How to Make a Bird-in-a-Cage Spinner - A Children's Craft

I remember when I was a child playing and having more fun with items that were not designed to be toys, then with actual store-bought toys. Two items that come to mind are a piece of twine and a stick. Tie one end of the twine to the end of the stick, and you have your very own whip. For hours you can play Indiana Jones, drive a wagon train west, or herd cattle into a make believe pen. Another favorite handmade toy that involves twine is a bird-in-a-cage spinner. You may recall seeing Johnny Depp play with one of these in the film, Sleepy Hallow. Bird-in-a-cage may be a child's toy (dating back to the Victorian era), but I recall using one when I worked in long-term care facilities to help calm Alzheimer's patients who became agitated and abusive. It was a great way to distract those suffering from this terrible disease. A bird-in-a-cage spinner is easy to make with just a few simple items from around the house. It is also a good craft for teaching children how to recycle items.

Items Needed to Make a Bird-in-a-Cage Spinner

Plastic yogurt lid (from the individual size container)
Construction paper (white, other colors are optional)
Markers, colored pencils, crayons, or paint (black, other colors are optional)
Regular glue
Pencil
Scissors
Craft knife
Thin twine or heavy string (approximately 2 12-inches pieces)

Instructions for Making a Bird-in-a-Cage

Clean and dry the yogurt lid. Place the lid on a piece of white construction paper and use it as a template to create two circles by drawing a line all the way around it with the pencil. Cut the circles out and have the child draw a birdcage on one and a bird on the other. Make sure the birdcage and bird are different colors, as this will be noticeable when spinning the bird-in-a-cage. You can also have them draw the bird on another piece of paper, color or paint it (or use colored construction paper), cut it out and glue it to one of the white paper circles. Let the child be creative and use red construction paper for a cardinal or blue paper for a bluebird.

Glue the birdcage circle to one side of the yogurt lid and the bird to the other. Use the craft knife to make two small holes on either side of the lid, opposite from each other. Feed one piece of twine through one hole and the other through the other hole and tie with a knot.. The twine does not have to be even on both sides, but get it as close as possible.

Spinning the Bird-in-a-Cage

Hold each end of the twine with the yogurt lid in the center. Spin the twine like a jump rope until it is twisted. As the lid spins back, it will look as if the bird is in the cage and not only on one side. You can spin it forwards or backwards, achieving the same effect.

Source: Personal experience, Sleepy Hollow (the movie)