Weave a Paper Basket

What You Do:

1. Start by taking a look at woven baskets online or at your local library. Woven baskets have been made for years, with artisans using materials such as reeds, twigs, bark and even paper!
2. Invite your child to select two colors of construction paper to use for creating his woven paper basket. He can use one as the main color for the base of his basket and the other for making strips for weaving.
3. Now your child can fold the base color of construction in half vertically and use the ruler to create several lines, about an inch apart, that go from the fold to just about an inch from the edge of the open edge of the paper - and are an inch from the outside edges of the paper.
4. Invite your child to use his scissors to cut along the lines, which will become the loom for his woven paper basket. Not only is he honing his cutting skills, he’s encouraging his hand-eye coordination!
5. Now your child can use the ruler to create several lines on his other sheet of paper, about an inch apart, creating long strips to use for weaving into his basket. He can also use one for making his handle!
6. Invite your child to begin weaving his basket using the basic over-under technique. Once one strip has been woven, he can add another, making sure he starts opposite from his last length. If his last strip ended over, the next strip should be under!
7. Encourage your child to continue weaving strips until his sheet has been filled with strips.
8. Now he can use a small amount of glue to secure each one in place and the scissors to trim any paper strips that are too long.
9. Now your child can fold his paper in half and glue the outside edges together, leaving an opening at the top.
10. Once the glue has dried, your child can attach the paper strip handle for his woven paper basket using a couple of drops of glue! Now your child can use his paper basket to collect items he finds around the house!