Beaded Pipe Cleaner Snowflakes

Let me give it to you straight- sometimes we all need an activity that is quick to set up and will keep the kids occupied for more than 3 minutes. I sometimes need an activity that doesn’t require me to refill anything or hover. If you also are a human and need a break, this activity will be a winner for you! My preschooler and kindergarten kid both loved making these snowflakes!

This is a great winter craft with minimal set up. Great for fine motor skills, planning, and patterns as your child gets older, these snowflakes can be a fun decoration or just a way to occupy an afternoon.

Here’s What You Need

• Pony beads

• Pipe cleaners

• Bowls to allow for sorting and separating the beads (and avoid the beads rolling all over the floor)- optional, but highly recommended

Set up

1-2 minutes

1. Make the snowflake shape. My 3 year old needed help with this, but my 5 year old could manage on her own after I showed her how. First make an X shape with 2 of the pipe cleaners. I wrapped the purple one completely around the yellow one in the above photo. Then add a third one across the X shape and wrap that around the intersection.

2. Pour the beads and let the kids plan and decorate however they wish! Don’t forget to fold over the ends of the pipe cleaners after all the beads are on if you want to save the snowflakes.

Clean Up

1-2 minutes

1. Use the snowflakes as decorations or you can take the beads off and store them in a bag/container or future use.

2. Discard the pipe cleaners.

Repetitive activities can be very calming for our brains, and this was a great way to give some creative control and decision making to the kids. They got a lot of fine motor practice and I got to step away and finish my chores and actually enjoy a moment of quiet in my house! While it fills my heart to have all of the kids home, I also need a few moments of not being urgently needed so I can reset and catch my breath.

While I originally intended for us to use “winter colors” for this activity, the kids had their minds made up with their own plans. Brinley was diligently counting out her beads to make a precise pattern while Vaila had a more eclectic design approach. Is that birth order or personality? Only time will tell, but it has been fascinating to observe and really appreciate how different each person in our family is.

There are so many people on our planet, yet each person is unique and amazing! Pretty wild if I think about it too long. I believe our children deserve to be celebrated and delighted in. One of my goals for parenting this year is to show my children how happy I am that they are uniquely themselves. I aim for at least one phrase or compliment to each child every day and it has been good for my mindset to reflect on how funny/brave/kind/determined/detail oriented/fill in the blank each of them is, especially on days that seem harder than others. These days of littleness are fleeting, and I want to be intentional in shaping their self-talk if I can influence it in any way.

Note, these beads are choking hazards. Please use your best judgement if you have little ones around. I usually save these types of activities for when Ellette is sleeping. She is quick and loves to put things in her mouth. I know a bead or two will end up on the floor inadvertently, so I don’t even like to take a chance of having her around. You can put a towel down to help catch the beads so they don’t roll away if you are worried about a whole bowl full of beads getting dumped out!

I sincerely hope your kids like this activity as much as mine did. Comment below how long your kids stayed occupied with this one. I bet it will be enough time for you to actually sit down!

Looking for other fine motor activities? Check these out:

• Painted Egg Carton Bead Sorting

• Egg Carton Rubber Band Stretch

• Colorful Fizzy Bin

• Cereal Threading with Pipe Cleaners

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