The Readathon 2012 theme for this week is Friendship. Inspired by the theme, and knowing how much my daughter enjoys tying knots and laces, I knew that she'd love learning how to make a "friendship" bracelet.
While she is proficient in knot tying - I wasn't sure that she'd be able to manage several strands of thin embroidery floss (or how long her attention span would last) - so I made a few changes to the basic Chinese Staircase knot technique to make it easier for her.
We used a single piece of yarn instead of embroidery floss (because it is thicker and easier for small fingers to manage) and tied it around a shoelace (instead of several other pieces of yarn, which would be hard to keep from getting tangled). We used a single color, however a simple way to make the bracelet multi colored would be to use variegated yarn.
[Using the clipboard is optional - but I found it works the best to keep the bracelet in place/secure while tying knots.]
Tie a series of knots using the Chinese Staircase technique until bracelet reaches desired length:
When finished, cut off remaining yarn/lace and tie ends together to form a bracelet.
Share it with a special friend.
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Two fun books we're reading to go along with the "Friendship" theme:
How Do Dinosaurs Play with Their Friends? by Jane Yolen & Mark Teague
Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad by Jacky Davis & David Soman
As well as this ebook:
StickFiggy Makes a Friend by Jane Marshall
(one of the Readathon 2012, free ebooks, available on MeMeTales)
Disclaimer: Due to my
participation in the Readathon 2012, I am receiving the featured books
for free from MeMeTales. In exchange, I will be sharing book inspired,
fun activities with you each week!
Great idea for a simple friendship bracelet. Will need to try this with my daughter. Great way to teach knot tying and strengthen fine motor skills!
My daughter loves the Ladybug Girl books too!
Cute! I wouldn't have thought of doing a friendship bracelet, although I remember making the beaded version as a kid.