Chinese Paper Lantern Craft {for Chinese New Year}

One of our crafts for Chinese New Year (and our Kindergarten thematic unit on China) was to make this cute paper lantern craft.  I thought the kids would enjoy this activity because they love arts and crafts, but I had no idea how much they would get into it.  The girls kept asking to make more and more lanterns and now our house is completely covered in them!  It was a great way for the twins to practice following directions and to use their scissor skills.  Here's how you make them..

First each girl cut off a strip from the short side of the construction paper and set it aside for the handle.  Then she folded the paper in half lengthwise and used a ruler and pencil to mark lines that went from the folded edge to about an inch from the end.  I was surprised at how well both of the girls were able to handle the ruler to make straight lines.

Each girl then cut along the lines that she made, making sure to stop before getting to the other side.  They were really precise in this step, as well.  Then I helped them tape their lanterns together and attach the handles.

The girls decorated the first batch of paper lanterns with shiny star stickers.  When they asked to make more lanterns they wanted to draw patterns on the paper instead, and later we made some lanterns using paper that already had bright patterns on it.

We ended up with enough paper lanterns to string up all over the house for Chinese New Year.  I don't know exactly what about this craft made the kids adore it so much, but it was definitely a big hit around here!