Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Eddy the Trout Earth Day Finger Puppets
Eddy the Trout is a Boise, ID character dedicated to help people learn about keeping the Boise River clean (Partners for Clean Water). He even has his own Fin Club!
Eddy the Trout
If you're looking for a fish story to go along with this guy, you can't go wrong with Dear Fish, by, Chris Gall. A feast for the imagination! Creatures come out of the ocean for a visit when Peter Alan sends them a note in a bottle while on vacation. Eventually, Peter Allen asks the smelly lot to go back home (your mother's calling!), but the story has an open ending, when the fish ask the Allens come to the ocean for a visit. What a great way to end, a dream inspirer! Incredible artwork, fun words, puns to figure out and search for... I've got most of this one memorized because we've read it so often.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Frog Catching a Fly Finger Puppets
2008 was "the year of the frog", so to honor those amazing amphibians, I made these froggy puppets. The fly is sewn onto a ribbon (tongue), threaded through a small hole in froggy's mouth, and knotted with a small paperclip at the end. Little fingers can move the frog's tongue in and out to pretend he's catching a fly.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Red Panda Felt Finger Puppets
I made these guys for a class field trip to the zoo. They were a fun souvenir for everyone!
How-to Hint: Knot a few short lengths of thread and glue onto panda’s face. Then add fabric paint on top for nose. Black fabric paint works great for the mouth and eyes, too.
Cinco De Mayo Collared Lizards
These scaly guys would be great favors for a desert, reptile, or Cinco de Mayo party/unit. For a Mexican flag, print out flag clip art and glue to a toothpick. Let me know how you like them!
Lizard Felt Finger Puppet
Oh, Rats! Felt Finger Puppets
I used these cuties as favors for a Halloween party but they could just as easily be mice.
How-to's: Cut out and sew together two body pieces (template below). Save cutting fingers and toes until sewing is done for easiest matching. Cut nose and inner ear pieces from small scrap felt. Knot together a few short lengths of string for whiskers and glue under nose. I put a tiny piece of fringe yarn behind the fabric paint eyes for eyelashes.
Mouse Finger Puppet Pattern
Need a fun story to go with this? Try Cool Daddy Rat by Kristyn Crow. This is one of those picture books really meant to be read aloud! The story is cute... Daddy Rat goes off to work at gigs. Junior steals away, hiding in his case. The two have a grand time together, after checking in with Mom, of course. The words roll out like lyrics, reeling your audience in. We checked this out from the library and will be keeping it until the renewals run out...
Other stories... We are big fans of the Library Mouse series, by Daniel Kirk, where a mouse that lives in a library writes books and along the way, encourages kids to write, too. And of course there is the classic, If you give a Mouse a Cookie, by Laura Numeroff.
Thanksgiving Turkey Finger Puppets: Gobble, gobble!
Use shiny trim or ribbon for the neck and seasonal ribbon for the feathers. Fold the "feathers" (ribbon) in a u-shape and glue to back to hold in place while sewing. Fabric paint works great for the eyes. Happy Turkey Day!
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Mother's Day Kangaroos: Mama & Me!
A classic Mother and child pair, this cutie Kangaroo set will win the heart of your little one! The joey can move in and out of Mom's pouch (connected by a ribbon).
How-to's: Cut out and sew together two body pieces and the pouch (template below). I find it easier to wait on cutting fingers until the puppet is sewn, otherwise matching the fingers can be frustrating! Glue on the cheek piece and add facial features with fabric paint. For joey, glue a small and narrow piece of ribbon between the two body pieces to secure it for sewing. Cut a small hole behind pouch in Mother’s body. Insert joey’s ribbon and knot it around a small safety pin to keep it from pulling out easily.
A perfect story for this puppet has to be Sam McBratney's, I Love It When You Smile. Mom's little one woke up grumpy but Mom is determined to find that smile in there somewhere. Sure enough, it comes out after Mom ends up in a mud puddle and gets everyone dirty!
Ground Hog Felt Finger Puppets 2009
Make up a batch of these guys to help your class or party guests determine whether spring is coming or 6 more weeks of winter!
Crafty Hint:Tie four lengths of thick thread together for whiskers and glue under nose.
Earth Day Wizards or Knight Party Merlins Felt Finger Puppets
Use fabric paint to add eyes, mouths, and sparkly costume details.
Glue small rounded, felt triangle for nose.
Cut long rectangles for hand, rounding the ends into hand shapes. Glue in sleeves.
Merlin Felt Finger Puppet
Here is a fun story for Earth Day about an old man who finally gets tired of picking up other people's litter, The Wartville Wizard by Don Madden. Mother Nature gives him Wizard Power to stick trash back to people that drop it. Little ones will get a kick out of the magic while learning about littering. And hey, maybe it could help with "littering" their possessions at home? :) Mama needs wizard power!
Mad Scientist Felt Finger Puppets
These guys are super fun to make and play with because of their crazy hair (green feathered trim). Cut the nose and glasses out of small pieces of felt (too small to use a pattern). Use regular fabric paint for the shoes and 3D fabric paint for eyes, mouth, and lab coat features.
A fun story about a science project gone wrong to go with scientist puppets!
Mad Scientist Finger Puppet Pattern
Virginia Jelly Fish Finger Puppets
The secret to CUTE jelly fish is sparkly trim, and lots of it! No stinging tentacles here!
To make a whole basketful,
1) trace the pattern along the edge of white felt.
2) arrange trim on bottom, then sew on in one long line (use a fancy zig zag stitch)
3) cut out individual sides, two per puppet
4) sew two sides together
5) add fabric paint faces
I tentacled up here:
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Pumpkin Patch Felt Finger Puppets
These happy jack o' lanterns make great party favors for the classroom, pumpkin patch field trips, or Halloween and Harvest parties. Simple to make! I cut two stem pieces for each, one for each side. I totally recommend bringing the stem and smile pieces when you go for long car rides, as cutting all the mouths and stems for a whole class takes time... For the smiles, just cut enough rectangles in the right shape and put them in a plastic baggy. When you find yourself waiting, you can pull it out and snip a few smiles without having to recount.
Free Pumpkin Felt Finger Puppet Pattern
Boo-tiful Ghosties
How to's: Trace two copies of your favorite ghosty shape onto white felt. Use sparkle or flash felt for even more glittery fun! Glue hands together with tacky glue. Sew together! Use 3D fabric paint for mouths and eyes. Trick or treat fun!
Ghost Finger Puppet Pattern
When my kids were little, I struggled a bit with the whole idea of introducing them to "ghosts" but was quickly reminded that they saw them as just another character in their list of learning, like a cartoon. There are so many cute ghost crafts for toddlers, I didn't want to miss out! My boys also had (have!) a particular fondness for walking around with sleeping bags or blankets over their heads (ouch!).
Lynda Graham-Barber's, SAY BOO! was our family's introduction to the concept of ghosts. It is a darling story about a little ghost having trouble pronouncing BOO! You can use the story literally, to show how one letter changes the word (rhyming moo, boo, whoo, etc.) but also to discuss feelings as little boo gets frustrated by not being able to make the right sound. Barbara Lehman's illustrations are colorful and have just the right detail to capture the concepts.
If you haven't read David LaRochelle's, The Haunted Hamburger and other Ghostly Stories, you must put it on your (kids) Halloween reading list this year. Paul Meisel's illustrations are expressive and detailed, highlighting all the emotion in the stories as well as the concepts. While trying to get his kids to bed, father ghost spins three tall tales to entertain them. These three tales are scary for the ghosts (being turned into a diaper, being tricked by a hamburger, and kissed by a granny), but will leave kids laughing. You'll surely catch kids of many ages reading this creative story again on their own.
Does your family love pie? The Perfect Pumpkin Pie, by Denys Cazet, is a tasty pie ghost story, although a slight step up on the spooky scale than the two stories above. The spooky part is that Mr. Wilkerson actually dies, is buried and turns into a ghost (in the first pages). If your kids can get past that (we looked at each other with wrinkled eyebrows), they'll be hooked on the rest. The granny and boy face the ghost without fear (all he wants is pie). The prose is clever, fun to read aloud and easy to add character voices... Pumpkins, pumpkins,/pumpkin pie!/I must have one/before I die./It must be round/and brown as toast,/or I'll haunt this house/a hungry ghost! The wonderfully detailed illustrations are reminiscent of David Catrow, and really add to the tale. So much to look for on each page!
I searched a little on Amazon to get a few more ideas together:
The adorable illustrations in Kristen Depken's One, Two Boo! caught my attention right away. This lift the flap book would have been on my interest list when my boys were toddlers.
This one got me right from the title, ghosts aren't supposed to be timid! Ten Timid Ghosts, by Jennifer O'Connell, is a count down book that would surely appeal to the preschool/kinder audience interested that may feel timid about ghosts themselves! The plot involves a witch employing a clever scheme to scare away the ghosts, and builds in math concepts (counting, subtraction).
Ghosts in the House, by Kazuno Kohara will leave you in great "spirits" at how resourceful the clever heroine is... Got ghosts? Just put them in the laundry and turn them into something else! Eyecatching drawings and a perfect blend of sweet and spooky for Halloween storytimes.
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