Paper Candles

Purpose:  This little project will help the children in many ways.  It will given them a graph of the birthdays of the children in their group.  They will come to recognize the names on the candles.  And the candles can create a source of "light" at the darkest time of the year. 

 

Materials/Advance Preparation:

• oaktag
• markers or crayons
• scissors
• To make the candles, cut out 1" x 6" rectangles from oaktag, enough for each child to have one; then draw and cut out a flame from the top ¾". 

 

Directions:

1. Give each child an oaktag candle.

2. Discuss the kinds of colors that are hot.  Children can color the flames with these colors.

3. Write the child's name on her or his candle.

4. Children can decorate the candle around their names (with young children it can help to draw an oval around their names that should not be colored).

5. Display the candles.  See Note below.

    

Notes: These candles are great to celebrate the winter solstice as well as birthdays.  If you cut out birthday cakes from construction paper and label them with the names of the months, you can then put each child's candle on the appropriate month.  This makes a kind of graph of the birthdays in your group.

Eric Gidseg

 

Activities Home | Language Strand | Skills | Theme | Type | All