Hello everyone! My name is Missy and I’m an artist and blogger for PBS KIDS Utah. When I was in elementary school, my friends and I would make these fun little fortune tellers and play with them at recess. We liked to believe they could tell us our future. Today I will teach you how to make one. Check out the video below to see how to make your own paper fortune teller!
Supplies:
- White copy/printer paper
- Markers (red, blue, green, yellow and black)
- Scissors
Instructions:
- Hold your paper vertically on the table. Fold the top right corner down to the left so the top edge of the paper meets equally with the left side of the paper. This creates a big triangle with some excess at the bottom.
- Use your scissors to cut off that excess paper at the bottom and recycle it.
- Unfold your paper. Fold the opposite corners to meet each other and upfold again. You should now have a square paper with a folded X in the middle.
- Turn your paper diagonally (like a diamond) and fold each corner up to meet in the center. This will create a smaller square.
- Flip the whole thing over and again, fold all the corners in to meet in the middle. This creates an even smaller square.
- Fold the whole thing in half to make it easier to bend. Unfold and fold it in half the other way.
- Lay your fortune teller flat on the table with the 4 squares side up.
- Take your markers and color each square a different color: red, blue, green and yellow.
- Now flip the fortune teller over to the 8 triangles side and number the triangles 1–8. Be sure to mix it up and don’t go in order.
- Now open up each triangle flap and write an answer to a yes or no question. You can write: yes, no, maybe, probably, ask again later, nope, yep, definitely, etc.
- Now flip it over to the 4 squares/colors side and stick 2 fingers from each hand in the spaces under the colors. Work the fortune teller out and in, back and forth.
Playing with the Fortune Teller:
- Hold the fortune teller in your two hands and have someone ask a yes or no question.
- Tell the asker to choose a color. Spell out that color name as you move your fingers out and in, back and forth, one move per letter.
- Now tell the asker to choose a number. Count up to that number as you move your fingers out and in, back and forth, one move per number.
- Finally, tell the asker to choose one more number. Open the flap that corresponds to that number. This is the answer to their yes or no question.
Wrap-up:
These fortune tellers are fun to make. And they are also fun to play with! Have a great time telling the fortunes of your family and friends. Be creative and have fun!
