Scarecrow Fun

Fall is in the air and this year it seems more than ever.  The weather is cold and crisp in the morning. The leaves are changing colors. Scarecrows are popping up everywhere!

Scarecrows are a great a symbol of the harvest and fall season. They are also a fun way to dress up the garden and may even scare off a pesky bird or two.  We love placing them in our garden because they’re quirky little smiles make us giggle.

But seeing so many scarecrows around in the stores and at the pumpkin patch made my kids question a few things and I didn’t even know the answer. Why do farmers use scarecrows? Do they really even work?  Who thought of making the first scarecrow? Hmm…so many questions to answer.

Here is what I found out:

Farmers and gardeners use scarecrows to keep crows and other pesky animals away from their crops. (Get it SCARE CROWS!)  

We like having squirrels and birds visit my garden, but if they came and ate all my vegetables everyday I think I would want to scare them off too.  Scarecrows are made to look like a real person sitting in the area protecting the food.  Most people don’t have all day to sit in the garden, although I do love playing in the garden all day, so a scarecrow pretends to be the person protecting the crops.

Scarecrows are usually made out of old clothes stuffed with straw or hay and hung on sticks stuck in the middle of the garden or field.  (The sticks are shaped like a T to create arms.)  Hats are usually added to help make them look more real.

Now for some scarecrow fun try these games and activities:

• Go out to your garden right now and pretend to be a scarecrow. Stand in the middle of your yard or garden with arms straight out and don’t move.  See if any birds or squirrels come to your garden while you are there.
• Count the gardens on your block or in your neighborhood.  How many have brown hats or red hats?
• Go on a scarecrow scavenger hunt. Make a list of items that you might find on a scarecrow and go look for them. (ie: crow, yellow sunflower on a hat, plaid shirt, torn jeans, etc.)
• Make a scarecrow. Stuff a brown grocery bag with newspaper for the head.
• Scarecrow dash.  Create a relay race with friends and dress one person up on each team to be a scarecrow.
• Make a scarecrow picture using only leave, sticks and other nature items that you find in the garden.