This is a fun craft project for all your kids and an adult in the house to do together. It is a kinesthetic project and can be done by learning disabled kids with help as necessary. All the youngsters at home will have fun learning color names and some basic math, as well.

Supplies:

Sheets of 8.5 inch by 11 inch colored construction paper, such as red, green, yellow, blue
Pencils
Blunt scissors
Ruler
White paste or stapler

Method to make chains:

- The adult: On the table lay down one sheet of construction paper. Using the width of the ruler mark one ruler width down the page. Then draw lines horizontally, evenly spaced.

- Kids: Using blunt scissors cut along the horizontal lines on the page. Keep piles of these strips in the same colors together.

- Decide what your pattern of chains will be: perhaps 3 red, 3 green, 3 yellow, 3 blue.

- The strips you have cut are a good length for stringing together chains. Adult and kids: work together as necessary to join your links with either a dab of paste or a staple. Alternate the sets of colors as just described. You can make each chain as long as desired.

Benefits:

1. Learning names of colors.
2. Learning what a set is by seeing the sets of colors.
3. Learning to count by saying each number in sequence while adding a link to the chain.

All done? Now, count the total links in the chain; count the number of each color in the chain; count the number of sets of each color in the chain.

The uses for your chains include holiday and Christmas decorations, but can extend to other times of the year, also. A birthday party is a fun event to make chains for and can be in sets of colors the birthday child picks.

Making the chains is also a good way to develop eye-hand coordination and when done in a group, fosters group participation. Everyone feels like a success when showing off a new long chain.

Some places to string chains are in a picture window, across the room near the ceiling from opposite corners, even around the stair railing posts. Have fun!

Article by Susan Kramer

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