Big Fat Hen!

Sean’s school had a nursery skit show and Sean and his friend were responsible for the rhyme, “1,2 Buckle My Shoe”. The parents are responsible for the costumes and the props. Besides the shirts, I also made this big, fat hen.

It started as this globe that we made from paper mache a few years ago. I crinkled some newspaper in the shape of a head and used masking tape to give it shape and to connect it to the globe.

I also added a little tail to the back to balance it and to give it a chicken butt. At this point, it would have been good for me to gesso the whole thing white but I didn’t have time so I just started gluing on the tissue paper. First you cut the tissue into scalloped strips. Then use regular white glue and write a line on the bottom so the rest can stick out and be fluffy like feathers. I started in the back and went forward.

I tightened some newspaper and used masking tape to shape some feet. I used orange acrylic paint to color the beak and the feet. I attached them to the two cut-outs I made on the bottom of the chicken.

It is hollow on the inside which seems like a waste of space. We just went to an Easter hunt yesterday so I decided to stuff a bunch of Easter eggs inside. I reused the eggs with the candies that I didn’t want to keep (anything without chocolate in it) and placed some stickers in our extra eggs. Then I used some tissue strips to seal it up.

Here’s Sean taking the big, fat hen to school.

I forgot to attach the red wattle and comb made from felt so I did it right before the show.

Here are the kids pulling on the legs making the eggs fall out. Of course, Sean grabbed a lot of eggs so the candy I was trying to get rid of got brought back home.

And here is Sean in his shirt holding the sticks for the rhyme. Even though he spoke very softly, he did a great job with eye contact. The parents did a fantastic job with the costumes and props and we had a wonderful show.

2 comments