Placement Activity: Paper Weaving

I hope to often include great placement ideas from current and past volunteers on this site.   This is the first of many, from a great volunteer in Morocco.  When I post these ideas, I'll often use this format that volunteers can submit, so that you can get a better idea of the type of placement where they worked, and also what the activity entails.  Bear in mind, just because he used this activity at a school for young kids, does not mean it could not be a fun activity at a different type of placement!

Activity/Idea name:

Paper Weaving

Brief description of the placement where you work (please include ages, number of people, languages spoken, other etc):

I worked with 3-5 year olds at a school for street children. The mission is to get children off the streets and into an academic setting. The role of volunteers is to work with half the class on arts and crafts, and song and dance while the other section of students study language with the teacher. The children speak Arabic and a little bit of French, but little to no English. I found that the easiest way to communicate with the children is to be expressive, gesticulate, and show examples.

Goal of the activity:

The activity introduces a third dimension to art. It is an easy craft, as it does not require cutting or glue, which can be difficult for this age range.

Required resources:

• Construction paper
• Scissors
• Tape
• Stickers (if desired)
• Crayons/ markers (if desired)

Step-by-step process:

1. Cut vertical slits into construction paper, leaving an inch or two at one end of the piece of paper, so that all of the strips are connected.
2. Completely cut lots of strips from different colored paper for weaving.
3. Weave one of the free strips over, than under the strips in the original piece of construction paper. Push the strip all the way up to the top so that it touches the solid one-to-two-inch chunk.
4. Weave a second strip, but this time start with the strip going under, then over. Push it up to touch the first strip.
5. Weave more strips, and alternate over- under to under – over.
6. Turn the weaving over and tape along the edges
7. Decorate the weaved paper with markers, crayons, and stickers

Do you have any suggestions/improvements for the next time?
Instead of cutting straight slits into the original piece of construction paper, cut wavy lines and weave straight strips across. As a result, a wave- like pattern appears. Try using alternate material, such as newspaper and magazine scraps, or ribbon. Also, try weaving over two strips, and under one, and vice versa, in order to create a different pattern. Experiment with different mediums and designs. You can’t go wrong!



The volunteer also passed along the source where he got the idea:

Watt, Fiona, 365 Things to Make and Do. Usborne Publishing Ltd., Saffrom Hill, London. “Paper Weaving.” (p.126-127.)