I was recently inspired by @mathinyourfeet‘s post: https://twitter.com/mathinyourfeet/status/479332580227964928 Hoping that this was a project that could be adapted for 3-5 year olds, I inquired about the details.  Malke Rosenfeld was one step ahead of me with a blog post.  Some background on my craftiness:  My mom is the crafty one.  Growing up, I’m sure she was frustrated that I never took to sewing or quilting, but her gift in that area is unmatched.  (Luckily, my brother ended up being the artsy one.)  It’s hard to believe I became a math teacher, but I don’t excel in the realms of ‘measuring’ and ‘cutting.’ I knew the 3.5-year-old focus on this was going to be short (9 minutes to be exact), I wanted to maximize our mathematical conversation.  First, she decided that she would be pink and I would be yellow (our respective favorite colors).  She also decided that the strips should be weaved in a pattern of pink/yellow/pink/yellow.

Next, she noticed that the papers were making small squares.  Because of the pink/yellow pattern, she pointed out a face with eyes and a nose.  🙂

After about 3 pink strips, she groaned, “mommy, I’m getting really tired.  Can you finish it for me?”  Of course I wasn’t going to allow this craft to remain undone, but I think she appreciate the outcome.

Luckily, the extra strips of paper didn’t go to waste.  They ended up as a wall decoration as well.