Once autumn rolls around, there are plenty of crafts you can make with seniors. Scarecrow crafts especially are great to make as Thanksgiving approaches.
Here are some examples of materials you can turn into Thanksgiving scarecrows:
Popsicle Sticks Scarecrows
With several popsicle sticks, markers and paint, craft straw (also called raffia), and other decorative materials, you can craft easy yet beautiful scarecrows for Thanksgiving.
Vertically place popsicle sticks side by side for the scarecrow’s face and glue another popsicle stick horizontally across to hold the others together. The horizontal popsicle stick can be used as a brim of the scarecrow’s hat or you can glue the horizontal popsicle on the back of the scarecrow and decorate the face as you’d like.
Add the face, a hat, and a scarf, as well as some craft straw for extra detail. Once you are done, you can attach a magnet to the back or a loop of twine for displaying.
For seniors with arthritis, use thicker markers or paint brushes that are easier to grasp. You could also use pre-cut materials for decorating if coloring sections of the scarecrow are too difficult.
Popsicle Scarecrows are great for encouraging creativity since they can be decorated in almost any way with almost any materials.
Coffee Can Scarecrows
For a three-dimensional scarecrow, gather a coffee can, felt or construction paper, buttons or googly eyes, twine, a straw hat, and some craft straw. Wrap and secure tan, yellow, or brown material around the can, and use buttons, googly eyes, or other materials for the scarecrow’s eyes.
Twine can create the perfect scarecrow smile, though you can draw on the mouth and any other features. It may be easier for some seniors to draw the scarecrow’s face on a flat surface rather than on the coffee can, so measure out what part of the paper or felt will be at the front of the coffee can and have seniors draw faces before attaching the material.
If you don’t have enough coffee cans for all of your seniors, use a variety of round materials for the same effect. Flower pots, plastic bottles, mason jars, toilet paper tubes, and any other canister can be made into a perfect scarecrow for Thanksgiving!
You can find instructions and examples for this craft Coffee Can Scarecrow craft here.
Paper Bag Scarecrows
A stuffed paper bag makes the perfect base for a scarecrow head. This craft may be easier to gather supplies for because it can be decorated entirely with paper. While you can get craft straw to add details with, yellow paper works just as well. You can even use easily found materials to stuff the scarecrow with. Try either the plastic bag scarecrow instructions or newspaper scarecrow craft instructions.
If you’d like to give this craft an even stronger tie to Thanksgiving, you can have seniors think of what they’re thankful for and write it on scraps of paper to stuff the scarecrow with. This could lead to sharing Thanksgiving memories and stories, which will surely get them in the spirit of the holiday.
This project is quite simple, so if you want to make it more complex, you can also construct a body for the scarecrow using a paint stir stick.
These scarecrow crafts are sure to get seniors in the Thanksgiving spirit while also inspiring their creativity! Feel free to combine any details from the above crafts to create something new.