Early childhood education teachers are always looking for new and fun crafts to bring into their classroom. This Pipe Cleaner Christmas tree is a great way to allow the children to create their own piece of art that they can keep forever. It is also a great craft to give to parents as a gift, as well as inexpensive to put together. This craft can be used with children aged 2 and older, however more help will be necessary for the younger children. You will need the following supplies for each child participating.
Pair of Scissors
Glue Stick
Brown paint or marker
6 Green Pipe Cleaners
1 Disposable chopsticks or wood skewer
Small Pom Poms
Small piece of playdoh or molding clay
Before the craft starts the teacher should cut the pipe cleaners in half on a diagonal allowing some pieces to be longer than others. The shorter pieces will be used at the top of the tree and the longer ones towards the bottom. When working with older children one can allow them to do the cutting after explaining how to do it. The next step is to paint or color the chopstick brown to mimic a tree stump. Once both of these tasks are completed it is time to start creating the Christmas tree.
Arrange the pipe cleaners from smaller to bigger and begin at the top. It is a good idea to place a good amount of glue stick around the top of the chopstick to ensure the pipe cleaners move as little as possible. Next one needs to wrap the pipe cleaner around the chopstick. This can be done easily by placing the glued chopstick on top of the pipe cleaners and folding the pipe cleaners over and then twisting. Continue this with all of the pipe cleaners until there is only 2 inches left on the chopstick.
Once all of the pipe cleaners are wrapped around the “trunk” go ahead and rotate every other pipe cleaner to make the tree appear round and full. Create a holder for the Christmas tree with the clay or playdoh and place the bottom in the clay until it is stable. Next it is time to decorate, we used pom poms but get creative and allow the children to decorate it as they see fit!
To make it a little easier and quicker, cut the chopstick in half. This will produce a tree that is about 5 inches tall after being placed in the clay.