Paper Plate Craft: Rocking Birdies

These sweet, "rocking" paper plate birds are sure to be a hit with all kids and they'll add a bright burst of colour to any crafting session!

We recently made our birds to ring in spring in my home daycare. The Hooligans had a great time making and playing with them.

Easy and inexpensive to prepare, these birds provide the opportunity for children to explore a variety of materials and processes, while expressing themselves creatively.

It's perfect for some one-on-one crafting with your little one, or as a crafty play date activity. Your finished bird can be used as a decoration, or your child can turn it into a greeting card by writing a simple message inside.

What You'll Need:

• paper plate
• googly eyes
• craft feathers (or tissue paper)
• yellow cardstock or construction paper for beak
• strips of coloured paper
• paint
• glue
• stapler

How We Made Them:

We began by folding our paper plates in half and the children painted their "birds" in vibrant colours. It's only necessary to paint and decorate one side of the plate, but if your child wants to paint both, let them go for it!

When our paint was dry (a blast from a hairdryer will speed up this process), the children glued the feathers, eyes and beaks onto the plates. If you don't have any craft feathers on hand, colourful tissue paper can be used as an alternative. Cut the tissue paper into 3-inch squares, and have your child give them a quick "crumple." Glue in place and fluff them up a bit to make your "feathers."

For the last step, we folded several narrow strips of colourful paper in half and stapled them to the tail end of the bird. I used a paper shredder to make some of my strips, but the rest I quickly and easily cut by hand.If you're planning to use your bird as a greeting card, have your child decorate the inside of the plate with markers or crayons, or have them write a short message and sign their name to it. What an adorable and colourful greeting card this would make!

If you prefer to use your bird as a decoration, you may need to secure the two sides of the plate together with a piece of yarn and some tape. Simply tape a short piece of yarn inside the plate, holding the two halves together with an inch or two gap between them.Now you're ready to see your bird in action. Place it on a flat surface, and give one end a little tap to set him "rocking."

Happy spring!

If you'd like to see more of our simple and affordable arts, crafts and activities for kids, I'd love for you to pop over and visit us at Happy Hooligans! We have hundreds of ideas waiting for you there!