What You’ll Need

• scissors
• piece of thin cardboard
• cardstock in various colors
• twigs
• hole punch
• pencil
• yarn or string
• small notepad
• glue

What to Do

1. Cover thin cardboard with green cardstock.
2. Draw a cardstock canoe, river, and leaves. Cut out, and glue onto the board.
3. Glue on twigs for tree trunks. Add a twig at the top.
4. Punch two holes, and add a yarn hanger.
5. Tie a pencil to the top twig. Glue on a notepad.

Extend the Fun

For younger kids: Before you glue the notepad to the cardboard, decorate a corner of each page using crayons or rubber stamps. Write your name on the bottom of the message board so everyone knows you’re the artist.

For older kids:  Increase your output! Make individual message boards for each person in the family, decorated with a theme unique to them: your sister’s passion for soccer, your mom’s for pottery, and so on. To make desktop notepads, skip the yarn hanger.