To do: Play cat’s cradle with a string of yarn. See one of many variations below.
Time: 15 minutes
Materials: Length of yarn tied in a loop
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Cat’s cradle is a fun yarn game that’s easy to make, transport, and share with friends and family! Give it a try:

You’ll need a length of yarn, anywhere from 48-58 inches. Tie ends together to form a loop.

Next, and this might be easier to do with this helpful tutorial with images, stretch the loop between both hands with the yarn on the outside of your hand. Pretend your showing how long something is, with both hands pointed upwards in front of you.

Next, create a loop around each palm. Help a young child do this by actually taking the yarn from the sides and looping it over their hands.

Demonstrate or guide your child to hook the string running across their left palm with their right middle finger. Pull the right hand back until the yarn is taut. Do the same with the right palm string, hooking with the left middle finger. The loop is much shorter by now!

Now it’s the partner’s turn! You’ll see two X’s formed in the middle of the cradle. The partner can pinch the two X’s, one in each hand, and pull them over the outside strings then down, hooking them under the outside strings and back through the center, taking the entire string creation off of the original partner’s hands and forming a new design, typically called the Soldier’s Bed.

This is just one variation of the Cat’s Cradle string game. In the tutorial linked above, you’ll see that the game keeps going, only finishing when there are no further designs to make.

If you’d like a book to go along with your Cat’s Cradle game, we’d recommend this one that comes with a multicolor string: “Cat’s Cradle Book Kit“

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