Make a set of tangrams, then use them to make all kinds of shapes, including a cross. The cross is REALLY hard to figure out, even for adults, so be sure to have an extra pattern sheet as a solution to take home with them, in case they forget how to make it!
Give each child a pattern, and material to cut out. See options in the list on the right. Older children can figure out how to make pictures with the shapes. Younger children may need sheets with outlines of shapes that can be made from the tangrams to try to figure out which shapes fit where--by trial and error. Leave out the internal lines on these to make it harder to figure out.
wooden cross puzzle
sheet magnet cross puzzle and flowers
Sunday School or Bible Clubs > Crafts > Crafts for Boys > Tangram and Cross Puzzle Craft
4 Different Ways to make the tangrams
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1.If kids know how to use scissors, they can cut tangrams out of EVA foam, or a sheet magnet. Magnets can be displayed on the refrigerator, and rearranged many times. They can also be arranged on a cookie sheet.
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2. An even easier method is to cut the pieces out of light weight modeling clay such as Model Magic (Karui Kaminendo, sold at 100 yen stores). If the pieces aren’t perfect, don’t worry about it, you can trim them with scissors after they have dried. The pattern does need to be cut out first, so that each piece can be cut around with a table knife.
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3.The tangram pieces could also be cut out of thin cardboard such as cereal boxes. Glue on colored paper to make it more interesting, but glue it on before you cut out the pieces so you only have to cut it out once!
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4.Cut the shapes out of wood if you have wood working tools.
Plastic tangram set
Wooden tangram set that needs 2 cuts to make it able to make a cross. Cut where indicated by the blue lines.
Download 2 patterns for tangram crosses
Download tangram pattern
It is much more difficult to try to figure out how to fill the outline than having all the shapes drawn in for you!
Sunday School or Bible Clubs > Crafts > Crafts for Boys > Tangram and Cross Puzzle Craft