This is one Christmas craft activity that both my youngest children enjoyed - which is saying something. The Girl has always loved crafting and making whereas Boykin has never been quite as keen. I think he enjoyed this activity because there was no sticky glue involved and minimal cutting 😊

Not only is this fun to make, there's actually lots of learning going on during the process. We explored design, colour and pattern. It was a good opportunity to develop fine motor skills and strengthen fine motor muscles - both important for helping with writing.
I took the opportunity to introduce and revise maths language in our conversation as we worked together - length, shorter, longer, sphere, circumference, perpendicular, right-angle, symmetry, centimetres/inches.
They were also working on their maths skills in a real-life situation - estimating how many pins they needed, estimating the length of the ribbon to use, counting pins, measuring lengths of ribbon using a ruler, working out how many lengths they could cut from a metre/spool of ribbon, dividing pins/ribbon length so that everyone had enough, making repeating patterns and exploring symmetry 😊

I love this kind of learning - it's relaxed, playful and feels part of ordinary, everyday Christmas life.

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You will need:
polystyrene ball 
satin ribbon in different colours
sewing pins with coloured heads

Organic version:
Choose your colours.

Cut ribbon to desired length - you might want to try wrapping it around your bauble first.
Stick a pin through one end of the ribbon into the polystyrene ball.
Wrap the ribbon round the ball tightly, holding the end firmly in place.
Stick a pin through this end of the ribbon into the polystyrene ball.
At this stage it may be helpful to add more pins along the length of the ribbon to hold it in place.
Keep wrapping lengths of ribbon around the bauble until it is covered.
Use as many pins as necessary to hold the ribbons in place.
Fold a piece of ribbon into a loop and pin this to the ball.
Use the loop to hang your bauble on your tree.

Rotational symmetry version:

Choose your colours.

Measure your ribbon so that it loops around the circumference of the sphere, overlapping slightly at the top.
Wrap the ribbon round the ball tightly, holding the ends firmly in place.
Stick a pin through both ends of the ribbon into the polystyrene ball. This will be the top of the bauble.
Stick further pin through the ribbon into the sphere so that there are pins at the four quarters.
Using the same colour ribbon, wrap a second length around the circumference of the ball so that it crosses the first at right-angles.
Remove the pins where they cross and re-pin to secure both ribbons.
Choose a second colour and add ribbons to the sphere so that they all cross at the top and bottom of the bauble to create a stripey effect.

Consider rotational symmetry as you add the ribbons.
To help keep the ribbons in place, measure a length of ribbon round the circumference that runs perpendicular to the other ribbons. Attach with pins at regular intervals to secure the ribbons and to add to the pattern. You may to remove some of the original pins and re-pin them.
Fold a piece of ribbon or string into a loop and pin this to the top of the ball.
Use the loop to hang your bauble on your tree.

Happy Exploring!

Visit my Pinterest boards for more ideas for Christmas crafts and Christmas themed learning. Pop to my shop to find my Christmas themed resource packs:
Picture Book Explorers ~ The Mousehole Cat 
Let's Explore Christmas in Europe Linked Lapbook