Making light weight jewelry has become one of my 3 years old’s favorite activities lately. We have made countless necklaces and bracelets as of late. Today I’ll be sharing one of our favorite necklaces to make- a kids beaded necklace with paper straw beads. You will only need a few supplies and this is actually a great activity to work on fine motor skills. Stringing and even counting are part of this necklace making activity so if you want to add a little education into the fun, you can! You child will enjoy making these paper straw crafts for themselves and even as gifts. Here’s how to make a beaded necklace for kids.
Paper Straw Beads Necklace Craft Tutorial
A few safety warnings about jewelry and kids:
Young children should not be left unsupervised to play with jewelry. Make sure your children do not place jewelry or supplies such as beads into their mouths as these could present a chocking hazard. For necklaces, consider cords that are stretchy and come with breakaway features to prevent strangulation hazard.
Paper Straw Jewelry Craft Supplies Needed:
- Decorative Paper Straws
- Twine or for younger children I suggest safety necklace string like this one available through my Amazon affiliate link-> Stretch Magic Silkies
- Craft Beads
- Scissors
You just need a few craft supplies for this cute craft! Plastic straws can be used for this simple craft but they will not be as eco-friendly. Plastic drinking straws will likely not come in such fun designs as paper straws do. You can remedy this by decorating with washi tape.
Instructions For Paper Straw Crafts
Start by gathering your supplies and grab a seat at your table. We like to work on the floor so that’s just fine too! We make the paper beads out of paper straws for this kids craft. The straw pieces will be become beads on their straw necklace.
You may need to help your child with this first part depending on their age … cut the colorful straws into 1-2″ pieces to make your paper beads. Always use safety tips for crafting and make sure sharp scissors are out of reach of small children.
How To Make A Beaded Necklace
Once you have cut your paper straws, cut a piece of your twine. It can be short or long! Whatever your child prefers. We like to make our necklaces a little longer so that my daughter can just slip them over her head instead of having to untie and tie the twine each time. Or if you are using the Stretch Magic Silkies I suggested above, they will already come a certain length with safety clasps already in place.
Now, you are ready to start stringing your straw paper beads and beads. We alternated one piece of straw with 2 beads but any pattern that you and your child want to do is perfectly fine! Talking to your child about creating simple patterns is a great learning experience for them.
Kids may want to lay out the design and plan the pattern before they string. This helps visualize the final look before stringing beads. This way they can experiment with different bead combinations for texture and color balance. It may be fun to combine glass, wood, plastic, paper, or metal beads for a varied texture.
Once you have the length you would like covered, tie the ends together or close the clasp. Now, you have a paper beads necklace!
Benefits Of Jewelry Making With Kids
Making beaded necklaces offers a variety of benefits for kids, helping them develop important skills while being creative and having fun. Here’s how this activity can positively impact children:
1. Fine Motor Skill Development:
- Stringing beads requires precise hand-eye coordination and finger dexterity, strengthening fine motor skills.
- Holding small beads, threading them onto a string, and manipulating tools like pliers or scissors helps with the pincer grasp (important for writing and drawing).
2. Hand-Eye Coordination:
- Kids learn to focus on aligning the bead with the string and successfully threading it, which enhances hand-eye coordination and visual-motor integration.
3. Creativity and Imagination:
- Designing their own necklace allows kids to explore colors, shapes, and patterns, fostering creativity and personal expression.
- They can imagine unique combinations and invent new styles, giving them a sense of artistic freedom.
4. Patience and Concentration:
- Beading requires focus and attention to detail, helping children practice patience as they carefully string each bead.
- Completing a necklace from start to finish encourages them to persevere through a task and boosts their attention span.
5. Math and Pattern Recognition:
- By creating patterns with beads, children learn to recognize and create sequences, an essential math skill.
- Counting beads and calculating the necklace’s length introduces basic math concepts, such as counting, sequencing, and symmetry.
In addition, the tactile experience of handling different beads (wooden, plastic, glass) and strings provides sensory stimulation.Children become familiar with a variety of textures, weights, and shapes, which enhances their sensory awareness.
Conclusion
Since paper straws and beads come in so many colors, there are lots of different combinations that you can make! This would be a perfect playdate activity to do with a group of kids or even a birthday party! They can also make matching paper straw bracelets. Younger kids are sure to have lots of fun picking out all kinds of colors for their paper straw jewelry.
Completing a project, such as a beaded necklace, gives kids a sense of accomplishment and boosts their self-acceptance. Wearing or gifting their handmade creation allows them to feel proud and confident in their abilities. Has your child ever made his/her own jewelry? This would be a great craft activity for the first time jewelry maker. Give this activity a try soon and share a picture of your kids bead necklace on social media @familyfocusblog!
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