Pool Noodle Ponies: DIY Hobby Horses

Hi! I'm Ayn and I am a Ga. Pre-K teacher, serving 4 and 5 year olds in an inclusive setting. I share my classroom adventures on my blog, little illuminations.

We are learning about life on the farm this week. As you might know from reading little illuminations or from my previous posts here, I try to accentuate our topics by changing our learning environment frequently. When I teach about farms, I add a barn and some hobby horses to our dramatic play area. 

 I've bought or made a variety of hobby horses over the years, but this idea from Pinterest is definitely my new favorite! They were SO easy and only took minutes! 
  
Supplies:
   Pool noodles
   Duct tape, ribbon or raffia
   Googly Eyes
   Felt or fabric scraps
   Hot glue gun/ glue sticks

First I cut 2 triangles from the felt for ears.  Then I took a piece of felt about 10 inches long and 5 inches wide and cut fringe on both of the long sides. Set these pieces aside.

Fold the top of the pool noodle over itself and use the duct tape to tape it together.

Next, hot glue the ears to each side of the pool noodle and glues the mane between the ears, running down the horse. Then glue the googly eyes on the front. Feel free to add reins or other decorative accents.

Now, the kids are off to the races! I was surprised when I put these out next to the store bought hobby horses that the children actually chose to use these more often than the others! They are in constant use, and I'm sure that even when we move on to learning something else, I'll have to leave these out. And, they are perfect to take outside to play, too! 

                        

 

Some of our favorite farm books:



Stop by and visit me anytime at littleilluminations.blogspot.com or visit the little illuminations fanpage on facebook! And be sure to check out PreK+K Sharing EEE!