Aardvarks Termite Hill - Paper Craft - Silkysteps - Early learning resources and childcare activities for Preschool, home and Children's early years play

Aardvark’s Termite Hill

Craft Activity for Children and Adults

A ‘very hands’ on crafting activity that focuses on the living environment and habits of the mammal Aardvark.

Using salt dough you can model and build a termite hill that the children can then fill it with ‘ants’ and role play with a finger puppet Aardvark!!

A wonderful resource to cover many ‘Knowledge & Understanding’ areas.

Download the PDF now!

INSTRUCTIONS

This craft project is better staged over a few days as lengthy cooking time for the salt dough is required.

You will need
A drinking mug/cup for each child to model around
salt dough – 3 cups plain flour
1 cup salt
1 cup of water
Polyurethane varnish (optional)
Plastic food bag per cup
Copy of Aardvark Puppet body
Colouring pencils/crayons, Sticky tape, black tissue paper
Heavy card/mounting board for the base, Sand, PVA glue

Once made .. Role play with the Termite hill and Aardvark finger puppet.

Termite Hill

Explain that you are making a termite hill for the Aardvark to go hunting! but that it will take a while to finish ~ Where possible .. have picture books available, ao that the children can see what is planned.

Make the salt dough by mixing the dry ingredients and water together (add more water as necessary for a firm but malleable dough).

Turn the mug or cup upside down and place the plastic food bag over the top. Tuck the open end inside cup (this will help remove the hill from cup once cooked)

Allow the child to mould the dough over it. Cover the entire mug initially, once covered make a hole in the top (finger sized!) and cut away the area around cup handle (ensuring the dough can be lifted off of the cup once cooked).

Cook the finished termite hill for approx 8 hours (overnight!) at temperature – 130c, 250f, gas mark ½.

Allow to cool and gently prise off of the cup/mug. Remove the plastic bag, if possible!

To protect the dough from absorbing moisture and becoming soggy -give one coat of a polyurethane varnish inside and out. This will however take another possible 2 days to dry thoroughly!

Base

Spread PVA glue over the whole surface of heavy board and collage with sand. Allow to dry and stand Termite Hill on top once dry.

Aardvark

Print a copy of Aardvark and allow children to colour in.

Cut it out and place Sticky tape over the black lines on the Aardvarks back.

Fold gently in half and cut the black lines (the tape should give strength to the paper)

Slot child’s finger in and out of the cut lines (finger should end up underneath the nose area!)

Main Aardvark Puppet Body

PLAY – at last…

Scrunch up lots of small balls of black tissue paper and drop them down through the top of the hill.

Place a small piece of scrunched up sticky tape on the end of child’s finger and ask them to go hunting with their Aardvark in the hill for termites.

Once a termite has been caught put in a pot to drop back into the hill later!