The Girls and I have been making windsocks from recycled bits and pieces this week. Though the sun that we have had of late has been lovely, it’s the wind that has really got The Girls stirred up. PD really doesn’t like it when the wind blows: she doesn’t like her hair getting in her face. Down on the beach the other day, to deflect a brewing tantrum as a result of the usual hair-in-face trauma, we looked at the flags that are flying on Margate sea front. I pointed out that the wind made them fly and that if the wind didn’t blow, that we wouldn’t be able to see their beautiful colours.
Back at home, we looked at the way the wind blew the branches of the trees, but this wasn’t as easy to spot, particularly from inside. So I dug around in the recycle boxes. There was only one loo roll holder available, so I cut up a cereal packet, formed it into a tube and stapled it together. I covered the staples with masking tape to protect small fingers. Then I let the Girls loose with the paint.
Once painted and dried, they made liberal use of my sticker stash to give their Windsocks a unique look. We then stuck lots of pieces of glitter shred (collected earlier that day at dancing after boogie with some pompoms. The shred seems to fall off with vigorous use!) to a length of sticky tape. These ribbony tails were then stuck to the inside of one end of the cardboard tubes.
The final job was to poke a hole on each side of the tube at the opposite end of the tube from the tail, and thread with string/wool/sinew/whatever you have to hand, then hang from an extended bough and watch it flutter in the wind!
Great idea! Will encourage the children to let loose with their creativity and go for it….thanks clever artist!
how simple & fun! LOVE this!!!
thanks, Mom to Posh Lil Divas: we really enjoyed making them, and seeing them sparkle in the trees!
I was going to email you, but I couldn’t find your address….I was wondering if I could use your finished windsock picture with a link to your post, of course, on my blog. If so, please email me at Kristin@preschooluniverse.com. Thanks!
I love this! I’m planning to feature it on my site, Preschool Universe, in a post about cool things to do with cardboard tubes. Thanks!
I am also a fan of things that blow around in the wind. I just posted a nylon fish windsock tutorial to a number of blog parties. There is a site that has a tutorial for a paper version (I used the basic pattern for my nylon one) that kids can make and color in. You kids might like to do that one. Just Google paper fish windsock tutorial. It will be in the first few.
(and thank you for linking to Kids Get Crafty!!!)
I am going to have a go at those this weekend,great idea.
Fabulous! Loo roll art at its best 😉 Thanks for linking up!
How adorable!
Reckon if I’d done one today it would have ended up streets away though!
that looks like so much fun!
Thanks Maggy
Oooh I like! How lovely and made with my FAVOURITE household item the loo roll – well one of them was.. cereal box is pretty cool too 🙂
M x
I should think so. I’m going to make one using the sleeve from an old shirt of DH next!
Oh those are cute – we are at the top of the hill so get a LOT of wind (have just invested in windchimes which I love) – wondering if I could sew something similar to go in our big tree