Scarecrows

Book Ideas:

The Little Old Lady who was not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams
"The little old lady's fearless attitude and her clever solution as to what to do with the lively shoes, pants, shirt and pumpkin head that are chasing her will enchant young audiences."

The Little Scarecrow Boy by Margaret Wise Brown
"Little scarecrow boy longs to accompany his father, old man scarecrow, to the cornfields to frighten the crows. Instead, he has to remain home to grow and to practice the terrible facial expressions his father teaches him. Convinced that he has mastered the six fierce faces, he slips out early one morning and confronts a big black crow in the field."

The Scarecrow’s Hat by Ken Brown
"Chicken thinks Scarecrow's hat will make a nice nest, but first she must swap with Badger, Crow, Sheep, Owl, and Donkey."

Songs and Rhymes:



Scarecrow

Tune: I'm A Little Teapot


I'm a little scarecrow Stuffed with hay
Standing watch in my field all day.
When I see a crow I like to shout:
"Hey, Mr. Crow, you'd better get out!"

Scarecrow

tune of: "Itsy Bitsy Spider"

The floppy, floppy scarecrow,
Stands in the field all day.
His job is to scare the birds away.
Up on a pole as high as he can be,
And away fly those black crows,1-2-3-.



The Scarecrow

The old scarecrow is such a funny man.
He flops in the wind as hard as he can.
He flops to the right.
He flops to the left.
He flops back and forth
Till he's most out of breath.
His arms swing out;
his legs swing, too.
He nods his head in a How-do-you-do?
See him flippity flop when the wind blows hard,
The funny scarecrow in our backyard.

I'm a Little Scarecrow
(sung to the tune of I'm a Little Teapot)

I’m a little scarecrow, (Point to self)
Raggedy and worn (Stand with arms out like a scarecrow)
I wear a hat, (touch top of head with one hand)
And my shirt is torn (touch shirt with other hand)
When the crows come, (flap arms)
I wave and shout, (wave arms)
Away from my Garden----Get on out! (make 'shooing' motions with hands)

The Floppy Scarecrow...

The Floppy, floppy scarecrow
Guards his fields all day.
He waves his floppy, floppy hands
To scare the crows away!

***Repeat poem, replace bold type with arms, toes, head, legs, etc.



Shiny Black Crows
(To the tune of 3 green and speckled frogs)

5 crows, all shiny black,
Sat on a scarecrow's back,
Eating the most delicious corn,
CAW! CAW!
Scarecrow, he shouted BOO!
1 crow, away she flew,
Then there were 4 black shiny crows (just 4!)

***Repeat 4 crows, 3 crows, 2 crows, 1crow



Activity Ideas:

Idea #1:Story Sequence

To make the story sequence cards that go along with the book "The little old lady who was not afraid of anything", print off the basic scarecrow clothes (you will need two of each article of clothing). You will need two sets of gloves and two pumpkin heads too.
Cut-out and color the various articles of clothing (try and color the articles of clothing the same colors as seen in the book) and glue them on card stock cards (I cut the card stock paper into four pieces). Write the action on each card, as well.

I used the second set of clothes to make a complete scarecrow for the final card.

Read the story "The Little Old Lady who was not Afraid of Anything" and then have your child put the cards in the order that they were seen in the story. Ask your child which item followed the old lady first? Ask your child if they remember the action that went with each item as he or she puts the cards in order. This is a good reading comprehension activity. A younger child may have to refer back to the pages in the book. Help them look back to the story and see
what came first, second, etc... Lay the cards out in order together.


Idea #2: Mini Paper Scarecrows


Before you start the project, print off an assortment of paper doll clothes so that your child has a few choices of shoes, hats, gloves, pants etc..to choose from to create their very own scarecrow.


Print off the paper doll outline and then trace the basic outline, without the face, onto card stock.

Add a scarecrow face to the traced body outline.

Read one of the book titles and then have your child choose an outfit for their scarecrow, from the ones you have printed off. Then have them color each article of clothing and trim (if they can) and glue their clothes onto the body outline.

If you would like to put your scarecrow on a post, all you need is two craft sticks and some tape.

Idea #3: Clothes Sorting

Using the same paper doll clothes from the other activities. Sort clothes from various seasons into groups, talking about which ones you would wear in the summer, which ones you would wear in the winter, when it's hot, cold, etc...