Chinese dragons are beautiful, a little scary and huge.
Children love mythical creatures, especially dragons because they are powerful, a little scary and are said to be huge. These crafts are especially fun for kids because they are bigger than the typical classroom craft. Many of these can be done in groups because of the size, which includes learning team skills.
Accordian Paper Dragon
Use bright colors for the best effect.
Use large poster board for this project. With one poster board, draw out the shape of a dragon head. Have the children draw in the dragon face and decorate with crayons, markers and glitter. With the other poster board, accordian fold it so that it looks like a big rectangular Chinese fan. Fold another poster board in the same way. Decorate these pieces with glue and glitter. Allow to dry. Attach each piece, including the head, with gold or silver pieces of pipe cleaner. You may need to attach two or three between each piece depending on size and sturdiness. You can punch holes and tie the pipe cleaner accordingly. With at least three people holding it, your dragon is ready to go.
Paper Streamer Dragon
Crepe streamers are great for parties but even better for crafts.
With a piece of poster board, draw and cut out a dragon face. Decorate the face with other pieces of cut-out paper, paint, markers and glitter. Attach a wooden dowel to the back of it so a person can hold it. Glue or tape many long strips of different colored crepe streamers to the back of the head. When taken for a walk, the streamers can flap in the wind, giving the effect of a flying dragon.
Shoe Box and Dowel Dragon
Create a large dragon with shoe boxes.
Collect at least four shoe boxes for this project. Take the tops off the boxes. Paint them all the same color. Connect them by punching a hole in each end and attaching them with gold or silver pipe cleaners. Decorate the front box with googly eyes, paint, markers and glitter to create a dragon face. Decorate the rest of the boxes to make it look like a body. Attach wooden dowels to the underside of the inside of the boxes with duct tape. Each person holds a dowel and can walk together to make the dragon "fly."
Fabric Dragon
Bold red fabric is a perfect color choice for this project.
A long piece of fabric will be needed for this project. Create the dragon head shape by using pillow stuffing at the front end of the fabric. Secure it by tying the fabric around the stuffing with ribbon or yarn. Allow some fabric between the head and the next spot to tie a ribbon around. Continue draping fabric and tying it with ribbon until you have a long trail of the fabric dragon body. Decorate the head with fabric glue, googly eyes, bells, feathers, fabric glitter, fabric paint, and anything else you'd like to use. Attach extra long ribbons or extra strips of fabric -- they can be a contrasting color -- to each tie along the body and especially the last one to create a tail effect.
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