Paper Plate Football

K, 6 & Up

This is an idea I kind of thought out, and now not only is it a fun "decoration," but I tweaked it and decided it would be a great lacing project, or a great way to help your little boy learn to tie their shoes!

To make this craft you will need:

• 2 paper plates
• brown paint
• scissors
• hole punch
• ribbon, yarn or string (I used brown, but white would work too)
• Old newspaper
  

First let your child paint the BACKS of 2 paper plates (when put together they will look like a 3-D football). Let dry.

I cut my plates in half and then cut an 1.5 inch from one half of the newly cut plate (you will need to do this for the back and front, so cut an inch and half from 2 of your pieces). This will give the plate a more oval shape.

Next tape your half and your 1.5 inch shorter half together, set aside.

Punch holes along the straight edges of your two remaining halves. I put my halves together to be sure that the holes would match, but the paper was too thick and it hurt my hand! So, make holes in one of the halves, line the other plate up and make pencil marks on your un-punched plate, and hole punch it. :) Your holes don't have to be perfect though, it will still work fine, but you do want the same number of holes on each half.

Now, staple the halves to the whole plate you just taped together. Remember that you want it to look like a bowl shape in the middle, and you are going to fill it in.

Cut strips of newspaper (what I did), or be inventive with your filling and fill the inside of your ball until it has a good shape.

Now, lace your holes with ribbon or yarn or whatever you have. You can let your child lace it as a lacing craft, or you can lace the football like you would a shoe (as I did) and let your child practice tying his or her shoes.