I’m excited to make this fun animal soap carving and a quick study on a swan. Also, look at this Free Bird Unit Study and Lapbook And Fun Edible Bird Nests.
Carving with soft soap bars is a great way to practice fine motor skills, safe knife skills, and is fantastic for relaxation.
I chose to make this carving of a swan because they are such beautiful and graceful creatures and worked beautifully with the white soap.
Swans are birds found in wetlands, ponds, rivers, and lakes around the United States,
I am not going to just leave it there though, you will have tons of facts, resources, and more to help you with your own swan study before I am through.
First, look at these quick facts about swans.
8 Swan Facts
There is much to learn about swans whether they are a topic on their own or part of a larger study on lakes or ponds.
- There are both black and white species of swans. Black swans are found in southeast and southwest Australia as well as Tasmania, but white swans can be found throughout Canada, Northern United States, and Alaska.
- Male swans are called cobs, females are pens, and young are called cygnets.
- Swans choose a partner and stay together for their whole life. If their mate dies they will mourn for a while just like people and may or may not find a new mate.
- Swans can eat as much as eight pounds of food per day, they have big appetites and need to consume 20% to 25% of their bodyweight each day.
- While most mammals only have 7 neck vertebrae, swans have 24 or 25.
- Trumpeter swans are the largest waterfowl native to North America and they are also the heaviest flying birds in North America. Their wingspans can reach up to 10 feet wide and can weigh up to 30 pounds.
- Swans have a long lifespan, In the wild swans can live for over 20 years.
- Amazingly swans can sleep on land on one leg or while floating in the water.
Then, look at some bird resources or ideas for animal soap carvings.
More Bird Resources for a Fun Animal Soap Carving
- How to Make a Chalk Pastel Bird Nest Easy Drawing
- Galapagos Islands Animals Fun and Simple Watercolor Flamingo Tutorial
- Peregrine Falcon Lapbook And Fun Unit Study Ideas
- Free Homeschool Chicken Unit Study and Anatomy of an Egg Felt Activity & Worksheet
- Make Way For Ducklings Fun Duck Pond Playdough Invitation to Play
- How to Make an Easy Bird Craft Fun Paper Plate Peacock
- Free Bird Journal – Hands-on Nature (Coloring & Identification Pages)
- North American Robin Bird Lapbook and Fun Homeschool Unit Study Ideas
- Bird Craft For Kindergarten Make an Adorable Fun American Robin Foot Print
- Beautiful Bald Eagle Fun Facts And Torn Paper Bird Craft
- Bird Unit Study and Lapbook And Fun Edible Bird Nests
- Wildlife in the Amazon Rainforest – Create Fun Macaw and Toucan Crafts
- How to Make a Fun Paper Mache American Robin Bird Craft
- How to Make a Kid’s Fun and Easy Bird Nest Activity
- How to Make an Easy Jumbo Stick Bird Feeder with Kids
Your kids will love my Bird Unit Study and Lapbook And Fun Edible Bird Nests.
Also, here are more activities to learn about swan.
Swan Unit Study Activities
Next, look at these resources for a study of a swan.
Resources for a Quick Study of Swans
7 Swan Quick Unit Study Resources
Read The Trumpet of The Swan as your read aloud during your study, it is a wonderful classic by E.B. White..
Like the rest of his family, Louis is a trumpeter swan. But unlike his four brothers and sisters, Louis can't trumpet joyfully. In fact, he can't even make a sound. And since he can't trumpet his love, the beautiful swan Serena pays absolutely no attention to him.
Louis tries everything he can think of to win Serena's affection—he even goes to school to learn to read and write. But nothing seems to work. Then his father steals him a real brass trumpet. Is a musical instrument the key to winning Louis his love?
Challenge yourself to make this needlefelted swan next, a beautiful handiwork craft.
These swans are particularly simple to create, the first time we made them was back when the girls were princess-obsessed preschoolers.
Create a paper wonder by following this Origami Swan Step-by-Step Craft Tutorial.
Take in some of the beautiful music and dance of Tchaikovsky’s SwanLake
4PCS farm animals figures. Kid can use these plastic animals farm toys to build their own farm up. Farm sets for kids can bring happy.
Farm Animal figurines farm toys set made of environment friendly materials.Good quality and durable to deal with lots of play.
A prince's love for a swan queen overcomes an evil sorcerer's spell in this fairy tale adaptation of the classic ballet
Finally, look how to make this fun animal soap carving.
How To Make A Fun Animal Soap Carving
A soft soap like Ivory carves nicely with simple tools like plastic knives and toothpicks.
It is a great size for small hands and makes a good new medium for an art project.
You will need:
- Ivory soap bars
- Toothpicks
- Wooden Skewers
- Carving tools-Dollar Tree (optional)
First, open soap a few days ahead of when you are ready to use it and allow it to dry out for 2-5 days, the longer the better.
It makes a little less mess and is easier to work with than if you carve it straight out of the package.
Scratch off the name of the soap with your tools.
Use a toothpick or wooden skewer to lightly outline the shape of the swan on both sides of the soap.
Continue scraping away at the edges of the soap, removing the bulk of the soap that is not part of the design, going all the way from one side of soap to the other.
Going slow and easy will allow you to get more details and less mistakes.
Once you have removed the bulk of the excess material scratch details like feathers deeper into the wings and tail to create some texture by going in different depths and avoid using perfectly straight lines.
Be sure to do all sides of your swan with all the feathering.
Add details like eyes and the beak with a toothpick, do both sides.
Use a smooth rounded tool to rub the edges smooth and flat.
If your child wants to keep their soap, you can seal it with a good lacquer sealer to preserve it.
