DIY: Farm animal ears
Infuse imaginative play into a family outing at the farm.
I remember having the most important conversations with my daughters about animals when they were very young. We would sit together, and I would say to Stefie, “A cow says, hmmm, let me think…quack quack, a sheep says oink oink,” and Stefie would laugh gleefully at the ridiculousness of me getting my animal sounds mixed up! Fast forward seven years, and I had the same conversation with Elizabeth, but instead of laughing, she looked concerned and gently try to correct me as she shook her head from side to side, “No mommy, a cow says moo!” I never expected my daughters’ to be so different, but something we all agreed on was how much we love animals (especially baby animals).
It’s special to infuse imaginative play into an activity, like DIY farm animal ears, when visiting a farm or just pretending at home. To make them, you will need a package of plastic headbands (we like buying them from Dollar Tree), felt squares in various colors, good scissors, hot glue (parents) and Elmer’s glue (kids).
Round ear shapes.
There are two types of ear shapes you can cut – pointed and rounded. Pointed ears are perfect for horses, pigs, goats and sheep, and rounded for cows, lamas, alpacas, and bears. A little red cloud shape attached to a hair clip (with some feathers) becomes a chicken comb. Ask your children which animal shape and color felt is perfect for their favorite animal!
When you cut the shape, leave a ½ inch of extra length at the bottom of the ear cutting to wrap around and hot glue (parents) to the headband. Use the photos as a guide for the positioning of the ears. Children can help decorate them by using kid-friendly glue to add extra details, like small spots and stripes.
Make a one for every animal on a farm, and learn their Hebrew names too, like Tar-n’go-let (Chicken), Cha-zir (Pig), Pa-rah (Cow) and Ez (Goat)! If your children love animals as much as we do, you can also learn the Hebrew word for love A-ha-vah!
Let us know if you make animal ears with your child. If you would like to learn more about a Jewish outing to a farm click here!
~Jennifer
A little cloud shape glued to a curl clip.
