Craft a Paper Bag Bird

It's always exciting when your child spots a bird in your backyard, especially since they come in so many different colors and sizes. Maybe your local birds aren't as colorful as the ones in more tropical areas, so here's an activity to brighten things up a bit! Craft your own bird out of a paper bag, bright paint, and a pair of googly eyes. This fun activity is perfect to do in the Spring, and opens up the opportunity to teach your kindergartner about birds. So get ready to make your very own Rockin' Robin, Chicken Little, or Woody the Woodpecker to hang in your home!

What You Need:

• Newspaper
• Paper lunch bags
• Paint brushes
• Washable paint in a variety of colors
• Paper plate
• Rubber bands, thick yarn, or ribbon
• Scissors
• Pipe cleaners in assorted colors
• Hot glue gun (adults only)
• Googly eyes (available at craft stores)
• Burlap sheets
• Optional: glitter and colored feathers (available at craft stores)

What to Do:

1. Cover your workspace with newspaper to avoid mess.
2. Pour some paint onto a paper plate. Don't be afraid to mix colors!
3. Lay a paper bag flat on the newspaper, and invite your child to paint each side using any color she desires.
4. After the paint dries a bit, unfold the bag and place it over one hand like a puppet. Paint the areas that had previously been hidden by the folds (under flaps, etc). If you're using glitter, invite your child to sprinkle it on now before the paint dries.
5. Stand the bags up to dry. A puppet stand works well, but you can also improvise by placing paper bags over a bottle of soda, the handle of a vacuum, or a tall vase.
6. When the bags are dry, ball up a piece of newspaper. Be sure it's between the size of a baseball and a softball. Stuff the paper ball into one corner of the bag; twist the paper bag beneath the ball (the "neck") and secure it with a rubber band, or a piece of yarn or ribbon.
7. Fan up the back of the paper bag. Use the scissors to cut the back end into strips, up to 1/2" from the neck to resemble feathers.
8. Trim the ends of two yellow pipe cleaners until they're about 4" long.
9. Bend one pipe cleaner in the middle. Bring the bottom ends together to form a long triangle. Bend a second pipe cleaner in the middle, and attach it over the point of the first one in a cross position, and attach the ends so it resembles the shape of a pyramid. The result should be a 3-D beak.
10. With a pencil or pen, poke a small hole in the middle of the head. Twist the ends of the beak to fit, insert it, and then use the hot glue gun to attach it.
11. Above the beak, use the glue gun to attach two googly eyes.
12. Help your child cut out two triangle-shaped wings from the burlap sheets.
13. Cut two pipe cleaners of any color into six 2" pieces. Glue three pieces in a triangle shape in the center of the burlap wings to make them sturdy.
14. Then glue each wing on either side of the head. If you wish, glue feathers onto the tail and wings for added pizazz. Tada! Now you have a bird! If you wish to hang your bird in the house, tie a ribbon around the neck and make a loop at the top.