School Holiday Project 6: Fold and Color a House

Even though the school holidays are officially over, we continue with these intermittent blogs for two reasons; it is good for the youngsters to keep up the habit of creating things, and ... it will be school holidays again! Send yourself these blogs in an email, or subscribe and have them delivered to your inbox. That way you can save them and refer back to them when the holidays strike again. Today I show you how to fold this very house in a few quick steps. The kids then get to color or paint their own houses. Great fun and its costs nothing more than a sheet of paper and pencils.

Start with an A4 sheet of paper. You can use white, but I used a yellowish color.

Fold the paper in half in its length.

Fold the sides in as shown. Fold them to the back as well so the fold line will pivot either way.

Press the fold line together with your fingers and fold the flap in to form a triangle as shown. Do this on both sides.

The house will now be able to stand on its own.

Fold the sides flat and draw in the door and windows. This is a great opportunity to teach older children that the top of the door post and the window frames are on the same height.

Draw the roof in.

Color the house.

Older children can be taught about shadows and light sources.

Encourage younger and older children to add features. I drew detail on the door and added flower boxes. My nephew added tall grass and a sliding door. Some kids will want to add insects on the walls. Let them play to their heart's content.

You may also want to show them how a brick pattern is designed.

The idea with this project is to keep it as open as possible for the child to be as creative and innovative as he or she chooses to be. Use crayons, coloring pencils, or paint. Paste scrap pieces of paper, or dry grass. The possibilities are endless.

For more crafty ideas and great products, visit APrettyTalent.com.
Remember to keep nurturing your TALENT for making PRETTY things.
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