Cootie catcher, fortune teller...no matter what you called them as a kid, they were a lot of fun. Kids today still make them and play with them, so I thought, why not incorporate a little family history into it?
First, you have to make one. There are many resources online that show you how to do it, so I will simply post a video of one of the better demonstrations I have found. There are no verbal instructions in this video, but just make sure you start with a completely square sheet of paper before you begin. I used a 12"x12" sheet of scrapbooking cardstock, which makes the cootie catcher nice and big and is more sturdy than just using ordinary paper. If you would prefer written instructions with still photos, click on this link for a good tutorial.
First, you have to make one. There are many resources online that show you how to do it, so I will simply post a video of one of the better demonstrations I have found. There are no verbal instructions in this video, but just make sure you start with a completely square sheet of paper before you begin. I used a 12"x12" sheet of scrapbooking cardstock, which makes the cootie catcher nice and big and is more sturdy than just using ordinary paper. If you would prefer written instructions with still photos, click on this link for a good tutorial.
Once the cootie catcher is made, you should have four separate "flaps" when you look into the center of it. On each of these flaps, I glued a photo and the name of a grandparent. Then, underneath each of those flaps, I glued the photos and names of that grandparent's mom and dad (the child's great-grandparents). Here is a video of the cootie catcher in action, so you can see how the great-grandparents are placed beneath their child's flap.
This activity is just another easy, hands-on way to get kids to recognize photos and names of their relatives. You also could do this with cousins, siblings, or even make several for different branches of the family tree. These would be fun to make at a family reunion, and they are very open-ended, so you could make up trivia or storytelling games with them or, for older kids, even put different trivia facts on the flaps next to each photo. Lots of possibilities, so be creative with it!
©2016 Emily Kowalski Schroeder
©2016 Emily Kowalski Schroeder
