Simple Jumping Jellyfish Kite Craft

Minnie loves playing outside on windy days, & the first thing she always heads for is our kite. Nothing beats the initial run around the garden, kite string eagerly held up high in one hand, & more often than not the kite trailing along behind on the ground!

This Jellyfish kite is simple to make & guaranteed to flutter in the breeze!



We used:
Cardboard (from a cereal box)
Remnants of fabric
Ribbon
Elastic thread
Sticky tape & a glue stick
Hole punch

We started by cutting a (rough) semicircle out of card, before Minnie decorated one side by sticking on the scraps of fabric. We trimmed off the excess fabric before adding a couple of foam circles for eyes.


Next we cut eight lengths of ribbon & attached them to the card using sticky tape. I'd anticipated that Minnie would decorate this side in the same way as before, but she wanted to cover the card with one large piece of fabric. She drew around the semicircle, I cut out the fabric, & she glued it onto the card.


We left to dry for an hour or so, & then hole punched the top of the card before adding the elastic thread. We used a length of elastic that was a similar length to Minnie's arm, making the kite easy for her to manipulate. This jellyfish kite has been a great to explore in the wind, even in the slightest breeze the ribbons jellyfish's tentacles swirl around.


And if there's no breeze, the ribbons still produce plenty of movement as they are bounced around on the elastic thread, or twirled around as Minnie runs across the garden.

We've discovered they make great window hangings too, just hang them by an open window & watch them dance around in the breeze. Or hang them from a ceiling or shelf & gently pull them to watch them bounce around.

Jumping jellyfish - great for encouraging physical play, exploring movement, creativity, design, weather, & imaginative play. Oh, & they're frugal to make too with the recycled materials. :-)