Stick Flag Thread

Steps

• Help your child color the craft sticks with markers in three colors, like red, blue, and green.
• Before play, cut the paper roll into sections about three inches tall.
• Flatten a section and snip a short cut into each folded edge at the same height. Open it up to find two slits straight across from each other, just wide enough for a craft stick.
• Turn the section, flatten it the other way, and repeat at a different height to make two or three pairs of slits.
• Cut index cards into small flags. Draw a dot on each flag to match a stick color, then fold it in half and snip a small notch in the fold to make a slit.
• Ask your child to hold the roll with the helper hand and push a colored stick in through one slit and out the slit across from it.
• Your child finds a flag with the matching dot and slides it onto the end of the stick. Keep going until every pair of slits has a stick and a flag.

Safety tip: Do the scissors work yourself, and check the craft sticks for splinters. Remind your child to keep the sticks away from eyes and mouth.