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How to Build a Child's Windmill

A child's windmill is a bright and colorful toy that is quick to build from simple materials. Sometimes called a pinwheel or whirligig, the toy has a long history. According to the Dailypress website, children in Jamestown played with toy windmills in the 17th century and in Yorktown at the time of the American Revolution. Shakespeare seems to have the child's spinning toy in mind when he writes of "the whirligig of time" in his comedy "Twelfth Night."

Things You'll Need

Ruler
Pencil
6-inch square of brightly colored card stock
Scissors
Glue stick
1-inch panel pin
Small plastic bead
Large plastic bead
1-foot wooden dowel
Small hammer

Instructions

- 1
  Draw a diagonal line across the square of card stock, using a pencil and ruler, to link two opposite corners. Draw a second diagonal line to link the other two corners. Where they cross, the two diagonals make four smaller lines radiating out from the center.
- 2
  Put a pencil mark 1/2-inch from the center of the square, on each of the four radiating lines.
- 3
  Cut from one corner along a radiating line, using scissors. Stop cutting when you reach the pencil mark 1/2-inch from the center. Cut the other three radiating lines in the same way. You have made four triangular flaps, all linked at the center.
- 4
  Bend one outside corner of a triangular flap into the center. Leave the other outside corner unbent. Do the same with the other triangular flaps, bending every alternate corner into the center.
- 5
  Put a dab of glue on the center point and press the four bent-over corners down onto it, until they stick firmly. A windmill design, with four pointed sails will now take shape.
- 6
  Thread the small plastic bead onto the panel pin. Push the bead right up to the head of the pin. Push the panel pin through the center of the windmill, until it meets the small plastic bead. Thread the large plastic bead onto the panel pin behind the windmill shape to keep it in place.
- 7
  Lay the wooden dowel on a work surface. Place the point of the panel pin on one end of the wooden dowel. Tap the head of the panel pin gently with a small hammer, until the pin fixes firmly into the dowel. Do not nail the panel pin too tightly to the dowel, or the windmill will not turn freely.
- 8
  Blow on the toy windmill, or set it up in a breezy place to see the sails turn.

Childrens Toys