Make a Tissue Paper Carnation

Not only are carnations beautiful, they are the flower of the month for January. Carnations are easy to grow and often flower during the summer months. Even though they look like a delicate flower, they are very resilient and long lasting. Your child can create colorful carnations that won't ever wilt with the help of some tissue paper and scissors.

What You Need:

• Paper
• Pencil
• Tissue paper
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Markers
• Green pipe cleaners

What You Do:

1. Start by helping your child learn more about carnations by visiting your local library to do some research or finding some pictures of carnations through the Internet.
2. Offer your fourth-grader a sheet of scrap paper and a pencil to draw a sketch of the carnation noting the interesting design and details in the flower petals.
3. Invite your child to select a color of tissue paper for creating her own colorful carnation. Have her use a ruler and pencil to measure a 9 by 9-inch square.
4. Offer her a pair of scissors to cut out the square of tissue paper.
5. To create the carnation, have your fourth-grader pick a marker to line the outside edge of the tissue paper. Encourage her to take her time so the tissue doesn’t tear.
6. Have her fold the tissue paper in half, and then in half again to create a small square.
7. Invite her to hold the folded square by the corner that has the most folds. Now she can carefully cut all other folds along the sides of the tissue paper square.
8. Now, without letting go of the folded corner, encourage your child to gently twist and open the tissue paper, revealing a beautiful carnation!
9. All that’s left to do is twist a green pipe cleaner around the folded corner to finish the carnation!