When I was a kid, we actually had a rotary phone that my parents kept in their closet. My dad would take it out and plug it in by special request, just so I could call my mom at work. I loved that watching the wheel spin back and forth (and I probably still would love watching it if I had one)! It honestly felt too boring to try recreate the phones that we have nowadays and I’m really glad we went old school with this craft! (Seriously, with so many things, old school is the way to go…)

Materials

• paper (different colors & white)
• curly ribbon and/or yarn
• crayons or markers (or anything else you want to deck your phone out with)
• brass fasteners
• hole punch
• pencil
• marker
• scissors
• glue
• My Rotary Phone Template (see below – available as a FREE download for a LIMITED TIME!!!)

Directions

1. Draw or trace (template download provided below!) the handset and the ringer onto whatever color paper you or your child chooses. (I traced using a pencil and then outlined it with a marker, just to make it “pop” a bit more.)
2. Decorate your phone however you want! I chose to keep mine plain (I love yellow!) but my toddler went to town on hers with her favorite color crayons.
3. Cut the shapes out. Make sure to also cut the two slits at the top of the ringer. This is where you’ll be able to slide the handset into.

4. For the dialer, you have 2 options: an easy version and a “more involved” version (haha)!

Option 1: Use the template and cut out the circle that already includes the circles for numbers. All you will need to do is write the numbers in. Because of the direction of the wheel and where the pointer will be facing, you’ll need to write your numbers sideways (see below). Also, I chose to write 1-10 on this version of the craft (even though the 10 would be a 0 on an actual rotary phone) to provide another option when using it for number activities with my toddler.

Poke a hole through the dialer and the ringer for the brass fastener to go through. Tape the back of the fastener to the paper and then draw a small triangle on the side of the circle (this will be the “pointer” that will point to a particular number).

Option 2: Trace 2 circles onto a piece of paper. In one of the circles, draw a smaller circle. This will be the disc that you punch holes out of. Cut both circles out. Then, use a hole puncher to punch 10 holes around the perimeter of the circle (the one with the smaller circle inside).

Next, lay the circle with holes over the blank circle. Poke a tiny hole right in the middle for the brass fastener that you’ll add later (an adult will definitely need to do this part). Use the punched holes as a guide to write your numbers on the circle underneath. On this version, I wrote the numbers 0-9 to make it more like an actual rotary phone (even though again, the 0 would be after the 9, haha).

Then, use a marker to outline one of the holes. This will be the hole to “highlight” a particular number.

Now it’s assembly time! Glue the the circle with numbers onto the ringer. Re-poke the tiny hole through the number circle and into the paper behind. Then, lay the punched hole circle on top and use a brass fastener to attach it all together. (We also taped the back of the brass fastener to the paper for safety reasons and to help it stay still).

Fold a tiny rectangle in half and glue one half underneath the hole punched wheel. This will serve as a tab that your child (or you!) can use to spin the circle over the numbers.

5. Lastly, tape one end of some curly ribbon or yarn to the handset and the other to the bottom of the ringer.

6. Have fun spinning the dialer and pretending to talk on the phone with your kid! My daughter and I used the phone to pretend to order imaginary pizza that I wished was actually real.

Activity Ideas!

• Write out your phone number on a piece of paper and have your child spin the wheel to highlight each number.
• Spin the wheel to highlight a number and ask your child to identify it.
• For older children, you can give them simple addition or subtraction equations for them to solve and have them highlight the answer using the wheel.
• Use the phone for kids role play to teach conversational skills.
• Use the phone as a prop for children’s songs or chants about talking on the phone.

While I believe that crafting already provides valuable learning experiences for kids, it’s always a bonus when the craft itself can be used to keep providing even more learning experiences for them!

CLICK THE DOWNLOAD BUTTON BELOW for this free “Rotary Phone Template!” You can make as many copies as you need for your kids. All I ask is that you do not redistribute or resell as your own 🙂 (I’m currently working on setting up an online store for resources like coloring pages, craft stencils and templates, sheet music/chord charts, and music worksheets, but in the meantime, I’ll be giving away some freebies that I hope you’ll be able to use and enjoy!)

I hope you and your kids enjoy this craft to celebrate National Telephone Day (or any day)!

Happy crafting and music-making!

– Hannah