This is an activity where you can customize how complex you want it to be by the materials that you choose to work with.

Materials

• Cardboard Roll (taken from paper or toilet tissue.  We used a mailing tube that we cut to size)
• Construction paper, cardstock, craft foam, or felt (various colours for the bird’s body, head, beak, wings etc.)
• Glue (or fabric glue if you are using felt)
• Stapler
• Black marker (for drawing details)
• Wiggly eyes
• Metal washers (can be purchased at a hardware store)
• glue gun (used by an adult or with direct supervision depending on age/ skill level)
• String, twine or fishing line
• Ribbon
• Crayons, felt markers etc.
• Template carrier_pigeon_template

Directions

• Take your cardboard roll and cover it with the colour of construction paper that you would like your bird to be.  Glue or staple it on.  On our “fancy” version (as our kids would call it), we used felt and glued it using fabric glue.  We added ribbon for detail and to cover the edges of the felt pieces.

• Cut two small slits (the width of your washer) into your cardboard tube so it will be easier to attach your washers later.  They should be near the top and lower portion of the bird’s body (see photo).  You can do this using scissors or have an adult use an exacto knife.

• Print out the provided templates on a sturdy paper such as card stock (the two sides of the head/neck, the two wings and the two tail sections).  For our fancy version of the carrier pigeon, we traced it onto cardboard, covered it with felt and sewed along the edges with a sewing machine.  To personalize your bird, have your child draw their own head, wing and tail. Just remember to create a mirror image (by flipping it over and tracing it the other way) of each of the pieces.

• Print out the provided feather templates or draw your own.  If you print them on white cardstock, add some colour with crayons, felt markers etc.  You could cut them out of felt or craft foam as well.  Glue them onto your wings and tail pieces.  We started at the bottom and layered them, going upward.

• Either draw eyes, cut out (using foam or felt) or attach wiggly ones to each side of your pigeon’s head.  Cut out a beak (with a mirror image for the other side) and attach.

• Glue one side of you bird together (head/neck, wing and tail to the body) and allow to dry overnight.

• Glue the other side of your bird together the following day and allow to dry overnight.

• Have an adult glue in your washers (metallic circles purchased at a hardware store), using a glue gun.  Once dry, loop fishing line through the washers and anchor the fishing line between two points.

• You can now write messages and roll them up, putting them in your bird, “flying” them through the air! 

Purpose

• Creating an opportunity for writing.
• Using fine motor skills with a variety of tools/materials
• Creating a likeness of something.

Safety Notes

• A glue gun, exacto knife and sewing machine should be used by an adult.
• Please use scissors with supervision.
• As with all string etc., fishing line poses a strangulation hazard and should be used with direct supervision.

Materials

• clean egg carton
• glue
• scissors
• Activity Label template
• Items to look for template  Scavenger_Hunt_nest
  
• plastic lid
• Craft items (e.g., felt, feathers, markers, paint or foam etc.) to make your bird
• Background (we used a canvas, but cardstock or another thick paper would work)

Directions

• Using a clean egg carton, glue the Activity Label template onto the top of the closed carton and allow it to dry.  We used a cardboard egg carton for the label to adhere more easily.

•  Glue the suggested guide (Items to Look For template) on the inside of the lid to give you inspiration for items to find for building your nest.  In the blank squares of the grid, add your own ideas.

• Go outside together and see what you can find, thinking like a bird.  You may wish to combine found items with those purchased at a craft store (raffia,yarn, craft sand etc.) to enhance your nest depending on your collection.

•  Using the materials you have collected, create your own nest. We did this by gluing the items in a circular formation on a plastic lid (so it wouldn’t adhere to another surface) and then once it was dry placing several books on top to flatten it a bit.

• We painted a canvas background (using a bit of blue and white paint and a facial tissue) and allowed it to dry.

• We then added a found branch for the nest to perch on and created a painted bird, gluing this all down with our nest.  (We had to use a glue gun, but you may find this is not the case.)

• If your child needs a prompt to get started in making the bird, ask: “What kind of bird do you imagine would live in the nest you made?”. Or if you pretended to be a bird while you collected the materials, “What kind of bird were you?”.  We were a “firebird”!

Purpose

• Exploration of the outdoors/engagement with environment
• To develop an understanding of materials that birds might possibly use to make their nest.
• Children/ Students might also engage in the use of resources such as books to investigate further what birds use to create their homes- does it differ according to region?  Urban or rural settings?
• Fine motor development (cutting, gluing, assembling)

Safety Notes

• Be sure to go outside with adult supervision
• Glue guns should be used by an adult only.

Materials

Method A:

• An old iron (used by an adult)
• An old grater (used by an adult or with direct supervision depending on the age(s) of the child(ren)
• Wax crayons (you may find that certain well known brands work better than others)
• Wax paper
• Permanent marker
• Scissors
• Embellishment items such as craft jewels
• Smock, apron or old clothes
• 2 old tea towels
• craft foam
• Print out of the peacock body or materials to make your own peacock_body

Method B:

• Contact paper (this is clear adhesive paper often used to line cupboards or cover books)
• Tissue paper
• Glitter, transparent confetti
• Scissors
• Permanent marker
• Print out of the peacock body or materials to make your own

Follow-Up Writing Activity Template  Peacock-follow-up

Directions

There are 2 suggested methods to make your sun catcher- pick the one that works best for best for you.  OR try both!

Method A:

• This is an activity that needs to be done with an adult as it requires the use of an old iron and an old grater which may be sharp.

• Take two large pieces of wax paper.  Lay them flat on a large workspace such as table.

• Grate various colours of wax crayon and arrange them on the wax paper, leaving a perimeter of  about 5 cm (approximately 2 inches) around the edge, without shavings.  Put the same size of wax paper on top (creating a sandwich with the shavings in the middle).  Be careful not to get the shavings on carpeted surfaces as they may be difficult to get out.

• Have an adult set the iron on low.  It is recommended that you use an old tea towel to cover your ironing board if any of the crayon leaks out of the edges of your wax paper “sandwich”.  Iron your sandwich, covered with another tea towel carefully, melting the crayons.  Try not to go too close to the edge to prevent spillage.

• Unplug your iron, put it in a safe place to cool and let your wax paper cool.

• Draw, using a permanent marker the shape of your tail and cut it out, using a sharp pair of scissors (this may require adult assistance).  You can embellish your tail with glitter glue, permanent marker or jewels etc.

• Make or print out the provided body for the peacock.  Layer foam or create a donut out of paper to attach between the tail and the body (so that the body is forward of the tail)  Display in a window or against a light coloured background.

• Print the follow-up written response:  Male peacocks have a magnificent tail to attract other peacocks. What makes you special or unique?

Method B:

• This is an alternative if you would prefer not to use an iron.

• Purchase clear contact paper (or cupboard liner).  Lay it sticky side up and cover with various pieces of tissue paper and if you would like transparent, plastic confetti or glitter.

• Cut another piece of contact paper the same  size and create a sandwich with the tissue paper (this may require adult assistance, particularly depending on the desired size, as it can be tricky).  Be sure to smooth out any air bubbles to the edges.

• Draw the outline of your peacock tail with permanent marker and cut out.  You can embellish your tail with glitter glue, permanent marker or jewels etc.

• Make or print out the provided body for the peacock.  Layer foam or create a donut out of paper to attach between the tail and the body.  Display in a window or against a light coloured background.

• Print the follow-up written response:  Male peacocks have a magnificent tail to attract other peacocks. What makes you special or unique?

Purpose

• Working with different mediums to create various effects.
• Developing motor skills (cutting, pasting etc).
• Linking written expression to one’s creations.

Safety Notes

• An iron should be used by an adult
• A grater should be used by an adult or with direct supervision depending on the age and ability of the children you are working with 

Materials

• Craft feathers
• Blank cards & envelopes (or make your own from cardstock)
• Tempra paint
• Paint containers or tray
• Craft tray or table cloth
• Painter’s tape
• Scissors
• Smock
• Tweezers
• Pencil

Directions

• Cover your work area with a table cloth or use a craft tray.  Don your smock.

• Cut pieces of your painter’s tape (it works well as it is easier to peel off) and put them where you would like to write your messages on your card (You might leave a space for Thank You or Thinking of You etc. on the front and then an area to write the child’s name and date on the back) and your envelope (a space for the receipt’s name).

• Dip your feathers into the paint (we used a separate feather for each colour) and then paint your card and envelope, going over the tape.  We used lined brush strokes, but you could try dots or zig zagging the feathers, or lay them down for prints- this is the time to experiment!

• Here comes the tricky part:  While the paint is still wet (so that the painter’s tape doesn’t adhere too well), have an adult carefully peel off the painter’s tape (we found tweezers were quite helpful in catching the corner of the tape for this part of the activity.)

• Allow to dry overnight.

• In the blank spaces write your messages and create a note inside.  Give to someone special.  You might want to mention on the back space of the card that you made your creation using feathers!

Purpose

• Fine motor skills, encouraging writing by creating interesting materials and experimenting with different painting materials and techniques.

Safety Notes

• Be sure to wear a smock and cover your area when painting to prevent damages to clothes and furniture!

Materials

• A down type feather
• An open space

Directions

• Take a down type feather and place it on your hand, blow it up into the air.  Try to keep it from landing on the ground.

• You may have it land on your hand and blow on it again or simply get under it and blow on it.

• Take turns blowing it with a partner.

• Be careful to watch out for other children if you are playing together, using your peripheral vision  When you are ready, add more feathers.

Purpose

• Hand/eye coordination

Safety Notes 

• Try to be aware of other children to avoid collisions,.

Materials

• Hoola hoops (although this is not necessary as you will see, but helps younger children learning the game)

Directions

• Choose a large space for this activity such as field/park or gymnasium.

• Have the children group into partners.  Put out hula hoops (nests) for each partnership minus one.  (E.g., If you have 20 children, put out 9 hula hoops.) Have the children stand with their partner in the hula hoop with one of each their arms linked.

• The remaining pair will take on the role of a bird and a predator to a bird (e.g., a fox).  The bird must “fly” (run) away from the fox.  However, the bird may join a partner in a nest (linking to one partner, makes the partner on the other side the new bird).  If the fox successfully tags the bird, then they switch roles.

• If you find that the current bird is not joining a nest, giving other players a chance, incorporate a count down after a specific amount of time.  To increase the complexity of the game, you could add two pairs of birds and foxes.

Purpose

• Gross motor skill development

Safety Notes

• Just remind players to be aware of others when playing a running game with multiple people.
  

This idea was featured on The Crafty Crow.  Looking for creative activities to do with your children or class?  Check them out!

http://www.thecraftycrow.net/2014/06/crayon-resist-feather-bookmarks.html

http://www.thecraftycrow.net/

It was also featured on Crafty Connections on their summer post for activities for kids 2-6:

http://www.craftingconnections.net/the-blog/9-summer-crafts-kids-ages-2-6/#.U9B-YI2wJD0

Take a peek at it on We Heart It:

http://weheartit.com/entry/group/51945844

Materials

• Feathers (found or you may want to use those purchased for cleanliness reasons)
• Pencil
• White art eraser
• Watercolour Paper or cardstock
• Watercolours (can be a variety of forms, we have recently tried liquid watercolours and are hooked!)
• Paintbrushes
• Pastels (we used metallic ones, but you could also use wax crayons)
• Single hole punch
• Ribbon, twine
• Scissors
• Smock
• Contact Paper or Laminator and laminating pockets (Optional)

• We always find a smock and a craft tray handy too!

Directions

• Don a smock.

• Take a feather (you may want to use ones purchased in a craft store for cleanliness reasons) and place it on top of watercolour paper.

• Trace it gently with a pencil.  Make a shaft (the line down the middle of the feather) and barbs (the lines going to the edge of the feather from the shaft).  Trace over your pencil lines with pastel.

• Use watercolour paints to bring your feather to life.  We diluted liquid watercolour.  Allow to dry overnight.

• Cut out your feather carefully, leaving a bit of a border.

• Punch a hole at either end.

• For longevity and to protect your book from pastel smudges, laminate your feather or sandwich it between two pieces of clear contact paper (sticky sides facing in on each other).  Cut out the feather again, leaving a border and punch the hole through the plastic.

• Fold your ribbon or twine in half and put the folded end through the hole.  Loop the ends through your fold (see photo) and pull taut.

• Trim the ends of the ribbon if necessary.

Purpose

• Taking the basic shape of an object and enhancing it.
• Encouraging reading.
• Using a variety of materials to experiment with painting techniques (pastel resist)

Safety Notes

• As mentioned, you may want to use feathers purchased at a craft store for cleanliness reasons.
• Laminators should be used by an adult only.
• Be sure to use scissors with supervision.

Materials

• Peacock tail feathers
• Pylons
• Large play area such as a field, yard or gymnasium

Directions

• Balance peacock feathers on your palm facing upwards hand, your finger, elbow etc.

• Increase the complexity by going around pylons set up in a line.  Advance to a zig, zag formation.

• Set up two lines and race with friends or make a relay.

Purpose

• Gross motor skill development, balancing, hand/eye coordination

Safety Notes

• As children will be doing two activities at once (balancing an object and moving around another) introduce them to the concept of peripheral vision.

Materials

• T-shirt
• Tracing paper & pencil
• Felt (large piece for the wings & sheets for the feather rows)
• Fabric scissors
• Sewing Machine/ Thread (optional- you could use fabric glue should you like)
• Fabric glue
• Fabric paint
• Craft gems
• Pins
• Iron
• Iron-on Adhesive
• Feather Template (download here)
• Smock

Directions

• Purchase or re-use a t-shirt to use as the body for your bird and the “base” for your wings.

• Have your child lie down over tracing paper (with their arms outstretched) and draw out a basic shape for one wing based on his or her size.  (This will attach to the shoulder portion of the shirt, down to the sleeve end.  However, as seen in the photograph, the tip can extend further based on your preference).

• Cut out the tracing paper wing and pin onto a sturdy fabric (we chose felt).  For symmetry (and ease) it is suggested that you fold over the fabric that you use to make two wings at a time (flipping the second wing over so it folds out the opposite way).  It is suggested that you make two separate wings rather than one large set of wings so as to distribute the weight onto the t-shirt.

• You can attach the fabric with an adhesive (bought from a fabric store) that comes in a roll and is activated with the heat of an iron.   If you chose this option (for limited sewing), be sure that your felt is not synthetic as it may melt. Chose a wool based felt.

• If you feel like your child would be quite active in the costume you can also sew the wing bases to the shirt. We did a combination of both.

• Depending on the type of bird you chose to make, cut out a base for the tail.

• We decided to use felt for our costume.  We purchased felt sheets (letter size) and cut out rows of feathers.   We have provided a simple template for inspiration.  For efficiency, we folded the sheet in half and cut out two rows at the same time.  This was aided by a sharp pair of sewing scissors and required some slight touch-up cutting following.

• We then sewed a basic stitch around the feather (using the sewing machine foot as our guide) to provide detail/interest.  You could embellish the feather rows with a variety of techniques (such as sewing a double line down the centre, or sewing the shaft and barbs).  We’d love to see what you came up with!

• We chose to use yellow, orange, light brown and dark brown feathers. Based on the size of our son, the t-shirt used and the size of the wings we used approximately 15 sheets of the yellow (making 2 rows of feathers each), 15 sheets of the orange felt, 15 sheets of light brown felt and 20 sheets of dark brown felt.  It is always advisable, however, to purchase several extra sheets to allow for a margin of error.

• We then started with the bottom feathers and glued them in layers (using fabric glue purchased at a craft store).  Before starting your gluing, you may want to arrange your rows to see how they may fit.  You may have to trim some of them, tuck them under each other or overlap them.

• Around the neck (breast type feathers), glue on single feathers to fit the curve of the t-shirt.

• We then did a simple embellishment on the feathers to add interest using craft gems, glued on with fabric paint.

• Glue either the front or back of your costume, then let it dry for 24 hours before you do the other side.  (Note: If you wanted to sew on your feathers on for longevity, it would be advisable to do so before you attach the base to the t-shirt.)

• Have the child try on the costume to measure where to put the wrist bands to control the wings.  We took a strip of fabric and sewed on Velcro (be sure to pin it on and test that it will wrap around to match each other, before sewing or gluing it on).  Then sew or glue it to the interior of the wing at the appropriate spot.

• Hope you have a “hoot” with this idea.  We would love if you shared a photo of your finished work with us!

Purpose

• Imaginary play
• Developing planning skills, creativity and fine motor skills.
• Transferring/ recreating visual knowledge into a physical form.

Safety Notes

• Be sure that scissors, sewing machine and iron are used with adult supervision.
• Wear a smock when using fabric glue & paint

Materials

• T-shirt
• Tracing paper
• Felt (a large piece for the tail, a strip for the headband and several colours for the feather details)
• A thicker interfacing such as flexi-foam
• Sewing scissors
• Sewing machine/thread (if you decide to go with this option)
• Fabric glue
• Craft gems
• Velcro (we recommend extra strength)
• Child’s belt (we used one that was elastic in nature so the costume could fit any child)
• Sewing marker

Directions

• Purchase or re-use a t-shirt to use as the body of your bird.

Tail

• Place lightweight paper such as tracing paper over your t-shirt.

• Make your tail shape, making the larger, middle curve over where your child’s head would be.  Make two smaller curves on either side (try to make them approximately the same size.  Follow this by two more, for a total of five. (The size of the curves will vary with the size of the t-shirt and the child.)  You could use a measuring tape for this process as well.

• Cut out your tracing paper tail.

• Hold the cut-out up to your child’s back to see if it fits. Alter it until it is the right size for your child.

• Double your felt over (we used dark green) to form two layers.  Put the fold at the bottom of the tail (where you will slide the belt in).

• Take your tracing paper tail, pin it to the felt and then cut out two layers.  If it helps, go around the edges with a sewing marker. (As suggested, don’t cut the bottom where it folds over to save a step.  We cut it apart for the photograph, but on the second version of the costume, this was a great trick!).

• Remove the tracing paper pattern and pin it to the interfacing to make one layer to go in between the felt to help provide structure.   You will want to then trim about 5 centimetres/ 1 inch around the interfacing so that it will be covered by the fabric on the edges when you sew the layers together.

• Sandwich the interfacing in between the felt tail pieces and pin it in place.

• Measure the width of your belt and then allow for about 1 centimetre on either side. Measure this distance from the bottom of your tail (where the fold is) and then sew (or glue) across this part.   This will provide the channel for the belt to go through.  It is important that you do this step first before you sew around the edges of your “sandwich”.

• Sew around the edges of the tail (removing your pins upon approach), be sure to start at the line where you made the channel for your belt (don’t accidentally sew it closed!).  Use the foot of the sewing machine to help you create an even margin.  You could also use fabric glue for this process.

• To provide further structure to the tail, we made sure there was a needle on our machine meant for “tough jobs/thick fabric” and we sewed up the edges of each curve.  This holds everything in place and provides some visual interest.  Trim the edges of the tail if need be (as some shifting may occur during sewing) to assure that there is an even, clean finish.

Embellishing the tail with feathers

Your child will be able to wear the tail in two positions- one up and one down, so that is why it is important to make enough decorative finishes to cover both sides. The amount of feathers that you will make depends on the size of your child.  We made approximately 30.

•  Take various colours of felt (we used greens, blues, yellows and purples) and cut out layers of oval shapes, getting smaller with each one. We completed this with a circle.   Glue them on top of each other with fabric glue, finishing with a craft jewel in the middle of the circle.

• If you want to create more detail, sew from the middle of the circle to the outside of the feather with a light coloured thread. (We sewed once through the middle and twice off to the sides in diagonal lines before gluing the jewel down (As shown).

• Glue the feathers onto both sides of the tail, staggering them and adding craft jewels in between.  We recommend glueing one side, letting it dry overnight and then repeating this process for the other side.

Trick for holding the tail upright

• With the top most feather (on the largest curve) on the side that would fold up (going towards the child’s head), only glue the top of the feather.  Then sew or glue one side of a hook and loop closure (Velcro) under that feather.  

• Thus, when the tail is down it is hidden, but when you go to put it up, gently fold the feather up and attach the Velcro to its match which will also be hidden on the back of the t-shirt.

T-shirt (Body of the peacock)

• Glue feathers around the front neckline.

• On the back of the shirt (for the purpose of completing a hiding spot for the other side of our Velcro)  sew or glue only the top of the feather with the match of the Velcro piece underneath.  Thus, when the tail is down you simply hide the Velcro, but when it is up you lift it (and slightly move it off to the side) so that the Velcro pieces can adhere to each other and the tail stands on its own!

Belt

•  We used an elastic belt that we dyed using fabric dye to match the colour of the t-shirt.  You could re-use a belt you have or dye thick elastic.

• The belt we used had metal clasps on each end that fit into each other which was perfect for pushing it through the channel of the tail.  (You could use a safety pin clipped to elastic for this).

• Once you have slid the belt through the channel, secure the belt to the child the child for wear or cut off the clasps, sewed the ends to prevent fraying and then sew one piece of Velcro onto one end and another onto the other end.  We recommend that you pin this first, test it out for size with your children and then sew it.  If you were doing this for a classroom resource this would allow for all children to access the costume if either the belt sizing was restricted by the clasps or they were too complicated for children to do independently.

Headpiece

• We used the 1920s as an inspiration.

• Take two strips of fabric (to make it a bit more structured), sew the edges together and then adhere a long strip of Velcro to one side on the inside and the Velcro match on the outside of the other (we always recommend pinning and testing it out before you sew so you can make alterations and assure that the opposite sides of the Velcro line up correctly).  We then glued on some of our embellishment feathers to the side on the front and let this dry overnight.

Putting it Together

• Don your costume and strut your stuff- like a peacock!

• Imaginary play
• Developing planning skills, creativity and fine motor skills.
• Transferring/ recreating visual knowledge into a physical form.

Safety Notes

• Be sure that scissors, sewing machine and iron are used with adult supervision.
• As this costume uses a belt, it is recommended that you review safety of this (that it is intended for use around the waist only).  Direct supervision is recommended.