+ Kindergarten Graduation Ideas For Your Little Graduate | Shutterfly says:
    March 18, 2019 at 3:31 pm

    […] Source: Stay at Home Educator […]

Search This Site

Stay Connected

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Find preschool printables at the Stay at Home Educator on Teachers Pay Teachers buy learn with play book and ebook

PRINTABLE SHOP
PLANNING
LITERACY
MATH
DEVELOPMENT
THEMES
PLAY
Visit Sarah @ Stay At Home Educator's profile on Pinterest.
Stay At Home Educator

© Copyright 2015 Foodie Pro Theme · Genesis Framework · Customizations by Kara Carrero ·

Wordpress