contributed by Leanne Guenther

Uncle Sam is a fun and easy color, cut and paste craft that uses a toilet paper roll as a base to give the finished craft a three dimensional effect.

Materials:

• toilet paper roll or cardboard tube,
• printer,
• something to color with,
• scissors,
• glue,
• paper

Instructions:

• Print out the craft template of choice.
• Color the craft pieces if you printed the black and white version of the template.
• Cut out the craft template pieces.  Younger kids may need help with this.
• Glue the large rectangular piece on first to cover the tube.
• Glue on the long, narrow rectangular belt around the center of the tube.
• Glue the necktie under the head and the head to the top of the toilet paper roll.
• Glue the arms onto the sides of the toilet paper roll.
• Glue on the feet using the tabs to make a 3D effect (glue them to the inside of the toilet paper roll.
• Glue the flag into one of the hands.

Templates:

• Close the template window after printing to return to this screen.
• Set page margins to zero if you have trouble fitting the template on one page (FILE, PAGE SETUP or FILE, PRINTER SETUP in most browsers).

Template   (color)   or   (B&W)

Print friendly version of these instructions

OK, before you start reading this...  Keep in mind (once again) that we're Canadian, so don't be too hard on me for not knowing all this off-hand -- what would you do if your kids started grilling you about John A. MacDonald?  *grin*

While we were making this craft, Tasha (Age 6) asked, "Who's Uncle Sam".

I tentatively replied, "He's a United States guy...  I think he's supposed to be George Washington." 

To which Tasha swiftly replied, "Then why don't they call him Uncle George?"

"Um, yes, I guess that doesn't make much sense.   He must be someone else..."  

And then poor mommy continued to be put in the hot seat trying desperately to explain who George Washington is  -- how, when and why he died, what happens to people when they die, what the United States is and why we aren't all just in one country when we all watch the same TV shows.  Er, I love craft time *cough*.

Don't you wish we could keep them Age 2!  The hardest question Kaitlyn asks is "what's dat"...  The answer is usually "a dog" though once it was "a cow on roller skates" -- er, yet another long story...

Anyways, after the conversation with Tasha, I decided I'd better figure out exactly who Uncle Sam is before I post his craft.  Here's what I discovered:

Samuel Wilson or "Uncle Sam" (1766-1854) became famous for his meat packing company in Troy, NY which supplied meat to the army during the War of 1812 (sometimes known as the Second War of Independence).  He stamped his barrels with "US" for United States, but people began to joke "That's Uncle Sam!"