1-2-3 Come Do Some Scarecrow Activities With Me!

I love scarecrows; they were one of my favorite things to draw as a child.  Having grown up in Wisconsin, I enjoyed seeing the variety of these farmer-creations that kept watch over the pastoral countryside.

One of the first Art & Activities units that I designed was on scarecrows.  This was prior to all of the software programs, fonts and clip art that I now have at my disposal, but I think you'll still enjoy making some of these cuties from my hand drawn patterns.  Click on the link to view/download the 66-page Scarecrow Art & Activities packet. 

Here are a few samples:

Patrick, the paper chain scarecrow, can help your kiddo's countdown to Thanksgiving break.  Choose 2-colors for the links and review an ABAB pattern, or add a 3rd color to do ABCABC. 

You can simply make one to hang in your classroom, or set this scarecrow up as an independent center and have children work on one of their own. (Assign as many links as are appropriate for your age group.)  To incorporate blends, have students write an sc word on each link.

Carl, the counting scarecrow, will help your students review numbers 1-10, skip counting by 2's, 5's and 10's as well as the spatial directions of left and right. 

Five Little Crows in a Cornfield, is a "craftivity" that also includes math practice.

My all-time favorite scarecrow craft I call "Personal Scarecrows."  They are "jointed" so you can pose them in different ways.

Cut out a variety of colored construction paper shapes to use as "patches" for a quick and easy shape review.

I enlarged my students' school photo.  This became the scarecrow's head. The picture appeared very pixilated, which added to the awesome scarecrow looking effect. 

If you don't have the ability to do this, I've also included a scarecrow head template your children can cut and color.

When I was a freelance writer for Mailbox Magazine, my editor asked me to write a scarecrow poem.  The personal scarecrows were my inspiration. 

We received zillions of compliments on our hallway display, and my Y5's really enjoyed making them.  Click on the link to view/print the Personal Scarecrow craftivity.  

On a smaller scale, you could do Sam/Samantha the Shapely Scarecrows.   Give students the option of whether they want to make a boy or girl scarecrow. 

With the personal scarecrow, students got in some great cutting practice, by snipping on the lines of a square to make "hay". They glued these to the ends of the scarecrow's arms and legs. 

For Sam/Samantha, I ran yellow construction paper through my husband's shredder.  Pick up a bunch, crinkle it even more and tape the end to the back of the scarecrow. 

If you don't have a shredder, The Dollar Store sells bags of all sorts of colors.  Look for shredded paper in the gift bag section.  Most school offices have a shredder; you can ask to borrow it. 

To make "stuffing hay" a bit easier for little ones, put a piece of double-sided tape on the back. Children pick up pieces of shred and press them on the tape, when they are done, cover the stickiness with a piece of regular tape.

Remind students ahead of time, that if they throw the shred around and make a mess, that they will not be able to use some on their scarecrow. I think it gave Sam/Samantha that finishing touch. 

A template of additional shapes is included. Students can cut and glue as many "patches" to Sam's/Samantha's clothes as they desire.  I used a piece of yarn to make a dangler.  If you want this to look good on both sides when they spin, each child needs 2 of everything. 

A simpler way to assemble the scarecrow is to have students glue their pieces together.  Punch a hole in the triangle and suspend from the ceiling back-to-back with another child's scarecrow.   Adding a few real buttons adds a bit more pizzazz.  Click on the link to view/download Sam/Samantha The Shapely Scarecrow craftivity.

Finally, my favorite scarecrow easy-reader is My Scarecrow's Nose.  It too reviews shapes, as the scarecrow tries on different shaped noses.  In the end, he gets his favorite, the triangle. Children read, trace, write, color and draw. 

A graphing extension is included, where students vote on their favorite nose for the scarecrow; 2 worksheets continue the shape review.  Click on the link to view/download My Scarecrow's Nose.

I have a nice variety of other scarecrow activities on the site, including scarecrow 10 frames, and a scarecrow glyph.  Click on the link to zip on over to the scarecrow section. 

Thanks for visiting today.  I design and blog daily, so I hope you can pop by tomorrow to grab the newest FREEBIES. 

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"It will not always be summer; build barns." -Hesiod

1-2-3 Come Make A Scarecrow Glyph With Me

Since the pumpkin glyph was such a big hit, I decided to make another fall glyph for you. (A Glyph Makes A Diff!) I thought scarecrows would fit for October or November.

The oval template is for girls; the round one for boys. The directions help students create their unique scarecrow from there.

I’ve found that if I gave my Y5’s a template of some sort, they did much better.

At the beginning of the year, little ones tend to have a difficult time drawing something to fill up an entire page, let alone have a circle or oval look like that particular shape.

Be sure to make one for yourself to show as an example. The ones pictured, I did for me and my husband.

It's a great way for your students to get to know you. Just a "heads up", when it comes to putting down age, I assumed the age of my students, so it didn't confuse them.

My Y5's often copied me, and when I put down lots of hair or whatever, instead of doing 4 or 5 to represent their age they did "lots" too.

I explained to them that I was ________ (age) but I was only putting down 4 or 5 strands of hair because that was how old they were and this is what their scarecrow would look like.

Glyphs are a great way to whole-group assess listening and following directions.  When completed, they make adorable bulletin boards or hallway border displays too!

By having students sign their names on the back of their glyphs, you can give your students some time to collect data from their classmates, to try and figure out whose glyph belongs to whom.

Set a timer, and award a prize of some sort to the student who figures out the most glyphs. Click on the link to view/download the scarecrow glyph.  For other glyphs, click on the link:  Seasonal Glyphs

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN away.

“Courage is resistance to fear, a mastery of fear—not absence of fear.” –Mark Twain

Attention-Getting Fall Glyphs!

Glyphs are a quick, easy and fun whole-group listening and following directions  tool that can be used for assessments.

During conferences, if you have to prove to parents that their child is not listening and following directions,  glyphs are a perfect example to haul out and share.

Since listening and following directions is a standard on most report cards, glyphs are a fun way for students to show you that they can do that. 

Completed glyphs also make an interesting bulletin board or hallway border display.  By having students write their names on the BACK of their glyph, you can challenge them to try and figure out whose glyph belongs to whom. 

Have children interview their classmates, collecting and then analyzing their data, which is also a standard for many. This 18-page packet includes graphing and tally mark extensions,  so you can cover these math concepts as well. 

The pumpkin glyph is also a nice review of 2D shapes.  Click on the link to view/download the pumpkin glyph.  If you have a scarecrow theme going on, I think you'll enjoy this cute scarecrow glyph. 

My Young Fives LOVED doing glyphs, so I dreamed up one for just about every month. To view other glyphs, click on the link. More Seasonal Glyphs

Thanks for visiting today. Do you have a glyph you could share with us?  I'd enjoy hearing from you diane@teachwithme.com or take a moment and leave a comment here.

It's a gorgeous fall day!  Outside my office window, I can see some of the trees starting to turn and a few yellow leaves floating in the breeze, as they spiral to the ground, seeming to avoid the busy squirrels scampering willy nilly. 

I think it's time for a break.  Chloe, my poodle pup, will enjoy a brisk walk too.  Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

"We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have done." -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow