How to Make a Chinese Lantern for Preschoolers

The Lantern Festival marks the close of Chinese New Year festivities. Communities display colorful lanterns on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month in the Chinese calendar. Some lantern designs are so elaborate that riddles are incorporated into the design. Other lantern designs are simple enough for children to duplicate. Teachers make the Chinese Lantern part of a multicultural lesson at all grade levels. When working with preschoolers, it is best to start with a model.

Things You'll Need

• Paper
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Glue

Instructions

1. Make the lantern handle. Use a ruler and pencil to draw a 1-inch border across the top of a 9 by 12-inch piece of construction paper. Cut the border and reserve it.

2. Designate tabs to secure the sides of the lantern. Draw a ½-inch margin widthwise. Mark one side A and the other side B.

3. Fold the sheet in half lengthwise and sketch a 1-inch border along the long edge to define the top and bottom.

4. Create a series of perpendicular lines for lantern slots. Cut 1 line from the crease to the margin every inch.

5. Open the paper, lay flat then fold the tabs. Gather each side as if to make a tube. Apply glue to tab A, the opposite side of B then press together.

6. Glue each end of the handle to the inside of the lantern.

Tips & Warnings

• Make copies of a Chinese Lantern pattern for preschoolers to practice before they move to the construction paper version. Draw the pattern with continuous lines, dotted lines and dashed lines to help students understand which lines to fold and cut. Display the preschoolers' work. Thread yarn through the lantern handles and hook the string to the ceiling. It's easier to have preschoolers adorn the lantern with glitter, crayons or markers before they start folding and cutting.

• Use staples or tape to fasten the Chinese Lantern if pressed for time, but preschoolers will need help with these items.

Resources

• China Internet Information Center