Make an Accordion Skeleton

What You Need:

• 20" x 24" white paper
• Pencil
• Thick black marker
• Glue

What You Do:

1. First, cut the arm and leg pieces. Measure and mark four ¾" stripes across the short side of the paper and have your child cut them out.
2. Next, have your child accordion-fold the strips, starting at one end and folding back and forth all the way to the other end.
3. Sketch out the skull, ribs, and pelvis shapes on half of the remaining sheet of paper. (It's easiest to fold the paper in half to get symmetrical shapes.)
4. Help your child cut out the shapes while you sketch out the hands and feet, then have them cut those out, too.
5. Using the black marker, draw outlines on the skull, ribs, and pelvis for your child to color in. Outline the eyes and nose on the skull, the ribs of the ribcage, and the holes in the pelvis.
6. Have your child carefully color in all of the outlines and draw the skeleton's teeth.
7. Cut one longer piece of spine and one shorter piece from the remaining white paper.
8. Lay out the pieces before assembling them. Make sure the hands and feet are placed properly before gluing.
9. Finally, help your child glue all the parts of the skeleton together.

Your finished skeleton will make a perfect spooky decoration for a door or a window. On a windy night, you can watch it "dance" with the breeze!