One of the most important parts of creating art with kids, I think, is displaying that art. It's a skill I'm still perfecting in our house, trying to move artworks off the frig and onto our walls. I'm slow to commit to new frames- and new nail holes- so this bird banner project has been perfect. It's a great way to display drawings and is light enough to be hung with washi tape (no new holes!). It's also portable, with a myriad of uses: an outside bird tea party, a bird-themed birthday party, or a house decoration that can easily be moved from room to room. 

 

The inspiration for this project was Isia. She's been drawing birds for over a year now (this photo was taken last spring), and is still smitten with all the different shapes & colors. She gets it honest- both Cory & I grew up poring over bird books trying to identify new birds.

 

Her first step for the banner was drawing her birds. She used our bird book as a reference- choosing a few we've read about in the Burgess Bird Book, as well as others she liked. She drew the birds in pencil first on nice drawing paper, then colored them in with Prismacolors. They turned out lovely!

To make the pennant pieces uniform- and as large as possible- we marked a dot in the middle of each cardstock's bottom edge, then used a ruler to trace a line from each upper corner to that dot. We then trimmed away the extra from the pennants, as well as the bird drawings, before gluing the drawings on. Once dry, I hot-glued the pennant pieces to the back of a ribbon- leaving extra ribbon at both sides for easy hanging. It was a party decoration at first, using push-pins to secure it in the gorgeous ceiling beam at my parent's house...

 

 ... before coming home to hang in the kids' room. It's such a nice pop of color to their wall, and the first thing Isia points out if she takes you up to her room- "Do you see what I made?" Yes, there are definitely more kid art displays in our future (smile). 

“Consider, too, what an unequalled mental training the child-naturalist is getting for any study or calling under the sun––the powers of attention, of discrimination, of patient pursuit, growing with his growth, what will they not fit him for? Besides, life is so interesting to him, that he has no time for the faults of temper which generally have their source in ennui (boredom); there is no reason why he should be peevish or sulky or obstinate when he is always kept well amused.” -Charlotte Mason