Jo Jacks Travel

After our family trip camping in Wadi Rum, I was inspired to do some camel crafts with the children to learn about deserts, camel caravans, and something to reinforce numbers, colors, AND Arabic language, which they are learning in school while we live as expats.

Camel Crafts for Kids

Rainbow Camel Caravan

What you’ll need:

• Paper – white, brown, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple
• Scissors
• Marker
• Glue

Step 1: Free draw a camel and cut the camels out of brown paper rectangles.  I chose to make 8 camels.

Step 2: Using paper in the colors of the rainbow, cut out seats for the camels to go over the humps.

Step 3: Prepare the background – cut out sand dunes, a sun, and palm tree – glue onto paper.

Step 4. The child could do this part, or you could – glue the camels down over the sand dunes in a line.  Explain that this is a camel caravan traveling through the hot sandy desert.

Step 5. Put out the colored seats.  Hand your child the glue.  Ask them to find the red seat, and then glue onto the first camel.  Ask them to find the orange seat, and then glue onto the second camel.  Etc.

Step 6: To add some complexity you could introduce numbers, so you can count and do colors in the same activity.

Step 7.  To add even more complexity, you can have them match the “Hindi” or Eastern-Arabic numerals (i.e.١‎ – ٢‎ – ٣‎ –٤‎ – ٥‎ – ٦‎ – ٧‎ – ٨ ), such as those used in Jordan and Saudi Arabia to the Arabic-numerals used in Europe and Americas (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8.)

Torn Paper Craft – Camel & Desert Scene

Red sand dunes

Help your children remember or prepare to see the awesome red sand dunes of Wadi Rum.

This one is super easy and is a variation on art I found on Pinterest created by Kids Artists.

What You’ll Need:

• Blue card stock
• Various “sand”colored paper – we used more reds, oranges, and browns as we visited red sand dunes.
• Glue
• Black paper – cutout or printout of camel

How to:

Have the kids tear off strips of paper.  You might have to start the tear a bit and guide them down a table to make an intact piece  (otherwise you’ll end up with 1000s of tiny bits like I did with my kids on the first try!)

Glue the strips onto the blue card-stock to make sand dunes.  Glue the camel on top.

Viola! I hope you enjoyed these camel crafts! Let me know if you have other camel craft ideas in the comments!

Looking for more multi-cultural crafts for children?  Check out:

• Roman roads and trading – learn about Jerash
• Lotus Flowers and Elephants Crafts – Learn about Buddhism
• Sea Turtles and Coconuts – Beach Educational Activities
• Drums go Boom! – Make a Sri Lankan Yak Bera Drum