I gave up on keeping messes to a minimum years ago. I am a mother of a young child who absolutely adores arts and crafts and there is no way I’m about to limit her creativity when her masterpieces bring her so much pleasure (and provide me with ample time to get the dishes, laundry and vacuuming done).
Whether it’s paint, Play-Doh, markers, crayons or the dreaded Moon Sand I’m game as long as she is happy. (After all, when the cleaning process provides fodder for blogs how can I complain?) So the other day when my Martha Stewart clone friend asked if I was interested in taking home half a hay bale to make mini paper scarecrows I didn’t flash her the look of death some other moms would have. Instead, I loaded the hay into my family’s germ-mobile, took the directions for the scarecrows, and never gave it a second thought.
Looking back now, perhaps I should have. Five days post scarecrow making and I am still picking up stray pieces of straw from the carpet (despite the fact that we made the scarecrows in the kitchen using a drop cloth). Excess straw aside the scarecrows are cute and my preschooler had a ball. However, if you have an issue with random straw becoming embedded in your carpet you might want to complete this project outside on a deck or patio. The same goes for the second project. If the sight of your child covered in paint makes you wince then you might have to ease yourself into the Fall Tree craft project. Kids love it, but squeamish parents might have to dig deep to appreciate it in the same way.
MINI PAPER SCARECROWS
Materials:
Precut felt squares, circles, rectangles
Pieces of straw or hay
Glue
Large sized paper
Construction paper
Googly eyes and other embellishments such as old buttons, zippers, yarn and sequins
Wooden broomstick handle or ruler
Rubber bands
Directions:
Decorate the paper bags with the embellishments to create a unique looking scarecrow.
Once the embellishments are firmly attached to paper bag stuff it with hay, then insert ruler or broomstick handle. Secure bag with rubber band.
Cut out hands and feet from construction paper and glue on to scarecrow.
FALL TREE PAINTING PROJECT
Materials:
Paint in Fall Colors (red, yellow, orange, brown)
White Paper
Paint Brushes
Directions:
Paint your child’s arm and hand from the elbow to the fingers, brown.
Place child’s arm/hand on white paper and press down firmly but gently.
Next, use your fingers (or another child’s fingers) to dip into the other paints and make fingerprints on the tree as leaves.
If you are doing this project with multiple children give each child a chance to have their arm used as the tree trunk while other kids use their fingers to make the leaves.
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