How to Make a Braided Bracelet

What You Do:

1. Have your child cut three strands of yarn, each approximately three feet long. 
2. Help her hold the strands together before folding all three in half.  She will now have six strands joined by a loop at one end. 
3. Let her make a knot below this loop. Make sure the knot is big enough to stop any beads from slipping through.
4. Have her separate the six strands into three groupings of two strands each. 
5. She now needs to string 20 or more beads onto one grouping of strands.  If necessary, she should knot the end of the strands to keep the beads from slipping off.
6. Show her how to braid the three groupings of strands -- if she doesn't know how to braid already. She needs to take turns moving the left strand over the center strand and moving the right strand over the center strand. Have her braid up approximately one inch of the yarn groupings, pushing the beads down and out of the way as she works. 
7. Now she will braid the beads into the bracelet.  Every third time she braids with the strand that has the beads, she should leave one bead behind.
8. Have her keep braiding until the bracelet is long enough to go around her wrist. 
9. Help her knot the yarn and bead braid into a loop.
10. Let her dab the knot with glue to help it set.
11. Once the glue dries, she can put on her bracelet and show off her handiwork!

She can create a whole set of bracelets using different colors of yarn, combining multiple strands in one bracelet and varying how often she leaves a bead.