The Yeti
The ‘Yeti’ or ‘Abominable Snowman’ is part of the Sherpa people’s legends and history. The Yeti is rumoured to be large with white or grey long fur with enormous feet and big sharp teeth. In 1951, footprints claimed to be of the Yeti, this character of Himalayan folklore, were discovered and photographed on Mount Everest.
Activity 1 – A day in the life of a Yeti
Think about what it might be like to be a Yeti. Act out it’s activities in a typical day. First it might wake up, shiver a bit and jump around to keep warm. Then it might dig in the snow to find it’s breakfast and slide on it’s bottom down a mountain side, play some games, hunt for its lunch and hide from some people going past. What else can you think of?
Activity 2 – Hunt the Yeti
You will need a supply of Yeti footprints, ideally about 30cm by 20cm. First make a template. (You could start by drawing around a large shoe and then adding toes.)
Then draw round the template several times onto card from a cardboard box or cereal packet and cut them out carefully. Depending on the age/ability of the child, either the adult or the supervised child can do this.
Next, set up a treasure hunt. Write a clue on each cardboard footprint that will tell the child where the next one is. eg ‘on four legs, a bottom and a back (chair), we plump these up (cushions), we draw these in the evening (curtains). Ensure there is a suitable ‘Yeti’ at the end of the trail. It could be a teddy bear or treat. Hide the footprints in the relevant places and let the Yeti Hunt begin. To add extra interest you could include tasks which need to be performed eg, do 5 star jumps, recite a poem, count from 10 backwards.
Activity 3 – Make a Jumping Yeti
You will need:-
- A piece of thick card 20cm long
- White wool
- Card feet (5cm long versions of the footprints in Activity 2)
- Adhesive
- 40cm Sheering elastic
- Bamboo cane, skewer or a stick
- Stick on eyes (googly or made of paper)
Wind the wool loosely around the card until it is quite thick (see picture)
Slide the wool off the card and wind and tie a piece of wool around, a quarter of the way down to form a neck. Then wind and tie a piece of wool around the centre, to form a waist. Cut through the bunched wool at both ends (top of head and at the feet end) to make a rough pom-pom. Attach a length of sheering elastic to the wool used to pull in the neck and fix the other end to the bamboo cane. Glue the card feet and eyes in the appropriate place.
Activity 4 – Play Yeti Footsteps
With the large yeti footprints from activity 2, move across the floor, using the footprints as stepping stones.
Additionally, the ‘hunter’ (adult/brother/sister) can be facing the wall with the yeti creeping up behind them using one pair of yeti footprints as stepping stones. When the hunter turns around, the yeti must freeze so as not to be seen.