Snowflakes

It's that time of year again: snow season! And in honor of the foot of snow that we've had in the last few days (which, alas, will be gone in the next couple with wind and warming temperatures), I give you photos of some snowflakes I made last year.

There are two basic ways I fold my paper, both of which start with folding whatever sheet you are using down into quarters (two half folds). After that you can fold the folded edges together once to make a triangle (which will give you the four-pointed flake shown; if you want an eight-pointed flake, fold in half again, but because of the bulk the paper can be very difficult to cut, especially for children). Or you can fold it into thirds by bringing the top folded edge to the middle and the lower folded edge up to new top edge (which will give you the six-pointed flakes shown). From there just make sure you do not completely cut through either folded edge (meaning take out nips and such, but make sure at least some part of the folded edge remains or you will end up with pieces!).

Last year I taught third grade art, which at our school means Greek and Roman history. We used a sheet of motifs from this time period as a reference source for many of our art projects, including our snowflakes. Mine were made as samples, using those Greek motifs.