How to Make a Simple Chinese Lantern Craft for a Toddler
The Chinese calendar predates the Gregorian calendar by hundreds of years. This ancient calendar uses the lunar calendar as its foundation and the Gregorian calendar uses a solar calendar. Each year of the Chinese calendar has an animal associated with it and these animal years rotate through 12 different animals on a continuing basis. When the Chinese New Year comes each year, Chinese people celebrate with a 15-day celebration. A traditional Chinese New Year item used in celebrations is a Chinese lantern. Show your young children how to make a simple Chinese lantern craft and decorate for the Chinese New Year.
Things You'll Need
- 8 1/2-by-11-inch construction paper (bold and bright color)
- Glitter glue
- Markers
- Scissors
- Stapler
Instructions
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Collect arts and crafts materials to decorate the construction paper. Art supplies such as glitter glue and markers are available at many discount stores, general department stores, or art supply stores. Decorate the construction paper with glitter glue and markers to add bright spots of color to the paper. Make a series of designs with the glitter glue in gold and other bright colors to create a lantern with traditional colors. Allow the construction paper to dry completely before proceeding.
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2
Fold the decorated construction paper in half lengthwise and crease the fold.
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3
Hold the folded paper by the open long edges and make a series of cuts with the scissors from the folded long edge of the construction paper toward the open edges. Stop each cut when you reach approximately 2 inches away from the open edges. Make the cuts approximately 1 inch apart.
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4
Unfold the paper and bend it into a round cylinder shape by placing the two short edges of the paper together. Overlap the short edges by approximately ½-inch and staple them together to secure them.
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Make a handle for the paper lantern by cutting a strip of construction paper that is 1 1/2 inches wide and 8 inches long. Write the child's name in the center of the strip with glitter glue and allow it to dry completely before proceeding.
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Staple the ends of the strip to one end of the paper lantern to create a handle. Make sure the child's name is showing on the top side of the handle.
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