Reader’s Request

I had a reader ask if we  had any scarecrow crafts, I didn’t but I came up with this. shape scarecrow!  There are a lot of steps but my almost 3 year old breezed through it, we talked about the shapes, and each body part as we added them . You will notice that my shapes are way less than perfect, but if they are clearly recognizable you are golden. Time is short for anyone caring for young kids, don’t fret over your shapes being perfect!

1. Gather your materials. You will need 5 different color pieces of construction paper ( you can use scrap if you want for all but one) we used orange, green, yellow, neutral and light blue , 2 large googly eyes, a marker, scissors and a glue stick.
2. Start by drawing a scarecrow head and mouth. Cut out.
3. Next cut out ( or have your child cut out) a triangle hat and rectangle shirt and arms from the green paper.
4. Cut out many smaller rectangles from the yellow paper for hair.
5. Cut out a orange triangle for the nose and 3 orange circles for the buttons.
6. Start gluing. Now you can just let them at it but to me this isn’t a creative project at all, it’s too structured for that, to me this is a shape lesson really.  Here is what I do.  Show your child the shapes and ask them what they look like. I help up the large rectangle and asked my son if he thought this was the scarecrow’s head, ” no it’s his belly!”  Glue it on. Don’t forget to ask what each shape is or label the shape for them.
7. Next add the head… I suggested this was an arm. My son set me straight! Don’t forget to have fun!
8. Keep labeling, and adding the shapes to build your scarecrow. Here he is adding the hair. 
9. Add the arms.
10. If you are doing this with young toddlers don’t forget to label the colors as well!  Add your hat!
11. Add the eyes and nose.
12. Add your buttons.
13. Let dry!

Shape Books

Clay Quest Minis: Search for Shapes! by Helen Bogosian is a big hit with my son and me! I was lucky enough to have this book sent to me by the publisher because it’s already come in handy on a ferry, and waiting to be seated at a restaurant keeping my son happy and busy searching for shapes.  This book is an activity book that has a simple rhyme and request for the reader to find 2 shapes on every page.  The shapes are hidden in the adorable clay “illustrations” , really they are photographs of clay sculptures that range in theme from a spider web to dinosaurs to princess crowns and more. My son loves playing ” Detective” and what I like is that the challenge is just right for his age group 2-3 year olds. Younger toddlers will still enjoy it and it’s vibrant colors but to do it independently this is the perfect age.  I try to find negatives with books that are sent to me from publishers for review,  but I am having a hard time this really is a good shape book!

So Many Circles, So Many Squares by Tana Hoban is a picture book that is all about shapes in our environment. There is page after page of pictures of daily life, food, signs etc… with the simple question of finding the shapes in the photos. It’s a great book to use as a launch pad into a shape hunt in your own home or around town and worth a few looks because you will be surprised at the shapes you missed the first time.

Mouse Shapes by Ellen Stoll Walsh is a cute book that not only helps teach shapes it is also entertaining! The three crafty mice use the shapes to protect themselves from one hungry cat finally using them to make scary mice to frighten the cat away! Kids love to help find which shapes are used in the illustrations and older ones can even anticipate what the mice will make next!