🧶 K–1 Weaving Sculpture

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Scared of yarn? I don’t blame you. Teaching weaving to littles with yarn can feel like climbing a mountain in flip-flops—frustrating for everyone and rarely turns out like you hoped. So instead, we ditched the yarn and went with paper weaving… and then turned it into a sculpture!

I figured out a simple way to create a nice, sturdy warp using just a few paper strips, stapled to cardstock to give it a solid base. (Their paint pretty much covered it all up after) Then we worked one-on-one or in small groups, showing students how to go “under-over, under-over”—just a few wefts per piece so it never got overwhelming.

Once they finished weaving, we bent and shaped the papers into standing forms and turned them into 3D sculptures. The kids were obsessed with how cool they looked, especially when they got to paint them any way they wanted—stripes, dots, crazy color combos, you name it.

Why It Works: This is a great intro to weaving without the stress of yarn tangles. It teaches pattern, direction, spatial awareness, and gives a little engineering challenge too with the 3D part. It also checks the box for fine motor skills and gives students plenty of choice and creative freedom in decorating.

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