Fun with felt: At the zoo

Beginner: badges

You will need: photographs of zoo animal faces; paper; pencils; felt; fabric scissors; fabric glue; safety pins; stiff card; felt markers; beads (optional).

What to do

• Look together at the photographs of the animals’ faces. Discuss the shapes and patterns on the faces and how you might replicate these in felt. Ensure the children choose a range of different animals to make.
• Ask the children to draw their animal faces on paper, carefully studying the shapes of heads, ears, positioning of eyes, and patterning. This gives children the opportunity for close observation, description and discussion, thus helping them learn what the animal really looks like.
• An adult may need to cut out the felt shapes, using the photograph and child’s drawing as a guide. Invite the children to assemble their badges using very small amounts of fabric glue. Demonstrate how to hold the spreader vertically to dot the glue on accurately.
• Use card to stiffen the badges.
• Show the children how to apply glue on a rectangle of felt, before sticking it over the non-opening side of the safety pin on the back of their badges.