kids crafts: feathered friends
Ana seems to have some fascination for birds in general these days - what with the backyard bustling with blue jays and humming birds and finches and sparrows and what-not.
She seems to have a renewed fascination for feathers - especially the feathers in the kitty toys we have. She sinks her baby teeth into their feathered mice and bird toys and tries to bite off a chunk... also she has this little parrot toy my parents gave her and she seems to like smoothing its feathers... seemed like it was time to have her do some little project with some feathers so she can have some fun:-)
I simply outlined a few birds on card stock paper and dotted all but the head with some craft glue and let Ana loose with a bag of dyed feathers. When she wanted to add a second layer of feathers, I dotted some more craft glue as needed, sat back, supervised and let her go crazy.
Finally, I let her color the head/face of the bird, which of course, she needed my help with, then I put another dot of glue and let her stick a googly-eye on. She is absolutely fascinated with the googly-eyes (just as I was when I first laid eyes on them) - and each bird had its own branch to perch on, and a unique sort of beak ;-)
The idea was not to create a masterpiece of any sort - just allow Ana to feel the texture of the feathers and try to get a feel for birds' form in general and I think this project was a hit with her.
Labels: arts and crafts
posted by Sheela
7 comments
7 Comments:
You are just so creative Sheela. I am not the artistic kind but I don't want that to deter poppin from exploring her creative side.
So I read your blog, and go out and buy the necessary crafts and come back. Sit with a great flourish and try to engage poppin. But no, she's just not that interested. I tried that with the finger paints after i saw your post on Father's day.
Is it genes, or am I doing something wrong? Maybe she senses my fake enthusiasm (well it's not really fake, but I am really not the crafts kind, have never been)
Sulk Sulk
hi,
I'm a lurker in your blog and I thought it was high time I introduced myself. But with this craft thing, I had to. It is just amazing. Though I am not that big on crafts, my three year old son is and I try to steal some of your ideas to keep him entertained. And I should say he gets a new rush of creative energy whenever we do craftwork together. And thanks to you, I'm able to save face. :)
Nisha
Poppins, the admirable thing is you are trying - and you are letting poppin try too, and letting her guide you... maybe she will just pick up on something that you do anyway and imitate you (even if it is not craft work) - and maybe show you a thing or two!!
As you sort of noted: monkey-see, monkey-do! Ana sees me sewing or painting or making cloth dolls and such and I guess it might just be that she is simply aping... coz when she sees D play his Tin Whistle or his Banjo, she tries to play her Xylophone or baby piano - so, it might just be that she likes to imitate and explore... who knows?!
Nisha, Welcome, am so glad you left me a note this time - I am always thrilled to read them! I am so glad you are having fun with your little man doing craft work. It is such a bonding experience, don't you agree?
Oh that's just gorgeous Sheela. It looks so tropical and vibrant. Where do you get the feathers from?
Also, what do you do with such proects once u are done? Display it someplace in a creative way? Or store them carefully for memories?
You do such nice things with Ana. I am amazed at your energy.
tharini, i get many of kids' craft items from Michael's usually... and, I just store her works in a keepsake box I made about a year ago...
sometimes I use her "pieces" to make greeting cards and send off to friends and family... otherwise it just sits there - am hoping when she is old enough she can sort through it and throw away anything she doesn't want :-)
when my mum-in-law gave a couple of boxes full of arts/crafts stuff that D had made as a child, I was thrilled to bits! I got a certain insight into his creativity... so, am not sure if I should keep Ana's till she gets married and dump it on her hubby :-)
sandeepa, thank you! it was kind of you to say that... i can't wait for her to get a little older so we can do more interesting things together :-)
Absolutely. Its a great bonding experience. Yesterday, we made a slightly modified version of your idea. My son was thrilled to bits and proudly shows his first birdie to all and sundry. Thanks.
Post a Comment
<< Home