Presidents Day Finger Puppets

Happy Presidents Day. I got this fun idea from kaboose.com while browsing through they president themed crafts. M1 doesn't really get the idea of Presidents Day, but she sure did like the finished puppets! They sure make a cute Abe Lincoln & George Washington...

Supplies- Glue, Blue.White.Black Construction Paper, Scissors, Tape, Markers, 1 Quarter & 1 Penny.

1. Cut two 3 1/2 inch by 7-8 inch rectangles. One blue & one black.

2. Roll the paper up (one @ a time) making sure that your little one's pointer finger can fit in the roll.

 

3. Tape the rolls shut along the edges.

4. Place a small loop of tape about 1/2 inch away from the top of each roll.

5. Place the penny & quarter (heads up) over the tape until secured.

6. Cut a small blue triangle & a 1 inch long black rectangle.

 7. Glue the blue triangle onto the top of the roll overlapping the top quarter. Glue the black rectangle on top of the black roll overlapping the top of the penny.

8. Cut a small long, narrow triangle & draw a small "bow" along the top. Glue under Abe Lincoln's head, aka the penny.

 9. Glue a small piece of a cotton ball below the quarter on the "breast" of George Washington.

10. Allow ample time to dry. We layed ours face down as shown below.

And time to play....

Happy Presidents Day!! Enjoy. s.b.

Marshmallow Mouth Puppet

I've decided to do some kid activities/crafts this week in honor of February & Dental Health Month. Yes, we are all crazy teeth brushing/flossing fanatics because of Aunt K who is a dental hygenist. She keeps us on our toes & really gets the girls excited about dental hygene. This house has more tootbrushes than most & lots of fun extras too. Did you know that there are special suckers that are actually good for your teeth? How fun is that? Activity #1 is this mouth puppet that I dreamed up over the weekend. It turned out much better than I expected & M1 just loves it.

~Supplies: *Manilla Folder or 1 piece of paper folded in half, *Marshmallows, *Glue, *Small piece of red construction paper, *2 craft sticks, *Scissors

To Begin- 1. Use the manilla folder to cut out a half circle. This will be the base of the "mouth." I used the folder which worked great, but you could also use a thicker piece of paper & just fold in in half.
2. Glue the 2 craft sticks onto the side with the fold. One craft stick on each side as seen in pic #2. I put something heavier on top of it for a few minutes to help it dry flat.
3. While it's drying, cut out a small tongue. (If you don't have red paper, you could have your child draw a red tongue on the inside once it's dry.)
4. When dry, open up the mouth & lay flat. Glue in the tongue on one side of the circle & then begin w/ the "teeth." To make it easier for M1, I placed dots of glue around the outside of the mouth where she then placed each of marshmallows on her own. (Pic #3 & 4)
5. Give ample drying time before using it as a puppet. We let ours sit for about an hour. Use the sticks (one in each hand, moving up & down) to make your puppet talk!

Watch M1 demonstrate how her newly created puppet works