Cootie-Catcher Folding Instructions
This
page will show you how to fold your cootie-catcher. Make sure you
ask permission from your Mom or Dad before you get started.
1. If you haven't already, download and print the cootie-catcher. I have two version of the cootie-catcher file available for download. Which one you use will depend on what your browser uses to open and read the file. Click here for the smaller format version. Before you print it, do a page preview. The cootie catcher should fit onto one page and be approximately 8 inches by 8 inches. If it looks about right, you're all set. Go ahead and print (ideally in color, but black and white will do). But if the link took you to a cootie catcher that looks tiny (about an inch-and-a-half square), click here for a much larger version. (Caution: The larger file is 1.62 MB, which may take 15 minutes or more on dial-up.)
2. Ask an adult to help you trim the printout. You or the adult who is helping you should trim away the plain white paper. You'll end up with a colorful square. Like this:
3. Turn the colored side down and the white side up. Fold the paper in half so you have a triangle. Then unfold it and refold it the other way. Like this:
4. Next, ask a grown-up to cut the small dotted lines between the white fortune triangles, the ones that go halfway to the center. Do not cut all the way to the center! If you're not sure what to cut, you may skip this step. If you do cut, it will look like this:
5. Now, take your unfolded cootie-catcher and place it colored side down and white side up again. Fold the corners to the center, one by one. Like this:
6. Flip the square over, so that you see the fortune side:
Then fold each tip into the center. If you made the cut in step 4, you'll fold a total of eight tips into the center. If you didn't make any cuts, you'll fold four tips into the center. Along the way, it'll look like this:
When you're done with this step, it will look like this:
6. Now fold your square in half into two rectangles. Then unfold it and fold it in half into two rectangles the other way. (This folding makes it a little easier to do the last step.) Like this:
7. This last part is the tricky part. With the numbered side up, put one of your hands into the underside while pushing up a little. You may need to use the other hand to keep the numbered tips in while you push. Once you get one hand into two of the slots of the underside, place your other hand in the other two slots and push up again. Ask a grown-up for help with this step if it's not working.
When you're all done, your cootie-catcher should look like this!
Remember, the cootie-catcher is just for fun, and it doesn't really tell fortunes or predict the future. But I hope you enjoy it!
Click here to go back to the top of this page, here to go back to the main Kids page, here to go to the Pout-Pout page, and here to go to my main page.
1. If you haven't already, download and print the cootie-catcher. I have two version of the cootie-catcher file available for download. Which one you use will depend on what your browser uses to open and read the file. Click here for the smaller format version. Before you print it, do a page preview. The cootie catcher should fit onto one page and be approximately 8 inches by 8 inches. If it looks about right, you're all set. Go ahead and print (ideally in color, but black and white will do). But if the link took you to a cootie catcher that looks tiny (about an inch-and-a-half square), click here for a much larger version. (Caution: The larger file is 1.62 MB, which may take 15 minutes or more on dial-up.)
2. Ask an adult to help you trim the printout. You or the adult who is helping you should trim away the plain white paper. You'll end up with a colorful square. Like this:
3. Turn the colored side down and the white side up. Fold the paper in half so you have a triangle. Then unfold it and refold it the other way. Like this:
4. Next, ask a grown-up to cut the small dotted lines between the white fortune triangles, the ones that go halfway to the center. Do not cut all the way to the center! If you're not sure what to cut, you may skip this step. If you do cut, it will look like this:
5. Now, take your unfolded cootie-catcher and place it colored side down and white side up again. Fold the corners to the center, one by one. Like this:
6. Flip the square over, so that you see the fortune side:
Then fold each tip into the center. If you made the cut in step 4, you'll fold a total of eight tips into the center. If you didn't make any cuts, you'll fold four tips into the center. Along the way, it'll look like this:
When you're done with this step, it will look like this:
6. Now fold your square in half into two rectangles. Then unfold it and fold it in half into two rectangles the other way. (This folding makes it a little easier to do the last step.) Like this:
7. This last part is the tricky part. With the numbered side up, put one of your hands into the underside while pushing up a little. You may need to use the other hand to keep the numbered tips in while you push. Once you get one hand into two of the slots of the underside, place your other hand in the other two slots and push up again. Ask a grown-up for help with this step if it's not working.
When you're all done, your cootie-catcher should look like this!
Remember, the cootie-catcher is just for fun, and it doesn't really tell fortunes or predict the future. But I hope you enjoy it!
Click here to go back to the top of this page, here to go back to the main Kids page, here to go to the Pout-Pout page, and here to go to my main page.