Are You a Horse (Ornament)? Book Review and Craft

Each month, every momstown chapter receives a book from Scholastic Canada to read as a group, and then give away to one lucky member. The books are chosen to compliment momstown's curriculum theme of the month.  This month's selection "Are You A Horse", by Andy Rash, was an excellent choice that would be a great addition to any preschool to kindergarten "Wild West" unit. 


 "Are You a Horse?" is the tale of a would-be cowboy, Roy, who receives a saddle for his birthday together with instructions to "1. Find a horse 2. Enjoy the ride."  Eager is to try out his new gift but unsure of just what a horse is, Roy sets out to find one.  In the course of his search, Roy asks a variety of things, including a rusty red wagon, a snake, and a sloth, whether they are a horse.  Each replies that it is not, but gives Roy a valuable piece of information about what a horse is.  Roy learns that unlike a wagon, a horse is a living thing, and unlike a sloth, a horse is fast.  The sillyness of Roy's clueless actions kept our little ones engaged and entertained, and the full page, bright and cartoonish illustrations add to the humour of the text.  While the kids appreciated the story because it made them laugh, I, and I'm sure our parents, appreciated that while they listened and laughed they were also learning important lessons about what makes an animal different than an object, and what makes one type of animal different from another.  It is a book that will be enjoyed in our home for many more years, and I hope that it is enjoyed equally by our winners this month, Andrea and her daughter Grace. For another review of "Are You a Horse", be sure to check out momstown arts and crafts.

Whenever possible, I like to tie a craft in with the books that we read, and "Are You a Horse" provided my nephew and I with a perfect reason to create some clothespin horse Christmas ornaments this afternoon.  This is a craft that can easily be done with a variety of ages, and works well with toddlers (my nephew is 18 months).  It involves one colour of paint (less mess), glue and yarn (sensory fun), and  it can be done in stages as attention span allows.

Here is what you will need to make your own clothespin horse:

Supplies

• Two clothespins 
• White or beige carstock
• Several scraps of brown or black yarn cut into approximately 1-2cm lengths
• 8-10 pieces of brown or black yarn, cut in 15cm lengths
• Googlie eyes
• Ribbon (optional)
• Tacky liquid glue, or a glue gun (adults only)
• Scissors
• Paint brush

Instructions

1. Paint clothespins and cardstock brown (note, you could skip this step and just use brown cardstock).  This is a perfect opportunity to allow young toddlers to paint, since you are only using one colour, and the goal is to fill the page. Allow to dry.

2. Draw (or trace using a template), the body of a horse onto the painted paper.  Cut out.  Flip cut out over, and use it to trace a second copy of the horse's body.  Cut out.  You should end up with two painted horse cuts outs facing the same direction.

3. Glue googlie eyes onto painted side of horse cut outs.  Run a line of liquid glue (we used Aleene's Tacky Glue) along horse's neck,  and stick 1-2cm pieces of yarn into the glue to form the mane; great toddler fun if you can handle gluey, yarn covered hands. If you are making a Christmas ornament, attach seasonal decorations such as a ribbon bow as well.

4. Turn one horse cut out over.  Use tacky glue or a glue gun (an adult's job) to glue clothespins to the bottom of the horse.  The "clip" part of the clothespins should be facing up, with the end that you pinch at the bottom.

5. Tie 15cm pieces of yarn into a knot to form the horse's tail (older children can do this themselves, but for younger kids you may want to pre-tie the tail pieces together).  Use tacky glue or a glue gun (an adult's job) to attach the tail to the back end of the horse. 

6. If you would like to be able to hang your horse, knot a length of ribbon into a loop, and glue in between the clothespins, near the top of the horse's back. Glue second horse cut out, painted side facing out, to the clothepins, so that the clothespins are sandwiched between the two horse cut outs.

7. Once your horse is dry, you can stand it up on its clothespin legs, or hang it from your tree.  You can even use the clips to hold an envelope or note.  I think it would be a fun surprise to clip a little something onto the horse to discover on Christmas morning.

A big thank you to Scholastic Canada for providing the book the inspired the craft.  We enjoyed both!