SPOON PUPPETS

Spoon puppets are a great fun idea that can be carried out at parties, special occasions, and at schools. You can use wooden spoons as the craft during an extra-curricular activity. The puppets can be easily made by children of all ages. Making the spoon puppets is a lot of fun but much more, playing with them after is a greater fun. You can begin your creativity with a painting of the woods in context. Once the paint is completely dry, you can add the decorations so that the decorations will stick. You can also put printable face stickers on them to represent a different facial expression. You can be the lead role in this, such that you go ahead with the creativity first, as your kids watch. After you have made about 5 of the puppets, you can allow your kids to do theirs while you watch and sip coffee. After they are done, you can grade their efforts and give gifts to reward their creativity and hard work. Supplies: Wooden spoons Paints and brushes Crafty bits, ribbon and fabric scraps, odds and ends Scissors, glue (a hot glue gun helps!) Ages: 3+ Time: 5-20 minutes (these can be super quick or very involved!) Project Steps: Start by painting the spoons; basic craft paints dry quickly on the wood, so there’s no wait time. Then, you can add the fun stuff. We started with the faces to give our spoons a bit of character. Then we found all sorts of interesting odds and ends in our house, such as buttons and felt. In terms of getting stuff to stick, a hot glue gun makes almost anything possible, though white glue or masking tape works too. Wire, ribbon, or fabric bits are a great alternative to adhesives, and often offer a much more creative way to attach other elements. For example, tie on a bit of felt and tuck in feathers or sprigs of cut paper. After we designed for a bit, we set the spoons aside. Then we picked them up the next day and had lots of fun adding more parts. This is an easy project that can take as little or as much time as you like. Have on hand for next Friday’s project: Wire coat hangers & wire cutter (or a strong pair of scissors) Embroidery thread Colored paper, scissors & glue Curious Jane, founded by contributor Samantha Razook Murphy offers project-based after-school programs and summer camps, revolving around creativity in the arts and sciences.

Read more on our blog! POSTED IN: KID DIY. TAGGED: BIRTHDAY PARTY IDEAS, EASY KID CRAFTS, INDOOR ACTIVITIES.