Making Papier Mache Animals

 The wonderful papier mache tūī that accompanied me to the Imagine This! Festival at Porirua Library, was a huge hit with kids and parents. They were fascinated about how little it weighed and how life-like it looked. This lovely tūī was made by Meredith Thorpe, a Nelson-based artist. Parents and children asked me how to make a papier mache animal.

Meredith's Tūī

Autumn Leaf Study in New Zealand - leaf art, leaf scavenger hunts and more

Autumn around the world is a time that lends itself to investigate leaves, through making leaf art, going on a leaf scavenger hunt and learning about trees and their leaves.

Yet in New Zealand where almost every native tree is evergreen, the emphasis on trees changing colour and losing they leaves could seem to favour introduced trees over native trees. Here are some activities and ideas for studying native tree leaves in New Zealand. Autumn is still a good time to study leaves as it is interesting to compare deciduous and evergreen trees.

ACTIVITY: Go on a leaf hunt to find different colour leaves and identify whether trees are evergreen or deciduous. 

Deciduous trees - those that lose their leaves in autumn - do so to survive a cold winter, saving energy and getting rid of leaves that might pick up diseases. The trees draw back into their branches and trunk all the goodness that was in the leaves, such as water, nutrients and the green substance chlorophyll. So the leaves change colour, dry out and fall.

Octopus Colouring Sheet and other nature crafts

Running out of kids' activities for the holidays?

Thanks to illustrator Fraser Williamson, each of the "Whose?" books has a matching activity which helps extend the children's thinking about the book concepts.

Whose Beak is This? has a kākā mask to colour and make; Whose Feet are These? has a gecko to colour and add some 'sticky' feet; now there is a colouring sheet for Whose Home is This? based on the colourful illustration of wheke, the octopus.

DOWNLOAD A4 Colouring Sheet

Create a Nest or Habitat Diorama - craft for kids

Create A Diorama

Your challenge is to create a diorama of a habitat which includes clues about the animal that lives there. Keep your animal secret and then get your family and friends or classmates to guess Whose Home is This?

Diorama of a kea habitat

First here are some ideas about using clues to guess an animal that lives in a particular habitat, from my book Whose Home is This?

Nature's Symmetry - a flower hunt

Spring and early summer is a time for flowering. Many herbs, vines, trees and other plants in the wild have been putting on a colourful show.  I always enjoy seeing the great variety of colour, shape and size, but a recent discovery in the forest set me thinking about symmetry. 

Although kiekie vines are often in abundance in our temperate rainforest I've rarely seen a flower. A friend found this one when we were hiking in the Tararua Forest Park. The flower is striking in its '3 part' symmetry. 

kiekie flower (about 30cm wide)

Symmetry is pleasing to the eye. We often look with pleasure on patterns that repeat in some way. So for children (and adults) seeking out symmetry in nature can be a fun and engaging nature activity.

Nature Kids - Making Zines to Spread the Word

Crazy about kākāpō? Curious about kauri? Amazed by animal poo? Wild about weka? If you are a nature fan, you can make a zine to share your passion. 

Zine is short for 'fanzine' - these self-published creations started out as homemade books by fans about their favourite bands. But they can be on any topic that you are crazy about. I got inspired to try making zines when I met Murtle Chickpea and her Zine Museum at the Wairarapa Book Bash. Here is one of the zines...