Materials
Pieces of cardboard
scissors
pictures of cities and city skylines
9" x 12" construction paper
glue
markers, paint, or crayons
aluminum foil
Instructions
1. Ahead of time, cut cardboard into building shapes, about 4 1/2 " x 12". Cut a
variety of roof designs such as gabled, flat, and so on. Vary the heights of the
cardboard buildings by cutting 1/2 ", 1", or 1 1/2 " from the base of the building.
2. Show the children pictures of cities and city skylines.
3. Ask each child to choose three buildings from the cardboard cutouts. Show
them how to line up the buildings and glue a 9" x 3" strip of paper to hinge
two buildings together, leaving a 1/4 " space to move the buildings back and
forth. Glue another paper hinge on the back and repeat with the last building
so that all three are joined.
4. To decorate the buildings, ask the children to trace each building separately
on a piece of construction paper, cut it out, and glue the paper on the
cardboard cutout (covering the hinges). Weight the buildings with heavy
books as they dry to prevent wrinkling.
5. Invite the children to add doors, windows, shingles, and other architectural
features. Glue on aluminum foil windows, if desired.
6. Stand the building threesomes together on a large flat surface for a big-city
look.
