Nothing says "Fall" like a spectacularly spooky scarecrow! And if you pay attention, you can see them everywhere this time of year. You can point them out to your child at the grocery store or in neighbor’s yards. This Halloween, you and your child make one of your own using some old clothes and a little creativity. Your child will practice his shape recognition along the way and he'll get to see his scarecrow come to life. Not to mention he'll be doing some serious recycling while he's at it!
What You Need:
- Paper plate
- Markers
- Popsicle stick
- Glue
- Yellow yarn or construction paper for hair
- Fabric scraps or construction paper
- Tape
- Old long-sleeved shirt, pair of pants, and gloves
- Straw hat
- Lots of plastic bags for stuffing
- Pen
- Scissors
- Tissue paper or newspaper (optional)
- Safety pins
What You Do:
- Help your child stuff the clothes with the plastic bags. The most effective way to do this is to scrunch the plastic bags into balls and then stuff them into the clothes. Do this until you have filled out the clothes completely so that they've got some body to them.
- Add gloves to the ends of the sleeves. You can stuff the gloves with tissue paper if you like, or just leave them empty. You can attach them to the ends of the sleeves with safety pins.
- While you're making your scarecrow, talk to your child about the different shapes he sees within the scarecrow. Does he see any triangles? Are there any circles? Or squares?
- Using markers, have your child draw a face on the paper plate. He can make it as scary or as friendly as he likes! Glue or tape a popsicle stick to the bottom of the back of the plate to hold the “head” up.
- Help your child cut different sized strips of yellow construction paper for hair or use yellow yarn. Glue onto the plate.
- Place the popsicle stick head into the neck of the shirt. You might need to reinforce it with some more scrunched-up plastic bags. Add a straw hat on top. You can stuff the hat with some newspaper as well if you like.
- Ask your child to name some shapes. Help him draw them on paper or fabric. Have your child cut them out. These will be the patches for the scarecrow's clothing.
- Tape the patches all over your scarecrow's clothes.
Sit your scarecrow outside in a visible place for all to enjoy! This makes for a great Halloween decoration to ward off those crows and any other unwanted guests!
By Tina Cho
Tina Cho has been an elementary teacher for 11 years, mainly in the kindergarten classroom. She is currently a freelance writer.
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