Believe it or not, we're going to make this paper schoolhouse craft with two 6 inch (ish) squares and two 3 inch
(ish)
squares (and a bell *grin*). This is a great lesson in geometry for older children
and a fun paper craft for younger ones!
OLDER KIDS -
Geometry practice:
Pay attention to what's happening when you split up the
squares (cut diagonally = triangle, cut vertically = rectangle).
Use a ruler to measure the height and length of the squares
and of the pieces after you've cut them out. Write down your observations (2 of the
sides of the big triangle will be the same length as the square that they came from, the
rectangles will be as long as the squares they came from and 1/2 the width. The
smaller triangles have two sides 1/2 the length of the squares they came from.)
YOUNGER KIDS - Shapes and cutting practice:
Sort your shapes. Which are squares? Which are
rectangles? Which are triangles? This can be done at various stages during the
cutting out.
Which shapes are BIGGER? Which are SMALLER?
Materials:
scissors,
glue,
something to color with
a ruler (optional).
Instructions:
Print out the templates of choice (B&W or color)
You can either color in the template now or you can wait until it is
assembled and the glue is dry.
Cut out the template pieces. The first one is easier, so if you
have young children who are just learning to use scissors, you can have them cut out
template one while you cut out template two.
These instructions are also on the template so don't worry if it
sounds confusing
Glue the roof (big triangle) to the building (big square from
template 1) to make the outline of the school
Glue the roof grate (small triangle), the door (small square from
template 1) and windows (small rectangles) to the school.
Glue the bell tower roof (small triangle) to the bell tower (small
square). Glue the bell from template 1 into the bell tower.
Glue the bell tower to the roof of the school.
Templates:
Close the template window after printing to return to this screen.
Set page margins to zero if you have trouble fitting the template on one page (FILE, PAGE SETUP or FILE, PRINTER SETUP in most browsers).