Let your child do as much of this as he or she is capable of doing.
1. Cut strips from the colored paper about 2/3" wide by 5 1/2" long. You
need as many strips of paper as there are nights until Christmas.
2. Color the picture, if needed.
3 Turn the picture over and put a strip of tape about 1 1/2" long at the
center of the bottom edge.
4. Cut a 1" slit parallel to the bottom edge of the picture , and about
1/2" from it. The slit should go through the tape, which will help
keep the picture from tearing.
5. Take one strip of colored paper, put it through the slit in the
picture, make a loop & glue the ends together.
6. Make a paper chain on the loop. The chain should have as many links as
there are nights until Christmas.
Hang the picture on the wall. Every night before bed, have your child tear off the bottom link. As the chain gets shorter, your child can see that Christmas is getting nearer. Count the links together. When the last link is gone, the next day is Christmas!
You could reuse the same picture next year, just start a new chain through the slit. This could be fun, too, if you use an old birthday card picture, or a picture of a birthday cake, to count down days 'til a child's birthday.
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