This page will show you how to fold your cootie-catcher. Make sure you ask permission from your mom or dad before you get started.
1. If you haven’t already, download and print the cootie-catcher on the Pout-Pout Fish book page.
2. Ask an adult to help you trim the printout. You or the adult who is helping you should trim away the plain white paper. You’ll end up with a colorful square. Like this:
3. Turn the colored side down and the white side up. Fold the paper in half so you have a triangle. Then unfold it and refold it the other way. Like this:
4. Next, ask a grown-up to cut the small dotted lines between the white fortune triangles, the ones that go halfway to the center. Do not cut all the way to the center! If you’re not sure what to cut, you may skip this step. If you do cut, it will look like this:
5. Now, take your unfolded cootie-catcher and place it colored side down and white side up again. Fold the corners to the center, one by one. Like this:
6. Flip the square over, so that you see the fortune side:
Then fold each tip into the center. If you made the cut in step 4, you’ll fold a total of eight tips into the center. If you didn’t make any cuts, you’ll fold four tips into the center. Along the way, it’ll look like this:
When you’re done with this step, it will look like this:
6. Now fold your square in half into two rectangles. Then unfold it and fold it in half into two rectangles the other way. (This folding makes it a little easier to do the last step.) Like this:
7. This last part is the tricky part. With the numbered side up, put one of your hands into the underside while pushing up a little. You may need to use the other hand to keep the numbered tips in while you push. Once you get one hand into two of the slots of the underside, place your other hand in the other two slots and push up again. Ask a grown-up for help with this step if it’s not working.
When you’re all done, your cootie-catcher should look like this!
Remember, the cootie-catcher is just for fun, and it doesn’t really tell fortunes or predict the future. But I hope you enjoy it!