Buzzing Mosquito Craft for Children

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When I thought about all the creative things that I could do with my children when my oldest became old enough to really enjoy them, I never would have dreamed that I would come up with a buzzing mosquito craft for them. Mosquitoes are such a nuisance and most people prefer to not think about them (or deal with them!), but this craft will make the pesky insect seem fun (and NO itchy bites will accompany it!).

I based this off of the classic, Why Do Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears?: A West African Tale  by Verna Aardema.

 

This popular folktale tells the story of how the mosquito came to have a buzz when it flies around.  This fun story captures the imagination and also teaches a lesson about how telling fibs always has consequences.

After reading the book, we watched another version of the story on Tinga Tinga Tales Season 1. View it here:

To go along with the story, we decided to make our own buzzing mosquito craft!  Yes, they actually buzz!

 

To make your own buzzing mosquito, you will need:To make your own buzzing mosquito, you will need:

• flexible drinking straws
• pom poms
• googly eyes
• white felt
• pipe cleaners
• glue

 

Start with your straw.  Take two pipe cleaners and wrap them around the straw end to end beginning after the bendy part.

Next use two or three more pipe cleaners to create legs.  Wrap them around the straw and bend to match the crook of a mosquito’s leg.

 

Trim off some of the back end of the straw (the part away from the bend).  Then cut the tip into a V shape.  Flatten this part by pressing on it with the edge of your scissors. Part the V slightly.

 

Glue two googly eyes on to your pom pom and then glue the pom pom right above the flexible part of the straw.

Cut two wing shaped pieces from the white felt and glue them to the back of the mosquito.

 

Allow to dry.  When it is ready, if you blow into the V shaped part, the straw will act like a reed and make a kazoo like buzzing sound!  It can take some practice to get it just right, but when they do, children can have fun flying around their own buzzing mosquito(or a swarm of them!).

A Few Tips for Your Buzzing Mosquito Craft:

• It is important to get a deep enough angle and far enough down when you cut your straw to ensure that it will produce sound
• Blowing too hard can make it more difficult
• Have fun!