Blackbird Pie

Blackbirds are popping from this pie! Find out the origins and meaning of your favorite childhood rhymes.

• 1.

  Read the traditional nursery rhyme "Sing a Song of Sixpence." What do you think the message is of this rhyme? Research the history of nursery rhymes, perhaps to celebrate Mother Goose Day on May 1.

• 2.

  To begin your Blackbird Pie, use Crayola® Scissors to cut a large recycled paper grocery bag into 24 strips. The strips should be about two fingers wide, and double the length of your hand.

• 3.

  Use 12 strips each to weave two square mats which will become your pie crust. Glue the ends of the strips in place with a Crayola Glue Stick.

• 4.

  Cut a circular form for the pie pan by cutting two sheets of construction paper in half the long way, then folding those sections in half (also the long way) to create reinforcing strips. Glue the ends of three of these strips together. Overlap the front and back ends to make a ring the size of a pie pan. Glue it closed.

• 5.

  Place the ring on top of your first woven pie crust to make the bottom of the pie. Pull the corners of the crust up over the ring, and glue them inside the ring. Glue the sections between the corners to the sides of the ring.

• 6.

  Crumple up paper bag scraps and fill your pie with them. Cover the pie with your second woven crust, and glue the corners in place around the bottom crust.

• 7.

  Cover your art area with newspaper. To make your pie appear to be browned, edge the strips of the upper crust with brown and yellow Crayola Washable Markers. Blend the color with a damp Crayola Paint Brush.

• 8.

  Create several blackbirds for your pie by folding black construction paper in half. Cut bird shapes that are connected in the middle. Decorate your blackbirds with Crayola Glitter Glue and Crayola Gel Markers to show the reflective nature of the birds' da

• 9.

  Use Crayola® School Glue to attach blackbirds to the tops of bent portions of flexible straws. Put glue on the bottoms of the straws and push them into the pie filling. Dry.

Benefits

• Children research the history of the children's nursery rhyme "Sing a Song of Sixpence."
• Children reinterpret the ideas in the rhyme.
• Children create a visual representation of a Blackbird Pie.

Adaptations

• Write an original story or poem about a surprise pie filling. Illustrate it with a similar woven pie.
• Write a recipe for a pie, basing the ingredients upon the history of this rhyme.
• Research the meaning of other common nursery rhymes. Write original nursery rhymes about current events.