Weaving is a great fine motor skill activity for the kids. Did you know, you can make a loom out of cardboard and get the kids looming today?

How to teach your kids to weave

What you’ll need:

• cardboard
• wool
• plastic needle
• scissors
• ruler
• masking tape

Method:

1. Cut a piece of cardboard 6 inches by 8 inches.
2. Take your ruler and lay it across the top of your piece of cardboard, about 1/2 inch from the top. Draw a straight line with a pencil. Now measure in 1” and make a mark. Continue on and make 12 hash marks about 3/8 inches apart all across the top.
3. Cut the lines you’ve marked, stopping at your 1/2 inch ruled line.
4. Repeat at the bottom.
5. Cut out 2 strips of cardboard 1/2 wide and 6 inches long.
6. Glue on the strips of cardboard so that the top of the strip aligns with the 1/2 inch ruler line.
7. Cut 12 pieces of wool and thread through a top and bottom slit, making sure to leave a tail of about 3” on the back. Tape these ends to the back with masking tape. Make sure the threads are fairly tight. You are ready to weave   .                                                                                   
8. Cut a piece of wool approximately 2 feet long and thread it on the plastic needle.
9. Thread your wool under the first thread and then over the next, alternating all the way along. Pull through, leaving a small tail to tie off onto the first thread.
10. Go back the other way creating the next line of weaving but do the opposite under and over.
11. Repeat until your wool has finished.
12. Gently push the weaving up to make it tight.
13. Repeat with your next chosen colour (leaving a tail to tie it off).
14. When you have filled the cardboard, carefully slide your wool loom threads off the cardboard.
15. At the bottom and top knot your loom wool together, two at a time.
16. Use sticky tape to tape loose ends to the back of the weaving.
17. To attach your weaving to a stick, thread and loop wool around stick and join it to the weaving.
18. Loop a weaving handle to hang the weaving up. You can add beads and pom poms if you wish.

I love these and they’d make great presents for the kids to give.

Have you ever done weaving with your kids? Please add comment below.

Images sourced: Pinterest