Kwanzaa Mkeka Mat Paper Weaving Art Project

Suggested grades: 1-4

Time required: 40 minutes

Materials:

• 11x17 black construction paper (one per student)

• 8.5x11 red, yellow and green construction paper (one per student)

• Scissors

• Ruler

• Pencil

• Glue stick

*NOTE: For younger students, you may wish to pre-cut your colourful strips so that they don’t have to use the ruler and cut them out. If choosing this route, just skip the steps that involve cutting the strips and just focus on the black paper and the weaving steps.

Steps:

• Fold the black paper in half (hamburger style).

• Turn the paper so that the open part is at the top. Use a ruler to draw a line across the top. This will serve as your guide so that you don’t cut all the way through.

• Now draw lines from that guide line to the folded edge. To make it easy, make them ruler width apart.

• Cut along the lines, starting from the folded edge to the guide line. Don’t cut all the way to the open edge!

• Use a ruler to make ruler width strips of the red, yellow and green paper. Cut them apart.

• Open the black page and begin weaving the paper strips. You will alternate colours and which one goes over then under. Glue the edge of the coloured strip on the top and bottom. They should stick out a bit, that’s ok!

• Once you reach the end, ensure you have glued down all your strips. Now cut the excess off.