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How to Make an Indian Tepee for Kids to Play In

Children love to have miniature houses and structures that mimic adult-sized buildings where they can pretend and role-play. Design an Indian tepee for your child that can be transported indoors or outdoors as well as stored efficiently. You can also add a faux fire pit along with beds typically found in Indian tepees. Use the tepee as a learning tool for introducing your child about Native American cultures. Provide him with dress-up clothes so he can pretend to be a member of a Native American tribe.

Things You'll Need

Queen size flat bed sheet, solid color
Permanent markers or fabric paint
4-foot-wide circular carpet or rug
6 6-foot-long sticks, approximately 1-inch wide
Ball twine or thin rope
10 safety pins
1-inch-wide ribbon, assorted primary colors
Scissors

Instructions

- 1
  Wash and dry a queen size flat bed sheet that is in a solid color, such as white or tan, to mimic buffalo hide. Spread the sheet over a flat work surface. Use permanent markers or fabric paints to decorate one side of the sheet with patterns, such as geometric shapes, stick people or animal silhouettes.
- 2
  Lay a 4-foot-wide circular carpet or rug on the ground or floor where you are going to erect the tepee.
- 3
  Arrange three 6-foot-long sticks that are each approximately 1 inch wide side-by-side in a flat pile with the ends even with one another. Measure 6 inches from one end of the pile. Weave a 36-inch piece of twine, or thin rope, tightly through and around each of the sticks seven times at the 6-inch mark; you are weaving the twine in an extended figure-8 design. Tie off the twine around itself in a tight knot; leave the excess twine uncut.
- 4
  Lift the three attached poles. Place them in a tripod over the center of the circular rug. Stretch the legs out so they are each resting equally apart on the perimeter of the rug.
- 5
  Lean three additional 6-foot-long sticks vertically in between the sticks of the tripod. Place these sticks equally apart so the other ends extend out to the perimeter of the rug to form a circular base. Wrap the remaining twine around the entire bundle and tie it to itself to hold the tepee frame in place. Cut an 18-inch length of twine and wrap it around the bundle. Tie it in a tight knot.
- 6
  Determine which side of the tepee will be the entryway. Turn the sheet lengthwise with the decorated side facing out. Drape the sheet around the outside of the sticks so that it is open in the front of the tepee. Pull the sheet taut around the tepee frame and bring the front sides of the sheet inside the tepee frame. Use safety pins to pin the sides of the sheet to the inside of the tepee.
- 7
  Cut four to 10 lengths of 1-inch-wide ribbon that are approximately 12 inches long; use primary colors. Tie each of the ribbons around the sticks at the center of the tepee; leave the ends of the ribbon long.

Childrens Toys