I had a reader ask if we had a scarecrow craft. I didn’t, but I came up with this shape scarecrow! There are a lot of steps but my almost three years 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!
Scarecrow Craft
- Gather your materials. You will need five 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, two large googly eyes, a marker, scissors and a glue stick.
- Start by drawing a scarecrow head and mouth. Cut out.
- Next cut out ( or have your child cut out) a triangle hat and rectangle shirt and arms from the green paper.
- Cut out many smaller rectangles from the yellow paper for hair.
- Cut out an orange triangle for the nose and three orange circles for the buttons.
- 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 helped 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.
- Next, add the head. I suggested this was an arm. My son set me straight! Don’t forget to have fun!
- Keep labeling and adding the shapes as you build your scarecrow craft. Here, he is adding the hair.
- Add the arms.
- If you are doing this with young toddlers, don’t forget to label the colors as well! Add your hat!
- Then, add the eyes and nose.
- Add your buttons.
- Let your scarecrow craft dry!
Shape Books
All our book lists contain affiliate links.
Clay Quest Minis: Search for Shapes!
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 a perfect age. I try to find negatives with books that are sent to me by publishers for review, but this one really is simply great.
So Many Circles, So Many Squares
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 the shapes in the illustrations, and older ones anticipate what the mice will make next!
Robin ~ PENSIEVE says
Darling! And…I used to have BUCKETS of crafts I created/discovered when I was director of our Parents’ Morning Out at my church…had I been blogging THEN I’d still have copies of everything!
So cute :).
.-= Robin ~ PENSIEVE´s last blog ..Dead faith? =-.
admin says
Thanks!
Oh Robin I know- I wish I had written down all the crafts I did in my years and years of teaching daycamps every summer I wouldn’t have to brainstorm half as much. Thankfully I remember the last few years pretty well !
Beverly says
too cute. we will have to make this little guy
.-= Beverly´s last blog ..Birthday Fun =-.
Adriana says
Very cute! This would be a good activity to review body part and shape vocabulary in Spanish.
.-= Adriana´s last blog ..Camión de Bomberos =-.
Charlee Pensak says
My son’s school sent home a body form and we decorated it with scrap materials here at home that was a good craft but requires lots of adult help
librarymeow says
Oh, I love this scarecrow. We’ll have to try this one at home too! Oh and be sure to check out the book, “Shape by Shape” by Suse MacDonald. It’s my new favorite shape book and my 2 1/2 year old LOVES it!
admin says
Yes -the librarian at children’s story time read that a few weeks ago! That is a wonderful book, I will have to get it from the library for a proper review, thanks for reminding me.
Marie says
Just had to say that the Mouse books are a big hit with both my kids — Mouse Paint, Mouse Count, etc. We’ve read our copies so much they are falling apart 🙂
This is my first visit to your blog and I’m really enjoying it!
.-= Marie´s last blog ..Mostly Wordless Wednesdays =-.
admin says
I am so glad you found us and like it ! Aren’t these books great? Love the simplicity of them.
Janelle @ Brimful Curiosities says
Adorable scarecrow!
.-= Janelle @ Brimful Curiosities´s last blog ..Free Cookie and Hot Chocolate at Barnes & Noble =-.
Carolyn says
I did this one today with my 4-year-old daughter. We added sparkles, of course. 😉 Super cute, thanks!
Amanda says
So cute! Just stopping by to let you know that I have featured your project on Fun Family Crafts today! You can see it here
http://funfamilycrafts.com/shape-scarecrow/
If you have other kid friendly crafts, I’d love it if you would submit them 🙂 If you would like to display a featured button on your site, you can grab one from the right side bar of your post above.
Samantha says
Cute! I plan on adding the scarecrow to my art center.
jaime@FSPDT says
hi Allison, i just wanted to ask if i can use one pic with a link back in a round up post. I think you are on the kbn list for that. Thanks, jaime @FSPDT
Allison McDonald says
Of course! Thank you 🙂