DLTK's Crafts for Kids
Origami Mini Star

These cute little nickel sized stars are great projects for a number of themes -- Japan, Christmas, Fourth of July, geometry (pentagon), etc.  They are quite easy (for origami) but I don't think I'd try them with children under age 10 (unless they have experience with origami).
 

Materials:

• Strip of paper 1/2 inch by 11 inches
  • plain white paper or construction paper work
  • this is a good chance to practice recycling by using junk mailings -- they have nice colors that make nifty stars when they're all done.  Just don't use too thick of a paper
     

TERMINOLOGY -- MOUNTAIN FOLD: 

fold the paper under -- see how it looks like a mountain?

 

TERMINOLOGY -- VALLEY FOLD:

fold the paper to the front

 

Instructions:

• Make a "ribbon" from the strip of paper, with one end as short as possible and the other long.  The short end should be overtop of the long end

 

• finish tying a "knot" by slipping the long end through the loop of the "ribbon" but don't scrunch it.  Pull the "knot" as tight as you can without scrunching the paper

 

• flatten the edges of the knot to make a pentagon shape that has one short end sticking out and one long end.

 

• valley fold the short end and tuck it into the "pentagon" so it doesn't show anymore.  You should be able to do this without scissors, but if you left your short end a bit too long, you can snip it shorter (start over if you have to snip off more than 1/2 an inch)

 

• turn over the project
   
• valley fold the long end along the pentagon (see the red line in the image)

 

• turn over the project
   
• valley fold the long end along the pentagon (see the red line in the image)

 

• continue folding, making the pentagon fatter, until you have an end that's too short to fold anymore.  Tuck this short end in just like you did with the first short end.

 

• now you have a perfect little paper pentagon.  Hold it lightly along two edges and then push in one of the edges (red arrow) with the tip of your thumbnail.

 

• repeat with the remaining sides

 

• and you end up with a puffy little 3D star (it's about the size of a nickel when you're done)

 

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