It is a long road to the Olympics. It’ll be easier to navigate with a lantern to light your path. So we are making a Chinese paper lantern and taking this opportunity to learn about another country participating in the games. To make one lantern takes about five minutes so this is a great project when time is in short supply at your house!
SUPPLIES
- Construction Paper
- Toddler safe scissors
- Tape or glue
- Crayons, stickers or markers for decoration
DIRECTIONS:
- Decorate your paper
- Fold it in half, length wise
- Cut strips on the fold, stopping an inch from the edge. I drew lines for C as a guide. At the end of each line is what we called a ‘stop button,’ just a drawn circle that was his signal to stop cutting. This worked BEAUTIFULLY and afforded him a great deal of independence in cutting the lantern himself. And he did a great job, too!
4. Open up your folded paper
5. Roll the short ends and glue or tape together.
6. Cut and glue on a strip of paper at the top.
You are done! Now read the story of Mulan to your munchkin. You can stick with Disney’s version or explore The Ballad of Mulan which is an ancient Chinese poem about this warrior heroine. A Google search turns up lots of information!
TODDLER TAKE AWAYS:
- Exploration of the world around us, foreign cultures, and history
- Opportunity to build those scissors skills
- Development of independence and creativity
Enjoy!
Anna