Big Paper Snowflake

We get to enjoy making various types of snowflakes from October through April (hopefully not May...). This is one of our favorites.

We make one or two of these big beautiful snowflakes every year. You need 7 squares of paper, scissors, a pencil, and clear tape. We used white paper cut in 9" squares.

Fold in half to make a triangle, then in half again forming a smaller triangle.

With the open sides at the bottom, cut three lines, parallel to the long straight side, from the bottom, almost to the top (but do not cut through the top). Use the picture below as a guide. Draw first if that helps.

When you open it up, it should look like this. Now, repeat with the remaining 6 squares.

Now, you want to make each piece 3-dimensional. Take the top and bottom corner, bring them together and secure with clear tape. Then take the next top and bottom corners and bring them together on the opposite side and secure with tape. Looks like we started with the inside pieces...

It really does not matter how you start as long as you end up with seven pieces like the one pictured below.

Now line them up and tape the sides together so that they form a long line. We only have five lined up in the picture, just pretend there are seven.

Finally you want to tape the bottoms together so that it forms a round snowflake. As you can see, I took over at this point. It can be tricky getting the corners together.

These are beautiful in a classroom or a space that can accommodate a bunch especially if they are various sizes and colors.

Paper Pumpkins

These 3-dimensional paper pumpkins are very cute and very fun to make--especially if you are 4. My daughter has wanted to do little else the last few days. We are growing quite a pumpkin patch. To make a pumpkin you need:

• 4 strips of orange construction paper. You can make your pumpkins any size. We used 12" x 1/2"


• a small square of orange paper for a base (if your pumpkin is wobbly, you can add a piece of cardboard to the bottom).


• a green rectangle (about 3" x4")


• about 2-4 thin strips of green paper for vines and a pencil for wrapping them around to make them curl


• scissors


• white glue

Start by gluing the center of an orange strip to the little orange square (base). Then continue gluing the center of the orange strips making a star shape. While the glue sets for a few minutes, cut small slits along the long side of the green rectangle, then, roll it into a stem so that the slits are on the bottom. Glue the side of the stem together. Hold it tight for a few minutes so that it does not come undone. Sing a song, count to 100, say the alphabet 3 times--then it should be dry enough to stay put. This is also a good time to curl your vines by wrapping the green strips around a pencil.

Starting with the bottom strip, start to glue the ends of the orange strips together making the round shape of the pumpkin. You might need to hold the newly glued pieces and count or sing again. Next, glue the vines on the top of the pumpkin. Fold back the little tabs you cut along the bottom of the stem and add glue to each tab. Carefully glue the stem to your pumpkin.

So cute! We plan to add some faces later. Hope this works for you!

Not Too Messy!

I know that most parents are not up for a mess all the time (or ever!). Cutting, manipulating and gluing paper is a great way to have a meaningful art experience without much mess.

Some little ones will just want to cut or just want to fold and may not wish to "make" something at all. That is OK. Resist the urge to guide too far. If your child is happily cutting and does not wish to glue, allow them the freedom to do just that. Try not to teach too much. Young artists do not need their work to look like something. Help only when asked.

I gave Hollin a sheet of red 12" x 12"cardstock for the base. The size and color do not matter, but it should be sturdy. Then, I grabbed some scraps from our scrap bin--repurposed art projects, cut-up greeting cards, scraps of construction paper etc. I did control this a bit by selecting fairly sturdy pieces and cutting them into long strips and basic shapes. I showed her how to wrap a strip around a pencil to make a swirl and how to fold a strip back and forth to create a zig-zag. I made a few other folds and cuts on my own then left her with the glue and scissors and with a sheet of round stickers. She got really into this. She created a playground with slides and stepping stones and all sorts of interesting playthings. At one point I had to hold myself back from committing a major creativity killer. She was telling me that tiny little children would have so much fun playing on the slides and walking on the bridge. She was deep in play. I almost grabbed some little stickers of animals or people for her to use but thankfully I held back. She did not need that, she had everything she needed to create a magical playground in her head and on the table. Little images would have destroyed the aesthetic value and more importantly they would have sent the message that you need to have all the props in order to play. I hope this makes sense and that I am not sounding like a lunatic!