• Pick from an assortment of lanyard projects.Geschenkt image by Lia Marhold from Fotolia.com
  
  Braiding lanyards is a safe and enjoyable project that enables children to practice manual dexterity and tap into their creativity. Typical projects include bracelets and key chains made with flexible elastic plastic lace, also referred to as "gimp" or "boondoggle." After children practice designing different weaves for bracelets and key chains, encourage them to weave more advanced objects, such as zipper pulls and even holiday decorations.
  
  

Water Bottle Holder

• Go to a craft store and buy 4 feet of boondoggle in one color, 4 feet of boondoggle in a complementary color, a plastic grip ring, a swivel hook and 16 pony beads in any color you desire. The plastic grip ring fits over standard-size water bottle tops and holds the bottle in place. Fold both boondoggle colors in half and attach them to the swivel hook. Weave the basic box stitch to form a 3-inch braid. Add a pony bead and separate the strands so that opposite colors are adjacent to each other to create an interesting visual pattern. Tie simple knots so you get two strands coming off the braid, which will bear the weight of the bottle water. Keep adding pony beads to the knotted strands. When the strands are long enough to accommodate the water bottle, tie the strands to either end of the plastic bottle ring. Slide it over the neck of the water bottle and clip it to your backpack.
  
  

Zipper Pulls

• Weave a rocket-ship shape that you will add to a swivel hook to clip to your sweatshirt's zipper. Before you weave a rocket ship, first learn to weave the square stitch, the brick, the super brick, the wall and the twist. Use six strands of boondoggle: One strand must be 4 feet long, and the other five must be 2 feet long. Begin with the long strand and one of the five shorter ones. Find the centers of both and start a square stitch to form the tip of the rocket. Keep weaving until you have five square stitches and then add another strand. Find the center of the third strand you are adding and insert it between the two original strands. Start a brick stitch. Weave four loose strands and then pull it tight. Weave four more brick stitches, and insert a new strand so you can start weaving the super brick stitch. Pull it tightly. Weave four more super brick stitches. Keep going in this manner until you complete the rocket. Attach it to the swivel hook and clip onto your rocket zipper pull.
  
  

Holiday Decorations

• Get 3 feet of red boondoggle and 3 feet of white boondoggle and a swivel hook. Start by braiding the 4-end spiral braid. Rather than flipping the ends straight over as you weave the 4-end straight braid, flip them over the opposite side so the right goes over the left, and the left goes over the right. Keep weaving the boondoggle and pull tight until you are finished. You should have a candy cane shape that you can hang from a tree or wreath. To make the candy cane hold its shape, insert a thin piece of bendable wire, such as a small paper clip, when you make the first stitch, but before you pull it tight. Keep the wire centered.