You will need: paper (I used a standard letter size), markers (or other colorful writing things), and scissors (or awesome tearing skills).

Step 1: Make a Square!

Pullone corner of the paper to meet the opposite edge in order to create a square. Try to line up the edges as well as possible!

Remove the leftover paper.

(Note: I usually open my square up and create another crease so that I have an “X” creased in the paper, it makes later steps easier.)

Step 2: Fold in Corners

Open up the square and fold each corner into the center.

Step 3: Flip, Repeat Step 2!

Flip over the folded, smaller square and repeat the last step. Fold each of these corners to the center.

Step 4: Yay! You Have the Bones!

You now have the structure of your cootie catcher! {Note: It can sometimes be tricky to pull it up into form – I suggest folding it in half twice so you have creases along the square flaps; this makes it easier to grab the paper and push the top into formation.}

Step 5: Fill in the Info!

I like to use colors on the outside, then numbers, then the fortunes. You can do a number of different things if you want to spice up the cootie catcher. For example, if you’re kid is learning basic math perhaps put short equations on some flaps so they have to think about the answer when using the cootie catcher. For younger kids, I’ve also just scribbled the color on the front instead of writing the word.