scarecrows

momstown kicks off Fall with a Scarecrow theme - and some great Scarecrow stories!

Story County by Derek Anderson - our Scholastic-sponsored Book of the Month!

A story about a farmer and his animals building their farm together, including a very pretty scarecrow!
New York Times bestselling illustrator Derek Anderson takes readers from white page to colorful farm in this charming tale of friendship (and teamwork), as five friends come together to create Story County- a special new home for young readers, where anything can happen!

Scarecrow by Michael Rex
Simple text and story, with one word on each page. Designed for early readers, but also works well to be read to very young children. Likely the reader would need to elaborate on each single word and picture, to ‘tell the story’ that is happening as the scarecrow loses his hat, then finds it again (along with a few other hats!)

Scarecrow by Cynthia Rylant
Describes the life of a scarecrow, how he is made, and how is part of the work on a farm and all of the living things around him. More of a reflective text, recommend for older (preschool) children.

Alli Gator and the Mixed Up Scarecrow by Heather Alexander
Unique ‘turn the wheel’ book, enables children to put different things on the scarecrow, on each page, for example ‘pumpkin face, mitten hand’, etc. as the text progresses. In a group, the reader can turn the wheel and ask children ‘is this right’ – fun for kids as the scarecrow gets ‘mixed’ up! Board book.

I’m A Dingle Dangle Scarecrow by Annie Kuebler
Board book which illustrates part of the “Dingle Dangle” scarecrow song (see songs). Would be a great accompaniment to that song as part of a theme playgroup.

the scarecrows hat

The Scarecrow’s Hat by Ken Brown
An entertaining story in which a chicken helps everyone out by swapping his friend’s items for what they really want. The scarecrow wants a walking stick, and someone else covets his hat, and so on. Fun for children to follow the story and figure out which items are going to which animals!

Posted by Teacher Mom on 09/15/2011 - 09:50

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Thanksgiving Pumpkin Scarecrow

pumkin scarecrow

Want to set up a fall display on your front porch? What quite sure what to do with the bales of hay you see for sale this time of year?

Our family has created a Thanksgiving tradition of making our own pumpkin scarecrow. It’s a full family affair which is really fun for the little ones to participate and play in. There is no such thing as perfect which is even better – the messier your scarecrow is, the better!

Gather together:
-    old clothes: pants, shirt, hat, belt
-    pumpkin (medium size)
-    Bale of hay
-    Sawed off hockey stick or long stick (to keep pumpkin head on)
-    Chair (for your scarecrow to be seated in)
-    Pumpkins, gourds, mums, seasonal shrubs – to decorate all around (and make a big seasonal mess on your porch!)

pumpkin scarecrow

Step one: Stuff your scarecrow! Jam as much straw into those pants and shirt arms as possible! To keep it sorta neat, you might want to lay down a tarp on the ground to make cleaning up easier. Your kids are bound to jump in the hay and make it fly – be prepared for that and also to sneeze!!

pumpkin scarecrow

Step two: Get the pants seated on the chair and belt together pants to the stuffed shirt. This is a balancing act and might need a heavy pumpkin to help keep him upright. Play around with it.

Step three: Take your stick and jam it down the back of his shirt to keep him upright. Leave about 6 inches of the stick popping out from his collar as this will be where the pumpkin will sit. This is probably not the job to give to your child :)

pumpkin scarecrow

Step four: Stab your pumpkin! Yep – stab it! The underside of your pumpkin is going to be impaled by the stick. Lift your pumpkin high and land it on your stick. OR a much better idea is to create a hole in the bottom of the pumpkin first and then in a more gentle fashion place the pumpkin on the stick. You can carve the pumpkin beforehand or just draw a face or leave him faceless.