Make a Festive Holiday Garland

What You Need:

• String or ribbon (craft stores sell decorative holiday ribbons, thin sparkly strands)
• Assortment of things for the garland such as buttons, bells, beads, popcorn, small ornaments
• Thread
• Blunt needle
• Scissors

What You Do:

1. Cut a long piece of string or ribbon for your garland.
2. Have your child choose two to three items, and show her how to make an AB (button, bell, button, bell) or ABC (button, bell, bead, button, bell, bead) pattern on the string. Ask her "What comes after the button?" or chant the pattern along with her as she strings. If she wants to use more than two or three items, tell her not to worry! She can make as many different garlands as she'd like.
3. For a popcorn garland, thread a blunt needle and knot the end. Show her how to carefully poke the needle through the popcorn. You could pattern a popcorn kernel and then a button for an AB pattern.
4. When she has filled the strand, knot the end, and hang for decoration on your tree or somewhere in your house.

Let her experiment and come up with her own creations. Make several different garlands to hang!