Simple DIY Graduation Caps for Kids

I can’t believe the end of our first year of homeschooling has come! My feelings on this subject are comparable to the ones I have about having children; while time seems to have flown by, I can’t fully remember life before homeschooling. What on earth did we do all day? It’s funny how you don’t realize how much free time you have until a few years later when you’re looking back at your previous life of freedom, wishing you had taken advantage of all those moments you could have been napping or eating chocolate.

While all the schools around us are doing their end-of-the-year festivities, we’re over here trying to hit all of our favorite spots as much as we can before the onslaught of children happens. Actually, my kids truly love a full park. It’s their introverted mom who prefers it empty/safe from potential kidnappers. (Have you seen all those videos of kids being snatched from their moms at the store? SCARY.) Anyway, the girls got to watch some preschoolers practicing for their graduation ceremony a few days ago and it immediately stirred up some feelings of discontent in my 5 year old. “I never got to have a preschool graduation!” Me: “Well considering you never went to preschool…..” Betsey: Tears. Me: “It’s okay, we can have our own graduation party tomorrow, okay baby?” Remind me to stop blaming their grandma for their spoiled attitudes.

So this morning I grabbed a few supplies we already had on hand and put together some pretty darn cute grad caps for my miniature homeschool alumni. We were still missing some party food so we jumped online and decided to test out these snickerdoodle cookies. They turned out delicious and I had two very happy little girls!

How to make you own cap

What we used:
scissors
ruler
3 pieces of construction paper
glue stick
tape
yarn

Making the cap:
First, I measured the short side of the construction paper (mine was 9 in) and marked along the long side where I need to cut to make a perfect square. Cut two pieces of construction paper into large squares and glue them together with a glue stick. (Liquid glue would also work, just spread it thinly.) This gives the top enough strength to stay flat while the tassel hangs off the side. Set it aside.
Next, fold the third piece of paper the long way and cut along the fold. Glue the ends together to make one long piece. Wrap it around your child’s head to measure the right size and tape it together. Set it aside.

Making the tassel:
Grab your yarn and cut a 6 inch piece and a 20 inch piece and set them aside; you’ll need these shortly. Holding the end against your palm with your thumb, wrap the yarn loosly around your hand. Stop wrapping when you have enough for your tassel to look the way you want it to. I wrapped mine about 40 times. Take your 20 inch piece and poke it through the top. Carefully pull the whole thing off your hand and tie the top in a knot. Now tie the 6 inch piece around the tassel and tie in a knot. One of the best tricks I learned for this part is to wrap the knot three times instead of two. It makes it tight and strong. Go ahead and cut the bottom. Trim as desired.

Finishing up:
Grab the top of the cap and use scissors to poke a hole in the middle. String the 20 inch piece through from the top, measure where you want the tassel to hang, then tape the end to the inside. Cut the excess.
Place the top of the cap down and connect the last piece with tape on the inside.

And there you have it! An adorable DIY graduation cap for your little one.

Congratulations grads!

Erin Fuentes

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