RIC-20950 Early years Fantasy - Witches

Witches – 2
Visual arts
• Make black bats by cutting out a line of three egg carton cups. Turn the
two end cups into wings by cutting away part of the front and back to form
scallop shapes. Paint black and allow to dry before gluing some eyes on
the middle cup. Make two small holes on the top of this section. Thread
black wool or elastic through the holes and hang up.
• Weave a web by fi rst punching 20 holes around a paper plate, all about two centimetres from the edge. Weave a random
pattern from one hole to another, using dark-coloured wool or string. Use adhesive tape to attach the beginning and end to the
back of the plate. Add some ‘fl ies’ by twisting small rectangles of black crepe paper and placing them in the web.
• Create a polystyrene cup spider. Turn the cup upside down. Use eight
pipe-cleaners to make the spider’s legs by pushing them through the
open end of the cup about one centimetre from the edge. Ensure
the legs are not too close together or the cup may crack and come
apart. Glue big eyes on the cup and use a black marker pen to draw
the spider’s mouth.
• Make a paper plate witch. Cut out a simple witch’s hat outline from black paper. Make the witch’s face by painting a paper plate
green and allowing it to dry. Trace around the children’s hands on orange construction paper to make the witch’s hair. When cut
out, glue the hands (orange hair) to the green plate, then add the black hat. Use marker pens or shapes cut from black paper
to add the witch’s eyes, nose and mouth.
• Staple a small paper plate (the spider’s head) securely to a larger one (the spider’s body). Paint
the plates black on both sides. Make spider’s eyes from white paper and glue them on. Add
black streamers for legs. Add a piece of string and suspend the spiders from a longer
length of string stretched across the room.
• Use large triangular shapes cut from pieces of black fabric as wizards’ hats. Glue the
‘hats’ to a sheet of coloured paper. Ask the children to glue smaller shapes cut from
brightly coloured fabric, glitter and other collage materials to decorate their hats.
• Make witches’ hands. Trace around the children’s hands on green card or paper
and cut them out. Make pointed ovals from coloured card or paper to use as long
fi ngernails and glue them on. Stickers or glitter can be added to the nails for greater
effect. Marks such as warts and veins can be drawn on the hands to make them even
more unattractive.
• Make a witch’s broom, using a strong
straight stick about 1.5 metres long. Find
some thin twigs all about 50 cm long.
Tie strong string to the stick about 20 cm
from the end and wrap it around the fi rst
layer of twigs and tie them tightly to the
stick. Add layers of twigs until the broom
is quite thick. Make a band of string about
6 cm wide around the outside of the twigs
to hold them all in place. Children can
talk about how witches use their brooms.
They can then use their own brooms to
sweep up leaves or to play the singing
game ‘Old mother witch’. Refer to .
• Use a large black rubbish bin liner to create a wizard
cape. Cut about 2 cm along the edge of the closed end
of the bag. This can be used later as the tie around the
top of the cape (instead of ribbon). Cut the bag down
one seam and unfold it to make a large rectangle shape.
Fold and tape down a 10-cm seam across the top edge
of the cape. Make slits along this seam and thread
ribbon or the cut-off strip of plastic through the slits to tie
the cape around the wizard’s neck. Turn the cape to the
other side and use clear tape to attach glittery moon and
star shapes to decorate the outside of the cape. Use for
dramatic play.
• Make cat puppets by painting a paper bag black. Glue on
collage materials for eyes, nose, mouth and whiskers.
Twist the corners of the bag carefully to make the cat’s
ears. The children can take turns to interview puppets to
ask questions such as how the cat helps its witch and
why they are always black.
R.I.C. Publications ® – www.ricpublications.com.au Early years themes—Fantasy—Witches 85