ART & CRAFT: PAPER WEAVE CHRISTMAS TREE
Paper weaving is a wonderful and popular exercise for children, practicing hand dexterity and grip; it also results in beautiful, intricate looking paper shapes. You can use them to decorate, make holiday greetings, or apply them to wrapped presents!
Age: any; younger Primary children might need some help drawing the guidelines for cutting. Choose the thickness of the paper strip according to your child’s age: at least three centimeters for three-year-old and younger children, 2-3 centimeters for Primary and Kindergarteners. Elementary students can enjoy the challenge and the intricate look with strips of 1-2 centimeter wide.
What you’ll need: Coloured paper, rulers, pencil, good scissors, masking tape. I prefer a heavier weight of paper (light cardstock) for the “frame” and lighter paper for the strip, but any paper will do, including plain printer paper which your child can paint beforehand.
Instructions:
Fold your “frame” paper and draw the cutting guidelines. Cut, still folded so that you’re cutting two layers at the same time. Make sure to stop well short of the paper’s edge, at least two centimeters!
Line and cut the second sheet of paper. The strips can be of differing weights if you like, but it is quite important that the strips are really straight, so don’t skip the ruler and pencil here!
Begin weaving the strips through the “frame”. Don’t forget to alternate them. You might find it easier to weave the paper strip close to the middle, and then gently push it over to the previous one, as pictured. Continue until you have an entire woven sheet. Careful with that last strip!
Turn the sheet wrong side up and mark up your tree with masking tape. I recommend that the bottom strip aligns with the cut edge, for a neater look. Carefully cut around the edges of the tape.
Voila! There is your tree. For a variation, you can also tape off a larger area and then draw and cut different shapes – try a simple star, or a circle to make a Christmas ornament.
