Activity 7

Braiding

Some things to talk about while you are braiding:

  • To make a good braid, you have to divide the hair into 3 even parts. Each part is one-third of the hair.

  • If the 3 parts are not equal, then you don’t have thirds.

  • The better you are at dividing the hair into thirds, the more even the braid will be.

  • If you are doing French braids, you have to add the same amount of hair to the braid each time. If you don’t add equal amounts, the braid will not be even.

  • As you move each strand into the middle, the pattern is “from the left, from the right, from the left, from the right,” and so on. If you break the pattern, you will get a hole in your braid.

Teach kids to braid a doll’s hair, or let them braid your hair.

 

There are many more complicated braids—ask someone to teach you, or ask for a book at the library.

 

Ask an elder to talk about traditional uses of braiding.

 

drawing of a woman brains daughters hair