Tasha (my 8 yr old) made this when she was learning about India in Brownies (peacocks are native to India).  This craft is suitable for ages 3+

I often receive emails from people indicating that some of the crafts on the site seem too young for ages 7 and up, but the group of 7, 8 and 9 year old Brownies really enjoyed this project.  I think tying 'younger' crafts in with learning while crafting is a good way to make projects suitable for older children.  The older children are able to work independently and divide their attention between listening and crafting which leaves the adults free to read a book, share a slide show or have a Q&A time about the topic being shared.

Materials:

• paper plate
• markers (blues, greens, purples)
• blue, green, dark purple, orange and/or gold paint (we used tempra paint)
• template pieces I've provided (printer, paper and something to color with) or make your own by tracing the shapes onto construction paper
• scissors
• glue,
• stapler

Directions

• On a paper plate, draw lines with blue, green and purple shades of markers, the lines should all cross in the center of the plate.
• Have the children dip their index finger into a dark color of paint (Tasha used blue in the photo but you could use purple or green as well) and make fingerprints here and there on the plate.
• Now have the children dip their pinkie finger into a lighter color of paint (Tasha used orange in the photo, but you could use yellow or gold as well) and make a pinkie fingerprint in the center of each index fingerprint they made in the previous step
• Set the plates aside to dry.
   
  WHILE THAT'S DRYING, make the body:
• Print out the template of choice and color if using the B&W option.
   
  • I made the body blue, eyes black, top feathers black and beak mauve on the color version.  This fairly closely matches real peacock colors, but you can let the kids get creative when they color in the B&W version
     
    OR
  • Make your own template pieces by tracing the pieces from the B&W template onto a piece of cardboard or the lid of a plastic ice cream container.  Cut these out before craft time.  Now let the children trace the pieces onto construction paper (this is what Tasha did in the photo above... she chose blue for the body, orange for the top feathers and white for the beak)
• Cut out the template pieces.
• Assemble the body:
  • The body is the largest piece -- it looks a bit like a peanut...  The head is the narrow part
  • Glue the top feathers behind the head.  Have the children cut slits about 1/4 inch apart to fringe this piece
  • Glue on the eyes and beak (you could substitute wiggly eyes for the template ones or just use a black marker to draw on eyes)
• Staple the body to the bottom of the plate and you're done your peacock!

Peacock Body Template    (color)     (B&W)

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