Sometimes the simplest things in life can bring great joy. Such is the case with this month's family project—a pinwheel. If you're of a certain generation, you can probably remember walking by racks of the colorful contraptions and begging your parents for one of the simple toys. No batteries, no controller, no electricity—you just held it in your hand and a light breeze set the colors of the pinwheel in motion. When an open car window or wind from Mother Nature wasn't available, a quick run across the yard was enough to set the colorful star spinning.
This simple project takes just a little adult supervision (for cutting and attaching the pinwheel to its stick) but offers a wonderful blank canvas where a creative child can express himself or herself with color and originality.
You will need:
- A piece of medium weight, quality paper (approximately 7" x 7" square)
- Safety scissors
- Pencil
- Ruler
- Various paints, markers, crayons, etc. for decorating the paper
- Wooden dowel rod, approximately 3/4" diameter and 12 inches in length (available at home improvement and craft stores)—you may also use a drinking straw or an unsharpened pencil.
- Hammer
- Picture hook pin, push pin, or fastener
- Small bead
- Glue
Begin by preparing the paper that will be cut and folded to create the pinwheel. The paper can be any medium weight, high-quality paper (white, colored, metallic, etc.) Place the paper on a flat surface. Make sure you are starting with a 7" x 7" square of paper. Simply measure and trim your paper to this size if it isn't already. Next, using the ruler and a pencil, lightly draw a straight line connecting each diagonal corner, the result should be a large "X" dividing the paper into four small equal triangles (See fig. 1) Turn the paper over and do the same to the reverse side.
Now it's time for your child to get creative! Using crayons, paints, markers, etc., decorate each of the triangles created by the pencil marks (See fig. 2-front). To make the pinwheel more interesting decorate each side of the paper differently (See fig. 2-back). Note: after the final folds, the back and front of the paper will both be visible from the front, so you may want to keep that in mind while choosing designs and colors. The paper can also be decorated with glitter or foil using glue—just be sure to use glue sparingly and allow the fully decorated paper to dry thoroughly before continuing the project.
Once the decorating is completed, the paper needs to be cut to form the actual pinwheel "spokes". Using the ruler and a pencil (again, marking lightly so the line doesn't distract from the decoration), redraw the "X" you had originally made on the paper by drawing a straight line connecting diagonal corners of the paper (See fig. 3). Now, using safety scissors and starting at one corner, cut along the pencil line toward the center (where the two diagonal lines cross) stopping roughly 1/2" from the center point (See fig. 4). Follow the same procedure for the remaining three corners.
To form the pinwheel, start with a corner point and gently pull it down toward the center point of the pinwheel creating a tube-like shape, be careful not to crease the paper (See fig. 5). While holding a finger on the center to keep each piece in place, do the same with alternating corners (See fig. 6). Once the alternating four tips have been pulled toward the pinwheel middle, gently push a thumbtack, fastener, or picture hook pin through all four pieces and through the center of the pinwheel, securing the pieces.
At this point, an adult should take over for final assembly of the pinwheel. Carefully lift the assembled pinwheel (be careful to hold the paper tips against the head of the tack or fastener) and push the pointed end into the top side of a dowel rod, pencil eraser, or drinking straw and secure it from behind with a bead and a drop of glue. The fastener should be just slightly loose so the paper pinwheel can spin freely. If using a dowel rod, you may need to use a hammer to drive the fastener into the dowel, once again, capping with a bead and a drop of glue. Allow glue to dry thoroughly.
That's all there is to it! Find a breeze and watch the colors fly as your pinwheel is set in motion!
