Indoor Activities with Kids: For the Birds
Reading stories aloud together builds vocabulary, improves comprehension, and promotes speech development. By adding a craft to the experience, you continue to build on story time learning; practicing motor skills and creativity, while reminding the child of themes and words from the story. It becomes active engagement (in the same way that adding the movement of Bendy Bookworm’s yoga poses do) in order to benefit the child’s optimal ability to learn through play.
Try this craft (Ideal for ages 6-9 years old). Pair it with “Luna’s Map” by Danielle Fisher for a Story Time and Craft Activity.
Cognitive Skills: vocabulary, pattern recognition, and visual processing
Motor Skills: drawing shapes, cutting, and glueing (practiced during the craft)
Emotional Skills: friendship, courage, independence
Materials:
Color Markers, Crayons, or Washable Paint
Construction Paper or White Paper and Crayons
Paper plate
Pencil
Scissors and Glue
Optional: Googley Eyes, Feathers, Glitter, Etc.
Step One:
*Paint or color the paper plate.
Step Two:
*Draw a diamond on a piece of orange construction paper (or white paper and then color orange) for the bird’s beak.
*Cut out the diamond and fold across. Cut out about 6 other strips of colored construction paper (or white paper and then color the strips in) for the bird’s tail feathers.
Step Three:
*Once dry, fold your paper plate in half.
*Glue on googley eyes (or draw your own), the tail feathers, the beak, and any other additional decorations you want to add to jazz up your bird (I added feathers)!!