A few weeks ago I joined a group of bloggers to share our math art projects. I shared a geoboard my boys and I made using natural wood, and it gave me an idea! Every Christmas, my husband and I give each of our boys an ornament that reminds of the year past. My middle son really took to the geoboard we had made, so I decided we would make a geoboard ornament together this year for his special ornament!
Geoboard Christmas Ornament
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Supplies:
- natural wood round ornament
- pencil
- ruler
- packet of upholstery tacks
- hammer
- yarn
STEP 1: Make a 1/2 inch grid on the face of the natural wood ornament.
- Draw a horizontal line on the face of the tree cookie.
- Starting at the left end, dot the line every 1/2 inch.
- At the first dot, draw a line perpendicular to the first line, all the way down the ornament.
- Draw another horizontal line 1/2 inch below the previous line, making sure it is parallel to the line above it.
- Draw a dot where the perpendicular and second horizontal line intersect, and every half inch down the horizontal line from there.
- Continue to draw and dot lines 1/2 inch apart, all the way down the ornament.
STEP 2: Add nails. Hammer a nail into the tree cookie at each dot from STEP 1. I would start the nail for my son, then he would finish hammering it into the wood, leaving about 1/4 inch of the nail sticking out of the wood.
STEP 3: With all the nails in, our natural wood geoboard ornament was complete!
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STEP 4: Add a design to the geoboard ornament. I pulled the yarn, and asked my son to cut it. I tied a knot to one of the nails, then asked my son to create a design around the nails.
STEP 5: When my son was done with his design, I tied the yarn to one of the nails, then trimmed and tucked the yarn into the design.
With my son’s ornament finished, I wrote his name and the year on the back, then he hung it on our Christmas tree.
We had so much fun making his ornament together. But I think my favorite part is watching my 5 year old smile every time he passes by the Christmas tree. He is so proud of himself. And so am I.
Looking for other great Christmas STEM ideas? Check out some of these posts!
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