Cardboard Disc Braided Bracelet

What you need

• Cardboard box, 1 piece, cut to a circle about saucer size
• Kid scissors, 1 pair
• Crayons or markers, 1 pencil
• Painter's tape, a little, for the easier three-strand version (optional)
• Yarn or embroidery thread, 7 pieces, about 50 cm each

How to do it

Grown-up prep: Cut a saucer-sized cardboard circle if kids are not using scissors on thick cardboard. Gather 7 pieces of yarn or embroidery thread, each about 50 cm (20 in) long.

1. Cut eight evenly spaced slits around the rim of your cardboard circle.
2. Poke a small hole in the very center with a pencil.
3. Tie all seven threads together in one knot at one end.
4. Push the knot down through the center hole.
5. Slip each thread into its own slit, leaving one slit empty.
6. Count three threads from the empty slit, and move that one into the gap.
7. Turn the wheel so the new gap is at the top, and repeat.
8. Keep going until the braid fits around your wrist.
   Ask: Can you see the spiral pattern growing underneath?
9. Lift the threads out of the slits and knot the end.
10. Tie it on a friend's wrist, or braid another in new colors!
    Ask: Which colors will you choose next time?

Play it again

• Two colors: use only two colors and see what pattern appears.
• Long cord: keep braiding until it is long enough for a bag strap or a key ring.
• Friendship pair: make two the same and give one away.