Scarecrows have been used for centuries to scare away birds and other animals from the farmer’s fresh crop. Help your child create her own version of the scarecrow by using recycled household items and basic arts and crafts materials.
What You Need:
- Old sock
- Scissors
- Yarn
- Reused fabric scraps
- Clear drying, non-toxic glue
- Fabric markers or paints
- Paint brush
- Raffia
- Old newspapers or tissue paper
What To Do:
- Stuff the sock with tissue or newspapers. Leave a few inches empty at the end to tie closed.
- Pinch the sock a few inches from the top to create a head and body (both will be circle-shaped).
- Cut a piece of yarn. Tie the yarn around the pinched-in area to secure and hold the form. Stuff a small handful of raffia under the yarn to look like hay.
- Use fabric markers or paints to add eyes, a nose, and mouth.
- Cut pieces from the fabric scraps to glue onto the body as clothes. Before gluing the fabric on, add some cut raffia to look like scarecrow stuffing.
- Glue raffia to the top to give the scarecrow hair.
- Set aside to dry.
- Display as an imaginative Halloween decoration!
This festive Halloween activity will help your child bring out her imaginative side, while she learns about the importance of reusing items that might normally be thrown away.
By Erica Loop
Erica Loop has an MS in Applied Developmental Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh's School of Education. She has many years of teaching experience working in early childhood education, and as an arts educator at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh.
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