Blooming Kids: Making a Scarecrow

Hi kids! 
This section is especially for children who like to grow and make things.
Your never to young to start! 
In this section I will be including things that children can do around the garden.

I will also be writing about things they can make for and from the garden. 
So come back each month and follow along with your children. 
You never know; you might have the next Don Burke or Richard Moran in your sites.  

January 2013

Things to make before we start the vegie patch,

Sure; most children want to get stuck in and simply plant something, but if you set some ground rules for beginning a garden first, your children will have a wealth of knowledge that will prove them well in life and in their own garden one day. When beginning a garden, there are a few items that you need to start making. 

This is Jackson 3 & Levi 2 who are just about ready to start a vegie patch
so follow these two over the next couple of months
and you too can have a lot of fun in your garden.

It's always good to build a scarecrow and get it up in the garden. They are good for scaring away all those birds that want to eat your young plants. After all, I don't think you want to be out there ALL DAY trying to scare off those pesky birds. Then you need to begin a good compost area, as you will be needing a good soil to grow all your lovely seeds and plants, but we will talk about compost next time.

Get the children involved while making a scarecrow for the garden.....

It's great to have birds and other wild life  in the garden, but sometimes they can be a real nuisance. Do you find that they eat all your berries and fruits? Why not make a scarecrow for the Vegie garden or your orchard, and keep those pesky little critters away. 
Better still; get the children involved, and explain to them how important it is to have someone in the garden at all times, watching over it. 

You will need:

2 pairs of old stockings or pantyhose , large needle and thick cotton,wool and some old unwanted clothes, an old hat, some straw for stuffing, some buttons for eyes and some colored felt and craft glue.

JoyCrow

1. Take one pair of stockings or pantyhose and tie the tops of the legs together under the body part. Stuff the body part with straw to make the head and tie it off at the top. Glue some wool on the head to make hair.

2. Cut the toes off the legs of the stocking or pantyhose. Stuff a small amount of straw into each leg and push right to the top. Tie the legs together again under the stuffing to make a neck.

3. Stuff each of the stocking or pantyhose to form the arms. Tie a knot when you get to the elbow and another at the wrist and another to finish off the hand.

4. Tie the top of the legs of the other pair of stockings or pantyhose in the same way as you did before. Stuff the body part until it is very full. Using the needle and cotton, sew the top of the second pair of stockings or pantyhose to the top of the "arms" and "neck" of the first pair. Your scarecrow now has a body.

5. Fill the legs with straw, tying a knot at the knees, ankles and toes.

RossCrow

6. Cut eyes, eyebrows, nose, mouth and ears from the felt. (Make them nice and BIG!) Stick them on to the face with craft glue. You might like to add some details with a permanent marking pen.

7. Now dress your scarecrow. A light loose scarf or corks on strings around a hat will give movement and make the scarecrow seem more alive, even add some old cds on the clothing this will even help to scare away the critters.

8. You can sit your scarecrow on a chair, rest it against a wall or tie it to a stake in the ground (Put the clothes on over the stake to hide it.) 


Then you'll have to give him/her a name! Meet JoyCrow and RossCrow.

Do you have a scarecrow in your garden? If so, I'd love to hear about it, especially if you wrote about it on your own blog. Did you build it yourself? If you don't have one, would you consider building one now?
Kids; I want photo's ok?..If you send me a photo of you building your scarecrow I will publish it next time I write.