Making Swimming Noodle Ponies

Summer's off?  Bah!  There's always a school project of some kind happening.  This week I've been making stick ponies out of swimming noodles.  Its true that they look a little like seahorses instead of regular horses, but I think that just makes them even more special!

To make these ponies you'll need:
-a swimming noodle (the skinnier ones work best)
-twine, rope or your choice of something for the bridle that you can tie tightly.  Consider using patterned duct tape.  It holds firmly and looks great!
-felt (9 x 12 sheets work well)
-large wiggly eyes
-low temp glue gun and glue

Yes.  You can use a glue gun on the swimming noodle, but trust me you want it to be the low temp kind!

First tie the bend the noodle and tie the twine tightly around it.  If you want you can weave a pipe cleaner around it to add some color after you've tied it on.  I left a little bit of the twine hanging so that it looked line reins, but they are more for looks than for function of any kind.

Next turn the piece of felt long ways and cut a strip about an inch wide.  Cut the ends of it into points for the ears.  Cut the next strip (still looking at the felt long ways) at about 4 inches wide.  Next I folded this wide stripe and cut waves around the edges to create the mane.

Slide the long piece for the ears between the part of the noodle that is folded and pull them up firmly in place.  Glue the ears up.  Hot glue the mane and wiggly eyes in place.  Voila!  Swimming noodle pony!

We'll use these ponies in class for listening and movement activities.  You can learn more about what I do with them in this blog post:  What to Do With Your New Herd

Want to see some more pool noodle crafts for music class?  You might enjoy Steady Beat Swords or Noodle Notes.