We’re making a fun diy flying squirrel craft. It is an amazing rodent with unique features so we’re creating it out of felt to highlight unique features.
The flying squirrel is a small rodent known for its ability to glide through the air.
They have a flap of skin, called a patagium.
It stretches from their wrists to their ankles, which they use to create lift as they jump from tree to tree.
They are adorable and make a perfect model for this felt craft project we are working on today.
This gives the kids a chance to work on fine motor skills while learning about a flying squirrels anatomy.
You can absolutely sew yours by hand or on a machine if you like.
But I love working with felt and hot glue because it is so forgiving, easy to trim and doesn’t leave a rough edge.
Also, it’s a lot quicker than pulling out the sewing machine and threading it.
SQUIRREL BOOKS FOR KIDS
First, look at these books about squirrels.
We prefer to read living books when I can find them.
16 Books & Resources For Kids Who Love Reading About Squirrels
If your child loves reading about all kinds of squirrels, they’ll love reading these books and add some of these fun resources to your unit study.
The Arctic ground squirrel looks small, harmless and innocent. But this little creature survives some of the most challenging weather conditions that occur on the entire planet. It lives in the Arctic, which is literally on top of the world. In the winter it gets so cold that humans couldn't survive in the open!
The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin is an original classic by Beatrix Potter. Beatrix Potter's famous tale of a naughty squirrel who loses his tail is as popular today as it was when it was first published over 100 years ago. Join Nutkin, his brother Twinkleberry and all his cousins as they make their way over to Owl Island to gather nuts. See what happens when Old Brown, the terrifying owl guardian of the island decides he has had enough of silly Nutkin's cheekiness! Ouch!! Beatrix Potter is regarded as one of the world's best-loved children's authors of all time. From her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, published by Frederick Warne in 1902, she went on to create a series of stories based around animal characters including Mrs. Tiggy-winkle, Benjamin Bunny, Jemima Puddle-duck, Mr. Jeremy Fisher and Tom Kitten. Her humorous, lively tales and beautiful illustrations have become a natural part of childhood. With revenue from the sales of her books, Beatrix Potter bought a farm - Hill Top - in the English Lake District, where she later became a farmer and prize-winning sheep breeder. She launched the now vast merchandise programme by patenting the very first Peter Rabbit doll in 1903.
A young squirrel experiences the wonders of forest life and befriends a human toddler in this collectible edition of a classic animal story from the author of Bambi.Perri is a young squirrel living in Bambi’s forest. She grows up, learning about survival, friendship, and love as she observes and interacts with the complicated world around her. Most exciting of all, she meets a three-year-old human girl who can understand and talk to animals!
Gray squirrels leap from high heights to move from tree to tree. Discover these delightful rodents' life cycle and lifestyle in the woods.
Fun Toys include 8pcs miniature squirrel figurines in different style. With bright color and cute designs. You’ll certainly be impressed by the amazing level of details of these squirrel character figurines
Welcome to a new adventure in the Neck, a beautiful place where animals and humans live together in harmony--most of the time. In this book, a young boy named Eli builds a log fort with his dad, but it's not long before mischievous squirrels Chatter, Whistle, and Squeak move in and take over. As the nuts, acorns, and pinecones pile up inside, Eli realizes he's going to have to get creative to get them out. Will his plan work, or will the squirrels win?
Author and editor of numerous children's books, Thornton W. Burgess was also a noted conservationist. In writing for youngsters he combined a gift for storytelling with his love of the outdoors, creating an entertaining menagerie of animals whose adventures he skillfully recounted in a series of charming fables. In them, he taught young readers about nature and encouraged them to love the "lesser folk in fur and feathers."In this delightfully told tale, Burgess chronicles the escapades of Chatterer the Red Squirrel, who's known throughout the Green Forest as a mischief maker. Narrowly escaping the clutches of Shadow the Weasel and Redtail the Hawk, the bushy-tailed little fellow decides to leave the forest for a new home, only to learn that curiosity, carelessness, and mistrust can lead to a heap of troubles.
It begins, as the best superhero stories do, with a tragic accident that has unexpected consequences. The squirrel never saw the vacuum cleaner coming, but self-described cynic Flora Belle Buckman, who has read every issue of the comic book Terrible Things Can Happen to You!, is the just the right person to step in and save him. What neither can predict is that Ulysses (the squirrel) has been born anew, with powers of strength, flight, and misspelled poetry — and that Flora will be changed too, as she discovers the possibility of hope and the promise of a capacious heart.
How far would you go for a friend? In Nuts to You, the funny and moving illustrated novel by Newbery Medalist Lynne Rae Perkins, two squirrels go very far indeed to save a friend who has been snatched up by a hawk. Nuts to You “begs to be read aloud . . . another completely original and exceptional package from Perkins,” said the Horn Book. Nuts to You features black-and-white art by the author on every page, as well as exclusive material original to this edition.
Jed, TsTs, and Chai are the very best of friends. So when Jed is snatched up by a hawk and carried away to another realm, TsTs and Chai resolve to go after him. Mysteriously, the hawk has dropped him. They saw it. Jed could be alive. New communities are discovered, new friends are made, huge danger is encountered (both man-made and of the fox and bobcat variety) and the mysteries of squirrel culture are revealed. Nuts to You is wholly original, funny, lively, and thought-provoking. Publishers Weekly said, “Readers . . . will relish the squirrels’ adventures, as well as Perkins’s laugh-aloud illustrations and equally witty footnotes.”
Portrays the physical characteristics, behavior, life cycle, and natural habitat of the small mammals.
Miss Suzy is a little gray squirrel who lives happily in her oak-tree home until she is chased away by some mean red squirrels. Poor Miss Suzy is very sad. But soon she finds a beautiful dollhouse and meets a band of brave toy soldiers.
How Miss Suzy and the soldiers help each other makes a gentle, old-fashioned tale that has captured the imaginations of girls and boys alike for more than fifty years. Arnold Lobel’s enchanting pictures are sure to make the kind squirrel and the gallant soldiers the everlasting friends of all who turn these pages.
Here, in a comprehensive and extremely readable volume, the author-artist whose many nature books are favorites with children gives an absorbing account of little animals equipped with chisel-like teeth for gnawing including their habits, appearance, and activities. The world of this army of small mammals is one which most of us could observe for ourselves if we wished to. No one reading these lively chapters about the squirrels, beavers, rabbits, prairie dogs, etc., could ever again take them and their interesting ways for granted.
Children will enjoy this exciting story as Gray Squirrel darts and dashes away from predators while trying to gather up a tasty meal of bird seed and acorns. Reviewed by the Smithsonian Institution for accuracy, Gray Squirrel at Pacific Avenue is a fun and informative story with beautifully detailed illustrations. Watch your children have a blast reading and learning about the animals that live in an American backyard!
Silky plush and soft huggable bodies
Text and illustrations describe the physical characteristics, habits, and natural environment of the red squirrel.
See the world in a whole new way! Acclaimed illustrator Julia Rothman combines art and science in this exciting and educational guide to the structure, function, and personality of the natural world.
Explore the anatomy of a jellyfish, the inside of a volcano, monarch butterfly migration, how sunsets work, and much more. Rothman’s whimsical illustrations are paired with interactive activities that encourage curiosity and inspire you to look more closely at the world all around you.
Next, look at some facts about squirrels.
FUN FACTS ABOUT FLYING SQUIRRELS
Flying squirrels are not actually squirrels, they are more closely related to mice and rats.
They are nocturnal, meaning they are active at night.
There is a flap of skin between their front and back legs that allows them to glide through the air, up to 150 feet in a single bound.
They are omnivorous, meaning they eat both plants and animals while they are preyed upon by owls, hawks, snakes, and martens.
Flying squirrels are found in North America, Europe, and Asia in tree cavities or nest boxes.
And they are able to rotate their ankles 180 degrees, which allows them to climb down trees headfirst.
Before we get to our felt flying squirrel here are some more squirrel craft ideas to compare and study different types (even though our flying squirrel is not really a squirrel).
MORE SQUIRREL CRAFTS AND RESOURCES
- Free Arctic Ground Squirrel Lapbook & Unit Study Resources.
- Who knew you could take some disposable plastic cutlery and create a Fork Painted Squirrel Tail Craft this adorable?
- Learn about the Fascinating Life of Red Squirrels | Paper Plate Squirrel Craft
- Make a Squirrel Puppet from dramatic play and storytelling with your little ones.
Finally, look at how to make this felt flying squirrel craft.
DIY FELT FLYING SQUIRREL CRAFT
You will need:
- light, gray or tan felt
- Dark, gray or tannish felt
- Stuff for fill
- Two goo eyes
- Scissors
- A hot glue gun and glue sticks
First, start by folding one 8 x 12 piece of felt in half and draw a rectangle with the edges curved inward.
This will help form the flaps of your flying squirrel. At the same time, you can draw a circle for the head.
Cut through both sides of the felt at the same time so both pieces match up.
On the other color of felt cut out a short, rounded tail.
And then cut some fur texture into it by cutting angle lines not quite all the way through, kind of like a feather at the same time.
You’ll also want to cut out 4 paws and small triangles for ears.
Layout one piece of your squirrel’s body outline and hot glue the paws to the end of each point and the tail to the edge of one side.
Run a line of hot glue along about 2 inches of the edge and press your second piece on top until it cools and hardens.
FLYING SQUIRREL CRAFT
Continue doing this a couple of inches at a time all the way around, leaving a few inches open for stuffing.
Once your glue has dried, you can press your cotton stuffing to fill it as much as you like.
We want ours to remain floppy.
If you want to be able to toss it like a beanbag you could also add some rice or beans to give it a little weight at this time.
Hot glue the two circles of the head together, leaving about an inch and use a pencil to stuff a little bit of stuffing in to give it a bit of shape.
Then, the edges that you do not like carefully trim into shape, even cutting right through the hot glue to fix it.
Once the head is ready, pinch the ears and add a little glue to the bottom, securing them to the top.
Glue the google eyes into place and create a small nose at the end with a little bit of permanent marker.
Glue the head to the body with hot glue.
