Tropical Birds Mobile
This post is part of the Multicultural Kid Blogs Hispanic Heritage Blog Hop– see below for more details about that and our GIVEAWAY!
The Alto Mayo region of Peru is one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen. It’s where my husband is from and where we met: the “high jungle,” the part of Peru where the jungle and the mountains meet. Greens and blues, of every shade, and brown rivers winding their way through. The deeper into the low jungle you go, the more tropical birds and animals you can find.
It’s also Hispanic Heritage Month, so here’s a fun a South American craft I came up with! If you’ve ever looked up “Hispanic/Latino crafts,” there will be no shortage of sombreros and jalapeño peppers. No problem with that, but it is fun to do something to celebrate other parts of the Spanish-speaking world. The craft I’m sharing was inspired by an artisan bird mobile I bought in Peru and have loved ever since.
TROPICAL BIRDS CRAFT
Materials:
– Birds Printable
– Paint (preferably in bright colors!)
– Several short sticks
– String
– Beads (optional)
How We Made Our Mobiles:
I borrowed my nieces for the afternoon since this craft is not designed with toddlers in mind. First, we looked at the example mobile to see what colors tropical birds like parrots might be. The girls painted the birds and we set them to dry.Janio had a try at painting too, but mainly just wanted to play with the wooden birds.
While the paintings dried, we went outside to look for sticks, and then worked on making bead patterns and tying the mobile together. The beading is optional, but I had a necklace from Peru that was coming apart and we wanted to use the beads.The birds took a long time to dry, so the next day we put it all together. We (I) cut the birds out, and glued the backs together. Then we punched a hole in each and strung one bird from each stick. Here is the result!
You could make a larger mobile with more birds, or keep it simple and hang all the birds from one stick. We just decided along the way how we wanted to make it! Here is the Tropical Birds Printable. Also, check out my printable mini-book Los Colores de la Selva (The Colors of the Jungle).
This post is part of the Multicultural Kid Blogs blog hop for Hispanic Heritage Month. Enter below to win a prize!
Welcome to the Third Annual Hispanic Heritage Month Blog Hop, hosted this year by Multicultural Kid Blogs and 22 of our member blogs! Don’t miss our amazing giveaway, and share your own posts at our linky!
Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15 to October 15 every year, “celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America” (from HispanicHeritageMonth.gov)
Be sure to visit all of the participating blogs (listed below) and follow our related Pinterest boards:
Don’t miss our Twitter party “Celebrating Hispanic Heritage with Kids,” Tuesday, September 23, from 9 – 10 pm ET! Follow #mkbhhm to participate!
MKB Hispanic Heritage Month Blog Hop: Participating Blogs
Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes
Frogs, Snails and Puppy Dog Tails
My Favorite Multicultural Books
HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH GIVEAWAY!
This year to celebrate we are giving away fabulous prizes! Be sure to enter the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post for a chance to win!
Please note that there are shipping restrictions on some prizes. In the event that the winner lives outside of the shipping area, that portion of the prize will be added to the following prize package.
GRAND PRIZE PACKAGE
Smart Play Pad (SRP $ 24.99): Interactive tablet like electronic toy makes early learning fun and exciting for little ones. More than 30 touch sensitive keys teach language and pronunciation skills to help prepare children for school. Bilingual feature helps kids learn in English & Spanish. Lightweight and truly portable for on-the-go learning. Ships to US and Canada only.
A basket of fun from Escuela Falcón in Guanajuato, Gto., Mexico. This prize includes educational games, ceramic Day of the Dead skulls, a hand-painted ceramic box, wooden toys, and a certificate for 5 hours of Skype Spanish lessons with Escuela Falcón.
A basket from Lanugo that includes Lanugo’s new book, “Lula la Consentida,” a limited edition “Latino de Corazón” infant apparel, and Seventh Generation’s earth conscious baby product essentials. US shipping only.
A Spanish edition of the award-winning game Bananagrams.
DVD of Spanish music videos from Rockalingua.
A Movie in my Pillow and Poems to Dream Together – Books of poetry in English and Spanish from Lee and Low.
FIRST PRIZE PACKAGE
A child’s sweater and bag from Peru courtesy of Kid World Citizen. The handmade, wool sweater is typical from the Andes and might fit a child ages 2-4. The little backpack is also handmade with gorgeous details typical of the region.
A Spanish edition of the award-winning game Bananagrams.
Chocolalala – CD of songs in English and Spanish from Mister G.
Hola Hello – A CD of children’s songs in English and Spanish from Mariana Iranzi.
Mis primeros poemas – A book of poems and audio CD for Spanish learners from All Bilingual Press.
Digital download of Spanish Colors Activities Pack with printable minibooks, games and activity pages from Mundo de Pepita.
Spanish activity book with an audio CD with listening exercises for kids between 3-10 years old (value: 12€) from Lingua Toys.
Hand-crafted guiro (traditional instrument), hand-carved from a gourd in Bolivia with a sun and moon pattern. Great instrument as well as a piece of folk art. From DARIAMUSIC. US shipping only.
SECOND PRIZE PACKAGE
Handwoven scarf from Nicaragua courtesy of Spanish Playground.
¡Las letras! and Señorita Bienvenida en el aeropuerto – Two children’s books in Spanish from Libros Arellano.
A CD of children’s songs in English and Spanish from Mariana Iranzi.
ABC Fiesta – CD of songs in English and Spanish from Mister G.
Digital download of 6 printable Spanish high frequency words books from Custom Literacy.
Hand woven and leather Guatemala coin purse, a fun and vibrant gift. Given by www.AlarconRestaurants.com – from their Gift Gallery in Antigua Real Restaurant, Mukwonago WI.
Bonus Prize: France Shipping Only!
Beautiful piñata created especially for this contest by Piñatas de Laly.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Link Up Your Posts Now it’s your turn to share your posts! The linky will be open through October 15, so come back and share throughout Hispanic Heritage Month!Share your posts for Hispanic Heritage Month!
I am so doing this with my 6 yr. old! He’s going to love it!!! He loves anything animals, and crafts. 🙂 Thank you for including printable links. 🙂
You’re welcome and thank you for stopping by! Have fun with the craft!
These are wonderful!! Please come share at Sharing Saturday!! I love them!!
Thank you! I will share as well!
Thank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday!! I will be featuring this tonight!
I love these! Especially because, as you say, there are so few crafts from other parts of Latin America!