Make a crown of victory! In ancient times, laurel crowns or wreaths were given to people who had achieved something great. Caesar, a famous Roman leader, was given a laurel wreath in celebration of his battle victories while writers and poets such as Ovid wore the laurel wreath in recognition of their work. You don’t need to be a military genius or write incredible poems to get your own achievement wreath! The crowns are made from R24821 Scissor Skills Paper, which encourages children to practice their scissor skills while introducing basic to challenging paper-cutting work.
You’ll need:
• Tape
• Scissors
• Highlighter or large marker
You could celebrate students’ achievements in learning to safely and effectively cut with scissors! In this activity, children will use the R28421 Scissor Skills Paper, which is a great resource for developing scissor-cutting skills. The paper is designed to look like feathers of various types. The edges of some feathers are short or long. Others are smooth and curved or jagged and pointy. The feather sets come in a range of difficulties, from easy to challenging. If your students are just getting introduced to scissor use, let them start with the easiest feathers first. Once they have completely cut out their feathers, they can use them to create their laurel crowns!
You will need to cut out about 4 long feathers and 6 short ones. Tip: Once you have created your first set of laurel crowns, you may experiment with using different types of feathers in varying lengths. Lay the 4 long feathers from tip to tip in a half circle shape. Tape the ends together. These feathers will be the frame for the actual laurel crown. We will be adding more to the crown to make it thicker.
Next, lay out the smaller feathers so you can see where each one will go on top of the longer feathers. Place two small feathers near the ends of the crown shape. Space out the remaining four feathers in between the first two along the length of the crown.
Paste the two smaller feathers at the ends of the laurel crown. Make sure they are slightly staggered away from the ends to add a bit of dimension to the crown.
Paste the next set of feathers right beside the previous feathers. Repeat for the final set in the center of the crown.
Now to give dimension to your crown! You will be curling out the ends of the feathers to add a 3-D effect. Choose one of the feathers at the ends of the crown. Place a highlighter or some other thick marker against the end of the feather. Pinch the paper feather end against the highlighter and then roll the highlighter about halfway down the feather. Hold the paper feather pinched against the highlighter to secure the curl.
Curl some of the feathers inward or outward. Continue on until you have curved all of the small feathers along the crown.
Finally, you will gently curve the crown into a circle shape and secure the ends. To do so, carefully bend the base of the crown in so that the ends meet. Take both of the ends and tape them together.
Congratulations on your achievement! You’ve made a laurel crown! Children can wear the crowns to celebrate a special accomplishment
What do your students look like with their laurel wreaths on? Send us photos of your crafts! Use the contact form to get in touch with us. We’d love to hear from you!
