Monday, November 7, 2011

Homeschool Theme of the Week: Scarecrows!

For those who have been wondering if I will be posting Thanksgiving activities anytime soon, the answer is - YES!  I had not planned to post those until next week but will try to speed up the process so I can post something earlier for those of you interested in ideas for your own class or homeschool.  Until then, please enjoy our humble scarecrow theme and activities...  :)


We made these guys to go along with our wooden spoon scarecrow activity (see pics below).


Cute, are they not?  And easy to make - just paint some clothespins black, add black feathers, wiggly eyes, and a paper beak.  Yes, I know crows don't have orange beaks.  However, my daughter pointed out that if we made the beaks black, they would be hard to distinguish from the rest of the crow body.  So, orange the beaks remain.  :)


Here is our very own small scarecrow we made from a wooden spoon and one of my daughter's doll dresses.   I attached a craft stick (popsicle stick) to the wooden spoon to make the arms, and we dressed her and stuffed her.  :)


Isn't she lovely and friendly looking!  Even the crows seem to enjoy her amicable presence!  :)


This was our "crow" (as in "exult") can.  We wrote down all sorts of things my daughter is able to do and at least a couple of skills that she has not quite yet achieved.  The ones she has already accomplished, we glued to the can.  The skills which we are still working on are being held onto by the crows until she proves she has mastered them at which time we can add them to our "crow" can and rejoice together!  :) 

This type of thing might be a good activity and eye-opener for a parent and a child (especially for one who is struggling) of how accomplished the child really is.  Sometimes we forget how far our children have come and how much they have learned - it is good to be reminded (for both parent and child).  :)  By the way, not all of what we wrote on the can is academic (I can play nicely, I can do my chores, etc.).


My daughter is not often called upon to write her last name, so this is an area I know needs a tad bit more practice.  Thus, the crow is hanging onto it for us until we can happily add it to the other mastered skills on the "crow"can.




This was a fun accordian style book  made from paper bags and snippets of items (I was inspired in part by this gorgeous blog:  www.katherinemariephotography.com).  Each page contains a descriptive sentence stating what the reader sees.  The final page - the surprise - is that all of these items have come together to make a scarecrow (BTW - I believe all those black squiggly lines are crows flying away).


Scarecrow Pete is a really cute story we read about the friendship between a boy and a scarecrow.  The scarecrow helps to instill in the boy a passion for reading as the two embark on imaginary adventures with the help of many wonderful books!

This activity became an extension of that tale.  I call it "scarecrow painting" because the point of it is to wrap up a bunch of straw, raffia, etc. and use it to paint with (pretending you are a scarecrow painting with your arm - your arm is the brush).


In this case, we talked about where Scarecrow Pete might like to go if he could get down off of his pole.  My daughter thought the beach would be a good destination for him, so we pretended she was the scarecrow painting a picture of where he would like to travel.


This was a watercolor painting my daughter made.  We then did some texture rubbings of things and used the rubbings to cut out a small scarecrow, gluing him to her picture.


This is a picture of one of the stories we read and also of our fun little pointer for the week!  Basically it is a small autumn pick and we just use it for a calendar pointer (or anything else which might need to be pointed out).  

We have several different "pointers" which range from decorative picks to fun eraser toppers on pencils.  I try to keep them somewhat seasonal, and it just seems to add to the excitement of a new theme when I pull out a new pointer.  (Picks are great because if you get them for sale at your local hobby store, they are SOOO inexpensive.  I think this little scarecrow only cost $.50 to $.60!!!)





Linking up:
www.runwithglitter.blogspot.com
http://www.delicateconstruction.blogspot.com/
http://diyhshp.blogspot.com/
http://www.singingthreelittlebirds.blogspot.com/
www.makingtheworldcuter.com
www.letkidscreate.blogspot.com
http://www.abcand123learning.com/
www.momontimeout.com
www.houseofhepworths.com
http://www.amommysadventures.com/
www.bearrabbitbear.blogspot.com
www.whipperberry.com
www.homeschoolcreations.blogspot.com
http://www.jdaniel4smom.com/
http://www.sunscholars.blogspot.com/
www.fingerprintsonthefridge.com
http://craftymomsshare.blogspot.com


Hip Homeschool Hop ButtonTip Junkie handmade projectsIt's Playtime at hands on : as we grow

19 comments:

  1. LOVE Love love.....these activities are so wonderful!!

    I would love if you would link this to my little link party of kids' activities Hey Mom, Look What I Did at Adventures In Mommy Land (http://adventures-in-mommy-land.blogspot.com/2011/11/hey-mom-look-what-i-did-5.html)

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  2. These activities are AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL!! Your blog is my new favorite! My 4 yr old has been struggling with self-esteem lately and your Scarecrow can would be perfect for him. Thanks for all your great ideas!

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  3. Wow!!!! What great ideas!! Stopping by from HHH.

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  4. i'm stopping by from the lovely poppy and would love for you to come by and checkout the huge giveaway going on that ends thursday- http://thelovelypoppy.blogspot.com/2011/10/blog-follower-giveaway.html xoxo nicole

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  5. I love your scarecrow activities! My little boy and I are doing a scarecrow theme this week, but your crafts are definitely blowing mine out of the water. :)

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  6. What great activities! I had not thought about doing things with a scarecrow theme!

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  7. Good call on the orange beaks - black would not have been nearly as cute, even if it is the correct color :)

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  8. I love the whole scarecrow with something to crow about idea. I would love to implement this kind of thing in my home. And I would have never realized that crows have black beaks ;) Thanks for sharing on Monday Madness!

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  9. What amazing projects! I love your scarecrow and crows!

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  10. I love your crow pins. They are so cute!

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  11. Such cute scarecrow ideas! Thanks for linking to Things I've Done Thursday!


    Melanie
    Sew Rugged @ bear rabbit bear
    bearrabbitbear.blogspot.com

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  12. Wonderful ideas! :D Ami
    www.walkingbytheway.com

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  13. Those crows are darling & I love the Scarecrow Surprise book. you always such neat projects!! Thanks for linking to TGIF. Can't wait to see what you link up next!
    Beth =-)

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  14. Wonderful ideas!! Thank you so much for sharing them at Crafty Moms Share!

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  15. We made these scarecrows and crows yesterday.
    They turned out adorable!
    Thanks for the idea!

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  16. Very cute and awesome ideas! Thanks for sharing on Monday Madness. Your theme was inspirational. I really like the painting with the stick scarecrow.

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  17. I just love the crow pins - they are so cute! Thank you so much for sharing at Taking A Timeout Thursday! Hope to see you again tomorrow :)
    -Trish @ Mom On Timeout
    http://www.MomOnTimeout.com

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  18. Wow! I am impressed and a bit jealous. My walk with the Lord took a sharp turn to overseas ministry where fun craft items were almost nonexistent, but I have always loved doing crafts. I hope someday to have time, energy and inspiration to do them again - and a friend like you to work with. :) Meanwhile, I am teaching 7th grade and raising 4 children in Tbilisi, Georgia - the country. Nancy - Mrsjmomof4@gmail.com

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    1. Thanks, Nancy! What a blessing AND a challenge to be schooling and raising children in another country. I grew up (parents were missionaries) overseas, so I am aware of how different things can be when you are living outside of the US. :) Feel free to e-mail me if you ever need some inspiration - afraid I can't help much in the time and energy department though, as I am still learning how to keep up with those things myself! ;)

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