It's Tutorial Tuesday! Recycled wool tanagram magnets

Here's a great project for kids! Kids can make these themselves, or they can be made for kids. Tanagrams are educational & fun! To start you will need some felted wool scraps. You can use all the same color, or use different colors. You will also need some magnets. I used magnets from junk mail.



You'll want to peel as much of the paper labels off as possible, so the magnet is less weighed down, and so the glue will stick better. You don't have to get all of it off... just what you can.



Now you'll need everything in the picture below (tanagram pattern, scissors to cut the magnets & the wool, Elmer's glue, and a Q tip), then you are ready to get started!



Click on the picture below to enlarge the tanagram pattern, and you can print it, or you can go here to find a really large one, if you prefer.



Cut your tanagram pieces out, and use them as patterns to cut out the shapes from your magnets.



Now take your Q tip and thickly spread some Elmer's glue over the entire shape, and press it into the scrap.



You will need to make 2 of the parallelogams, but one of everything else is fine. With wooden tanagram sets, you are able to turn the parallelograms over to use the other side. Since these are magnets, you won't have that option, so you want 2 of them to represent both sides. Did that make sense?



Once the glue is dry, you can cut out your shapes.



Now you can head on over to the fridge or steel baking sheet to play! I made 2 sets, one in different colors, and one with just one color. I prefer the one color, but the choice is yours! Sorry for the terrible pictures, but the lighting in our kitchen is awful.





Here are some tanagram problems, and solutions that you can click on to go to & print. I suggest giving the solutions page to smaller children, and the problems page to older children.



To learn more about tanagrams, why they are so great, to get more patterns, etc, go here!

Not sure if the kiddos will be interested, think you're kiddos will ruin them, or just want to make this super easy? Just cut them out of cardboard instead. If they destroy them, you can always throw them in the recycling & make another set!