Easy Crafts That Represent Iceland

Whether using for a classroom activity or a rainy afternoon at home, craft activities for children featuring Icelandic themes can be a fun way to incorporate learning with play. Wear your warm clothes as you take part in activities based on the history, geography and religion of this nation.

Viking themed crafts are representative of Iceland, as settlers to Iceland were originally Norsemen (or Vikings). Paper crafts on traditional Viking activities and religion help children learn about the history of Iceland.

Viking coloring pages featuring longboats, hammers, lightning or trees are easy Icelandic crafts for young kids. Older children can create and decorate a longboat. See the Resources section for details. For a craft with less preparation time, copy a longboat template onto plain paper and give children a variety of art materials to decorate their boats. Glitter glue, shiny stickers and stamps are fun with this project.

Iceland is a volcanic island, sitting atop a volcanic hot spot, with several active volcanoes. A class can work together to build a model volcano using a plastic soda bottle and common kitchen ingredients. An adult should supervise the construction of the volcano. Cover the work space with a plastic sheet. For the best effect, a homemade or purchased clay-like product should be built up around the soda bottle, giving it a more realistic look. Leave the opening at the top free and let the children add as many decorations as they desire, such as dinosaurs, trees or Viking warriors.
When the volcano is ready, pour about 60 ml of water and a few drops of liquid dishwashing soap together with 1/4 cup vinegar and some red food coloring into the soda bottle. Put a tablespoon of baking soda into a tissue, wrap it up and drop it into the mouth of the bottle. The baking soda will react with the vinegar and cause a "lava" explosion.

Teach your children to recognize the Icelandic flag by creating their own models out of paper. Give them blue, red and white construction paper, glue sticks and supervise the cutting. For younger children, have pre-cut strips of red and white construction paper ready. A model of the Icelandic flag can be found in the References section.