Have you been to a chicken coop? As part of our Spring Unit, we encouraged our subscribers to visit a real coop to learn more about how to care for chickens. (We also took a tour of our own in case you don’t have any farms nearby—watch it here!) Now, let’s bring what we’ve learned into our free play! Here’s how to make a simple chicken coop craft your child can play with again and again.
What you need:
- a shoebox (or similarly sized box)
- scrap piece of cardboard
- hot glue gun + glue
- paint (optional)
- brown paper grass (or make your own with strips of brown construction paper)
- mini chenille chicks (or use whatever chicken figurines you have)
- white and blue mini pom poms or beads
- corn kernels (optional)
What to do:
Cut your scrap cardboard to be the same width as the box to add a second level to your chicken coop (see photo below for reference). Hot glue into place.
Paint the outside of the box. You can also paint a door (or cut it open if you want a working door).
While the paint is drying, prepare your materials for the inside of the box. We added brown paper grass for hay, a small bowl of corn kernels, pom poms for eggs, and several mini chenille chicks. But use what you have! Farm figurines, puzzle pieces, or even big yellow pom poms can be great stand-ins for your chickens.
Once the coop is dry, let the free play begin! Encourage your child to “feed” their chickens and collect the eggs, but let them lead—there is no wrong way to play!
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