Chopstick Fan

What You Need:

• Several wooden chopsticks (about 18 total)
• Hot glue gun
• Garden pruners
• Pencil
• Permanent markers

What You Do:

1. Have your child line up several (around 16 or 17) wooden chopsticks next to each other, with the bottoms of the chopsticks lined up at same level. The chopsticks will naturally splay outwards in a fan shape.
2. Help your child use a hot glue gun to glue each chopstick to the one next to it along the edges where they touch each other. This will be from about ¼ to ½ inch above the bottom of the stick to about three inches high on the stick.
3. Next, use the garden pruners to cut an extra chopstick in half. The two halves should fit across the back of the fan without sticking out over the sides (prune the ends more if they are visible from the front).
4. Help your child hot glue the two stick halves to the back of the fan, about 2 inches up from the bottom of the fan. These will help hold the chopsticks in place.
5. After the glue has dried, let your child decorate the fan’s front. She may want to use a Chinese theme to go with the chopsticks: help her research some icons of Chinese culture, such as zodiac symbols, koi fish or Chinese characters.
6. Once finished, the chopstick fan will be delicate. She can gently fan herself with it, or she can hang it on her bedroom wall as a pretty decoration. Either way, she will enjoy it!