Personalize your family's gift wrap this holiday season! Enlist your child's help to top off the presents with a very special patterned ribbon—crafted with love. Use store bought ribbon (or old scraps from other craft projects) and paints to surprise your family with specialty gift wrap!
This pattern inspired project will help him to learn about basic art concepts, develop simple math skills (counting and pattern recognition), and think creatively! Try making several different ribbons to be used for a variety of gifts; recipients will be pleased to see the time that went into wrapping each individual gift!
What You Need:
- Ribbon in holiday colors (scraps from other activities and projects works well)
- Non-toxic washable paint in holiday colors
- Scissors
- Small (fine) paint brush
- Small or thin paint sponges (optional)
What to Do:
- Help your child cut a piece of ribbon to fit the present being wrapped.
- Ask him to stretch the ribbon out and tape it down, to make it easier to work with.
- Have your child pick out at least two colors. For an added bonus, try a quick color mixing lesson: Give him the primary colors (blue, red, and yellow) plus white. Encourage him to mix the colors, and create unique shades and hues.
- Ask your child to paint a colored pattern on the ribbon. He should start simple with basic lines and shapes. For example, try alternating green and red lines or blue and white circles. As your child progresses, encourage him to create more complex patterns involving multiple colors (more than two), a variety of shapes, and different types of lines. If he is using a painting sponge, he can even incorporate a texture into the design!
- Make sure he sets the ribbon aside to dry before wrapping the present with his creation.
This fun holiday project is not just a fun educational art exercise; it also helps your child to create a usable product. Watch as he beams with a sense of accomplishment as his special decorative ribbon is unwrapped. Your family can even hold onto the ribbon creations to use again and again!
Erica Loop has a MS in Applied Developmental Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh's School of Education. She has many years of teaching experience working in early childhood education, and as an arts educator at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh.
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