Geography/History: Paper Towel Totem Poles

We have begun discussing
the Native Americans/American Indians
in the History component of our
Sonlight Curriculum.

One morning last week,
I read...

...North American Indians

by
Marie and Douglas Gorsline
tot he kiddos.

It is a really good book, full of fun facts and pictures
about many of the different tribes who lived/live
in North America.

One of the tribes on the Northwest coast
made totem poles to display
the members of their families-
kind of like a "wooden Family portrait."

So, NATURALLY, we had to create
our OWN family totem poles...

(I got my inspiration for this project
at No Time for Flashcards-
you can see their version by clicking HERE.)

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The supplies we used for this project included:

Paper towel rolls
Markers
Colored foam
Scissors
Glue
Googly Eyes

First, I drew five sections on each of the paper towel rolls-
one section for each member of our family.

The kiddos then colored them with markers
to their liking...

After the coloring was done,
I cut our foam feathers...

...which the kiddos glued together...

...to create wings for their totem poles.

I also helped the kiddos cut and paste
some foam for a feathery crown.

The final touch was to cut a paste
foam beaks and select googly eyes
for all the "family members."

The order of the family members is as follows,
starting at the top and going down
to the bottom:

Super Dad
Wonder Mom
Jungle Girl
Baby Girl
Little Wild Man

The kiddos really got a kick out of giving Super Dad
HUGE googly eyes...

What a fine, feathered family we make!

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For more fun with Geography/History,
head on over to
Children Grow Children Explore Children Learn.

I have also linked up to
What Would You Do With It? Wednesdays-
check out this linky for some creative uses
of items that would otherwise go into the trash bin.