Kids are out for the summer, it’s too hot to go outside. You’ve got to come up with some way to keep the kids busy and you don’t want them parked in front of the television all summer. Time to get creative.
A windsock can bring lots of joy as you watch it dance in the wind. Here is an easy affordable craft your kids can do to create a windsock of their own.
Items you will need:
Construction Paper (at least two sheets)
Crepe paper (the streamers seen at parties)
String
Glue
Scissors
Markers
Start by choosing a piece of construction paper that will be your butterflies body. If you want to decorate the body now is the best time. Add eyes, mouth, feet or just designs. Once you have decorated to your liking roll the paper into a cylinder and glue the two short edges together. If you have good small clamps you may be able to clamp the two edges together and not have to hold them till they dry.
On your second piece of paper draw two ovals big enough to be wings for your butterfly. Here is a great opportunity to let your child’s creativity soar by asking them how they want their wings to look. They may choose two have a second set of smaller wings that will be bottom wings. Or they may choose to use multiple different colors of construction paper and cut smaller ovals to be placed inside the original big ovals, creating multiple colors to the wings.
If you have multiple layers to your wings, you will need to first glue those layers in place. When ready you can glue the ovals to the back seam area of the body cylinder.
Next you will need to cut out two strips to be the antenna for the butterfly. These would be long but not to thick. You can roll these a bit if you choose, to give it a bit of character and individuality. Attach these two strips to the top front of your butterfly with glue. On each side of your butterfly, near the top, punch two holes to run the string through to hang your windsock when you are done. Roll your crepe paper out to the desired length for one strip to hang from your butterfly. Cut then repeat multiple more times, as many times as you want strips to hang from your butterfly. Attach these strips with glue and allow the whole craft to dry.
You now have a personalized windsock to hang and watch dance in the wind. These won’t be very durable since they are made with paper so if you hang outside you may find the need to have another craft day after a good rain. You can also consider hanging these windsocks inside in the path of an air conditioner or fan. That will give you the same effect with less damage from the elements.
