How cute and easy is this rock chick craft the girls and I made while on a farm stay one year?

Sometimes the most simple crafts really are the best. These chicks are made with feathers which have been gathered from nature (as opposed to dyed ones purchased from the craft store) and are perfect for preschoolers and older kids alike.

As my girls have grown, we have regularly taken them on farm stay holidays. I love seeing them connect with the land, outdoors, and where our food really comes from. This is so much easier to explain when they can bottle feed calfs, milk cows by hand, gather eggs from nest boxes and hold baby chicks in their hands.

Of course, their favourite part of farm stay holidays has always been the baby animals! One year we were inspired to create some rock chicks from rustic-looking round rocks the girls gathered from the dirt road, and spotted guinea-fowl feathers they found laying on the ground.

It may or may not surprise you that we just happened to bring along our glue and googly eyes, as well as their typical stack of colouring books, blank paper, scissors and felt tip markers. We never travel without them. It makes for a far more peaceful holiday if the kids can entertain themselves screen-free whilst we sit on the verandah with a cup of tea for at least 15 minutes undisturbed.

How to make Rock Chicks

You will need:

Round-ish rocks
Feathers
Googly eyes
Glue
Yellow or orange paper (or white paper coloured in yellow or orange)

How to:

Wash your rocks if you’ve gathered them from the roadside like we did and allow to dry
Glue on feathers for wings and tail
Glue on googly eyes
Fold a scrap of orange or yellow paper in half, snip a triangle out from the fold, and glue on for a beak