Jack-o'-Lantern...Lanterns!

What You Need:

• Pencil
• Construction paper
• Craft knife
• Centimeter ruler
• Tape, or mini stapler
• Thin ribbon
• Black magic marker
• Scissors

What You Do:

1. Place a sheet of construction paper on the table in a vertical, portrait position.
2. Ask your child to fold the top edge of the paper so that it meets the bottom edge of the paper. Unfold the paper, and have your child cut along the fold line. This creates the start for 2 lanterns. Set one piece to the side for later.
3. Ask your child to use a pencil and a ruler to measure out 1 cm from each edge of the paper and make a small pencil dot on the measurement. 
4. Have your child use the ruler to connect all of the dots into straight lines, creating a pencil frame all around the paper, 1 cm from the edge.
5. Ask your child to flip the paper over, so the pencil lines are face down.
6. With the paper now in landscape position (long on the sides, short from top to bottom), ask your child to fold the paper in half by bringing the top edge of the paper to meet the bottom edge of the paper. The pencil line should be showing.
7. Ask your child to lay the ruler across the paper, and lay it so the start line of the ruler matches to the pencil line border they drew at the 1cm mark. Make sure it's straight across.
8. Have your child make a dot every 1 cm all the way across the paper until they reachesthe other pencil line border. There should roughly be 21 centimeters marked across.
9. Ask your child to lower their to the bottom of the paper, above the fold. Repeat the process of measuring out 1 cm marks across the paper.
10. Lay the ruler in a line from the top dot to the bottom dot, and carefully use a craft knife to cut a straight line. Safety tip: Have an adult supervise this step, in case your child requires assistance with the craft knife.
11. Repeat Step 10 for all the dots across the paper.
12. Gently unfold the paper and overlap the top edges and the bottom edges. Staple them in place to create a lantern shape. Staple the lantern to the ribbon and hang up where light can shine through the openings.

Have your child hang the finished latterns up one by one. You can also make long string of lanterns to create a spooky Halloween decoration!