Recommended Age: All Ages
Read with Nadia
Nadia L. Hohn is an author, musician and educator based in Toronto. In this video, Nadia shares excerpts from two of her stories, Malaika’s Costume and Malaika’s Winter Carnival, as well as some songs and rhymes. After reading with Nadia, you can follow the activity instructions below to create your own carnival peacock headpiece, like the one Nadia is wearing here. Enjoy!
Hands-On Activity: Make a Carnival Peacock Headpiece!
You can find this activity along with other educational resources on Nadia’s website.
Photo courtesy of Nadia L. Hohn.
What you will need:
- blue dinner paper plates (1 plate makes to masks)
- pieces of ribbon and cloth
- feathers
- googly eyes
- hole puncher
- pipe cleaners
- scissors
- white glue (you may choose to use a popsicle stick to apply the glue)
- tape
- orange cardstock or manila envelope
- a sheet of jewelled stickers
- buttons of different colours (optional)
Steps:
- PEACOCK HEAD: With your scissors, cut your blue paper plate in half.
- PEACOCK FEATHERS: With your hole puncher, cut holes about 1 cm (1/2 inch) from the curved edge of your plate. You will make the holes, spacing them 3-4 centimetres apart.
- Cut strips of ribbon and cloth about 15 cm (6 inches) in length.
- Take the quill (the tip) of the feather and insert it in one of the holes you made with your hole puncher. DO NOT: Put feathers or ribbons on the holes at the bottom of each side. You will make the FASTENERS here.
- Roll the end of a ribbon, thread it through the hole, and tie the feather quill place. Make sure the end of the ribbon can hang.
- You will repeat this at all of the holes. This will make sure your peacock has a lot of feathers.
- FASTENERS: The holes on each side of the semi-circle closest to the bottom, these will be where you will put the 2 pipe cleaners. Put about 2 cm (1 inch) of end of 1 pipe cleaner through the hole and twist it with the rest so it stays. Repeat on the other side with your second pipe cleaner. The lengths of these 2 pipe cleaners should point back. You will use these pipe cleaner lengths to tie and fasten the headpiece to your head.
- BEAK: Take your orange cardstock or manila envelope. Cut out a triangle– 5 cm (2 inches) from base to point. On the bottom centre of the back of your paper plate (the white side), tape the triangle so only the base is attached and the point hangs down.
- EYES: Select your two googly eyes. Apply white glue to the back of your googly eyes. Place the eyes on the front of the plate (the blue side) so that the orange beak is centred.
- DESIGNS: This is the fun part now. Take your sparkly and gem stickers. You can also glue on buttons to make designs. Put them all over your peacock’s headpiece.
- Tie on your peacock head just so. You’re ready to go!
Photo courtesy of Nadia L. Hohn.
About the Creators:
Nadia L. Hohn
Nadia L. Hohn is a writer, musician and educator. The manuscript of Malaika’s Costume, her first picture book, won the Helen Isobel Sissons Canadian Children’s Story Award. She is also the author of two forthcoming non-fiction titles, Music and Media Studies, part of the Sankofa series, which won the Moonbeam Children’s Book Award for Multicultural Non-Fiction. She lives in Toronto, where she teaches French, music and the arts at an alternative elementary school.
Irene Luxbacher
Irene Luxbacher is a Canadian artist and author. She has received numerous awards and nominations for many of her children’s books over the years, but her favourite nods of approval come from readers who share the remarkable art they’ve made after reading one of her books. She wrote and illustrated the acclaimed picture books Deep Underwater and Mr. Frank. Irene was also honored to illustrate Malaika’s Costume and its sequel, Malaika’s Winter Carnival, by the talented Nadia L. Hohn. She lives in Toronto with her family who keep her very busy because she loves them and worries about them constantly.
Nadia’s books are available at Groundwood Books:
Malaika’s Costume Print Format and Digital Format
Malaika’s Winter Carnival Print Format and Digital Format
Special thanks to Nadia L. Hohn, House of Anansi Press and Groundwood Books.
TD Community Sundays are made possible by TD Bank Group through its corporate citizenship platform, The Ready Commitment.
Cover image courtesy of Nadia L. Hohn, Irene Luxbacher, and Groundwood Books.