Tag: easy origami for kids

Origami Dinosaurs

These adorable dinosaurs are the perfect addition to a diorama or as a Father’s day gift to a dino-rrific dad!

Age: 4+

Duration: 10 minutes

Learning Outcomes: Integrate art and science! Exercise fine motor skills. Create adorable take-home art.

You’ll Need:

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We loved dinosaurs as children and since the real things are sadly extinct, these adorable paper versions of brontosauruses are the next best thing!

The taller dinosaur is simple to fold, and can be made by students as young as four. Since origami instructions can be complicated and difficult to follow when they are written, we have created a video to show you how to fold this adorable dinosaur:

The longer dinosaur is more challenging to fold, and is more suited to older students. Here is the video with the folding demonstration:

The brontosaurus, or Thunder Lizard, was a four-legged herbivore that lived in the late Jurassic. The largest brontosaurs weighed up to 15 tons and measured up to 22 m (72 ft) long from head to tail. Historically, the Brontosaurus was believed to be too big to support its own weight on dry land, so paleontologists thought they must have lived partly submerged in water, maybe in swamps. Today, however, brontosaurs are thought to have lived just on land.

Ideas

  • Once you have folded your brontosaurus, you can add them to birthday or Father’s day cards.
  • Use them with our diorama boxes to add pizzazz to research and reports. fathers day dino diorama.jpg
  • Want to decorate your classroom? Use a hole punch to create holes in your dinosaurs, and string them on yarn to create dinosaur garlands! The 8 different designs and various color schemes of the dinosaur paper will ensure that your garlands will be bright and beautiful.
  • Try using our economy origami paper to fold these dinosaurs. The smaller paper and smaller size of the finished dinosaurs makes them perfect for pop-up cards or necklaces!

dinos different sizes.jpg

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Elementary Animals: Fold A Mouse!

Welcome to our fifth and final origami animal project: the mouse!15219 - Mouse Carft (eyeballs).jpgThis project is definitely best-suited to third graders because the folds are a little more intricate than our previous projects.

Age: 7+

Duration: 10 minutes

Learning Outcomes: Practice reading and understanding step-by-step directions independently. Exercise fine motor skills. Develop patience.

You’ll Need:

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Start by downloading and printing the mouse folding instructions. This fully illustrated, step-by-step instruction sheet allows students to work independently to create an adorable mouse pal. We have also created a step-by-step video for visual learners:

These adorable mouse pals can serve as take-home art projects in and of themselves. However, if you want to extend the activity, challenge students to use their mice to recreate a favorite scene from their favorite mouse book! Our Set the Scene! Diorama Boxes are an excellent tool for this project. Some great books to use for this project include:

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Origami Marble Paper Crown

15401 Marble Paper - Crwon Head

Crown yourself with a simple origami craft that the Greek statues would be proud to wear!

Age: 5+

Duration: 10 Minutes

Learning Outcomes: Exercise fine motor skills as you fold and construct this crafty crown. Create costume pieces for dramatic play.

You’ll Need:

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Start with a single sheet of marble sculpture paper. To complete this crown you will need 3-4 sheets of paper, depending on the size of your head but I want to start by walking you through the basic component. Start by folding the sheet diagonally, and cut off the excess. Unfold the triangle; you should have a square sheet. Fold the square sheet in half, then open it, and place the white side up on the table.

For the rest of the folding instructions, I have created a video for you:

  1. Fold the top two corners to meet at the center fold line. Your sheet should have a point at one end.
  2. Fold the square bottom up to meet the bottom of the arrows. Crease firmly.
  3. Fold the folded rectangle up, and flip the whole sheet over. You should have a triangle with flaps sticking out from behind on either side.
  4. Pleat the triangle by folding it down, then folding it up approximately 1/2″ above your first fold. Repeat 1-2 times to create the graduated steps that serve as decorations.
  5. Repeat steps 1-4 three more times, until you have four components.
  6. Choose one component. Lay it on the table in front of you with the triangle’s point facing away from you. Open the component so you can see the white inside. Slide the squared edge of another component onto the white area, overlapping the two pieces by 1-2″.
  7. Fold the rear flap and triangle over top of the second component.
  8. Carefully slide a third component into the second component, repeating steps 6-7. Be careful not to pull the second component out of the first component.
  9. Add the fourth component into the third component.
  10. Now it’s time to finish the loop and make your crown wearable. Using steps 6-7 again, place the free end of the first component inside the free end of the fourth component. Now you should have a “seamless” loop. The components can slide in and out of each other, so you can make small adjustments for individual head sizes. For adults, you may need to add a fifth component. Very young children may only need three components.

You can even make a crown for your best furry friend:

15401 Marble Paper - Crown Bunny

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Elementary Origami Animals for 2nd Grade

15219 - Crafts Collection

Welcome to our third set of Origami Animals! Today we will be focusing on two projects perfect for second graders: the Penguin and the Swan.

Age: 5+

Duration: 5-8 minutes

Learning Outcomes: Exercise fine motor skills. Practice following directions independently.

You’ll Need: 

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With second graders, this activity can be individual, done in small groups OR done as a class. If you are structuring this activity individually or in small groups, first download the instruction sheet (Click on the link under “You’ll Need”), and print off copies for each student or group of students. The fully illustrated and easy to follow instruction sheets allow students to problem-solve and work independently to create an adorable finished product. If students get stuck, direct them to the video tutorials.

Our first project today is the penguin.

Once students have successfully folded their penguins, there are some great options for books to pair their animals with! One of my favorite books was read to me by my teacher during our lunch break, and it has penguins galore. Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwater is a fantastic book to pair with penguin pals. Other great books about penguins include:

Today’s second project is the swan.

Once everyone has their folded swans, pair them with a book! Hans Christian Anderson was a big fan of swans, and he wrote fairy tales that have been adapted into picture books including familiar titles like The Ugly Duckling and Wild Swans. Other excellent titles featuring swans include:

  • The Trumpet of the Swan by EB White
  • The Swan Princess by Rosie Dickins
  • Although it’s not a book, Swan Lake the ballet is a great addition to children’s cultural education. It’s also a great way to get kids interested in literature as well as dance and theater!

As always, challenge your students to read independently with a little help from their winged pals!

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Elementary Animals: Fold a Pig!

 

15219 - Pig Craft (eyeballls)

Welcome to our fourth origami animal project! Today we’ll be focusing on a project ideal for third graders: folding a pig! 

Age: 7+

Duration: 10 Minutes

Learning Outcomes: Practice following step-by-step directions while exercising fine motor and spatial skills.

You’ll Need: 

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If you structure this activity as a small group or individual project, start by downloading and printing the fully illustrated instruction sheet for your students. The easy to follow instruction sheets allow students to independently work to create an adorable pig pal. If they get stumped, however, direct them to the video:

The completed pig pals can serve as a take-home project in and of themselves, but if you want to extend the activity, challenge your students to use diorama boxes to recreate their favorite scene from their favorite pig-themed book! Some of those books might include:

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Elementary Origami Animals for 1st Grade

15219 - Crafts Collection

Welcome to the second installment of our elementary origami series! Today, we’ll be focusing on two 1st grade projects: The fish and the fox!

Age: 4+

Duration: 5 minutes

Learning Outcomes: Practice following step-by-step directions. Exercise fine motor skills.

You’ll Need:

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We’ll start with the fish today. Under “You’ll Need” is the instruction sheet, with step-by-step instructions and illustrations for students who want to experiment on their own. I have also created an instruction video for you:

Once your fish is all folded up, give him eyes and a smile! The fish will lay flat, so you can also extend the exercise by decorating your fish. Use small pieces of tinfoil or glitter, and students will have their own rainbow fish! The picture book The Rainbow Fish is one of my favorites, and it’s an excellent book to use with this project. Some of my other favorite fish-themed books are:

  • One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
  • The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
  • Fish by Steve Parker (An Eyewitness Book)

If fish don’t fit your curriculum, fold up a fabulous fox! Under “You’ll Need” is the instruction sheet, with step-by-step instructions and illustrations for students who want to experiment on their own. I have also created an instruction video for you:

I love how cute the finished fox is! And your fox is a perfect companion for many different books. A great lunchtime read for the whole class and their fox friends is Roald Dhal’s Fantastic Mr. Fox! Some of my favorite picture books with foxes include:

  • Chanticleer and the Fox by Geoffrey Chaucer, adapted and illustrated by Barbara Cooney
  • Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss
  • Fables and fairy tales, like “The Gingerbread Man” or “The Fox and and the Scorpion”

Challenge your students to read aloud and practice word recognition with their fantastic folded friends!

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Elementary Origami Animals for Kindergarten

15219 - Crafts Collection.jpgWelcome to the first in our new series on Elementary Origami Animals! Add a tactile dynamic to early literacy! Today, we’ll be focusing on two kindergarten level projects: the Puppy and the Elephant! 

 

Age: 3+

Duration: 5 minutes

Learning Outcomes: Practice following directions as you fold these together as a class. Exercise fine motor skills to fold and crease neatly.

You’ll Need: 

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Start by choosing a sheet of the double-sided origami paper. Here is the video tutorial for folding the elephant:

Once you have folded your elephant, use a glue stick to put google eyes on him! You can also use washable marker.

Once all the kids have their elephants, the question is, what book do you pair your elephant with? For very young readers, picture books read with reading buddies are a great option. Independent learners might also enjoy exploring the images in an elephant reference book on their own! Some of my favorite elephant books include:

If you want to fold the puppy instead, start with a sheet of origami paper. Here is the video tutorial for folding the puppy:

Once your puppy is folded, give him eyes and a nose!

There have been many, many picture books about dogs and puppies written, so feel free to choose your favorite! Here are some of my favorites:

Challenge students to practice letter recognition with their origami pals!

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