Authors Katie and Steph of newly published Let's Go Outside have launched their monthly blog posts with us! This month they bring us Make your own Damsel & Dragon Fly. Read on for outdoor craft inspiration and hours of family fun!
Let’s Go Outside… With Izzy and Ben There have been a lot of amazing adventures since Izzy and Ben’s Mummies first talked of making books. And while there has been the odd sleepless night for the Mummies, Izzy and Ben have had a wild time… Riding the rapids on hand crafted rafts, Flying high through enchanted lands, Making dens, Playing a spot of croquet and getting the muddiest hands… And that’s not even the half of it! Welcome to our first Muddy Puddles blog for our soon to be released book ‘Let’s Go Outside’. A book that will bring green, leafy nature magic right to your front door. It’s different, simple and it doesn’t matter what your outdoor space is. There is a whole lot of stuff to do whether you’re in your back yard or in a wide reaching wilderness. It’s for kids aged 3-7 years and it’s packed full of activities, games, nature knowledge and skills. In this, our first ever blog, we’d like to give you a taste of what ‘Let’s Go Outside’ is all about. Chosen by Izzy and Ben… here’s a new activity called ‘Damsels and Dragons’. It’s all about damselflies and dragonflies and is the perfect activity for fun, creativity and imagination. It even helps you to learn the difference between the two by using a short rhyme: Dragonfly wings two big two small Damselfly Dames are all the same You will need: From nature… 1 thin and bendy stick. (Thin enough to thread beads on) 4 leaves (4 the same for damselflies and 2 thin and 2 thick for dragonflies) From home… Masking tape 2 elastic bands Garden wire 8 beads of different sizes Pen How to make your Damsel and Dragon Flies: 1. Take two leaves and fix them together using masking tape. Do the same for the other two leaves.
- Cut a hand length of garden wire and attach the two sets of leaves together using a pinch and twist.
- Attach the leaves to a big bead by threading the two loose ends of wire through the hole in the bead. Secure the wire with a pinch and twist. The loose ends become two legs.
- Cut two finger lengths of garden wire and thread them through the wire. Secure the wire with a pinch and twist. This will make your insect’s other legs.
- Wrap an elastic band around your stick, roughly half way down. This acts as a stopper for your beads. Make the abdomen of your insect by threading the small beads onto the stick.
- Thread a big bead onto the stick and then the winged bead to make the thorax.
- Thread the final big bead onto the stick and draw two eyes on it. Dragonflies’ eyes are usually close together. The damselflies’ eyes are further apart.
- Secure all of the beads onto your stick using an elastic band.