Are you looking for an indoor activity that will entice kids of all ages away from the TV or computer for a couple of hours? If so these mini scarecrows can be easily and cheaply made by young and old using household odds and ends.

All you need to make these scarecrows are wooden spoons, pipecleaners or lollypop sticks for the arms, permanent markers to draw on the faces (with googly eyes optional) and a selection of wool, fabrics, buttons & beads. Glue, staples or needles & thread can be used to fix the ‘clothes’ on or just tie them with wool or string. (We found the easiest way to attach the lollipop stick arms to the wooden spoon was by tying them with wool.)

I found this activity really calming for all involved and enjoyed sitting down, letting the imagination run away with itself, and seeing how differently each of the mini scarecrows turned out, developing personalities as we clothed them.

Children might enjoy having a puppet show with the scarecrows when they’ve finished making them, before they’re finally placed into the garden to scare the birds away.

The joy of this activity is seeing where the imagination goes. Armed with the same bag of bits and bobs, every mini scarecrow is different.

If you’re looking for some more ideas that will help to keep kids away from the TV or computer during the rainy summer holidays, you might like some previous blog posts here.