Squirrel Craft

I’m going to make this quick so I can go to bed early tonight!

This is a cute little squirrel craft that The Littlest Apple and I did together yesterday as part of the Titmouse Club with the Houston Audobon Society.  (A HUGE thanks to Tanya for recommending this weekly nature program to me after my Arboretum post!)

So, the idea was obviously not mine, but I thought this was such a cute craft!  We covered the squirrel cutout in glue (painted on with a sponge brush), then sprinkled coffee grounds on the squirrel body.  The tail is made of shredded wheat (which The Littlest Apple was too impatient to crumble up).  Then we added a googly eye and a pom pom nose, and that’s it!  The Littlest Apple really enjoyed the sensory experience of the coffee grounds and the crumbly shredded wheat.

The Littlest Apple (and I) learned so much about squirrels with the nice docents from the Houston Audobon Society.  We learned that squirrels are rodents, just like mice and beavers, and that they have to chew on stuff to keep their teeth from growing too long.  We also learned about several different varieties of squirrels (including the flying squirrel) and that squirrels go down trees head first using their sharp claws to grip the trees.  We sang several squirrel songs, saw a squirrel skull, used a magnifying glass to look at various nuts that squirrels eat.  And then after we completed the craft, we went on a nature hike to look for squirrels and their nests.  It was such a neat class, and I’m looking forward to returning again next week.