So, the other day, in the middle of story hour (yes, we try to make it an entire hour long around here… no summer camp, people!), Oliver came up with a brilliant idea. We were reading this book:
Yes, I am aware that it is a book about winter when here we are in the middle of summer…
Anyway, it’s a really cute book which the boys love because it is about robots who have interchangeable body parts (a chainsaw arm can be removed and replaced with a snow CANNON!) and instead of taking a bath in water (hello, rust), they bathe in motor oil:
Anyway, we were in the middle of the book, when Oliver placed his pudgy hand on the page and said, “Mama? Can you make us some robot puppets?” And you know what? I said, “Sure!”
What You’ll Need:
Just some thicker paper (card stock would be perfect) and a pen or sharpie, plus a few popsicle sticks, glue or tape, and a pair of scissors! I drew the figures from the pictures in the book, but you could choose any character you like or make up one from your imagination. Or, if your kids are old enough, make them do it themselves!
The front
The back (Ha! I know, a real masterpiece. If I can muster up enough energy, next time I will search for the glue)
Snow Cannon Arm Attachment
After cutting out the puppets, Milo and Oliver upped the ante by requesting different attachments for their snowbots. We came up with trash can lid shields, snow cannons, and chainsaw arms. But, of course, the possibilities are endless.
Once you have cut out and assembled your puppets (and their various accessories), put on a puppet show…
… or, if you have kids like mine, a puppet battle:
I think next time we will cut out home made characters from our own family and have some sort of play about bedtime that involves my puppet throwing a couple other puppets out the window. Now go eat some popsicles and save those sticks! Happy puppet-making!
P.s.- Save ALL of your popsicle sticks for a really fun popsicle stick activity coming at the end of the summer!
You are giving them a summer camp experience! While I work, my kids are having story and journal time, splash days, arts and crafts, playground/gym time, and field trips to museums, movies, skating, and the library. I kind of miss not doing those things with them myself. I just get the weekends. Did you know there are only 932 Saturdays between birth and age 18?
Awesome! They are so cute playing with the puppets and the snow cannon attachment is the best 🙂
That books looks amazing, and so do your popsicle stick puppets!! Your boys are lucky to have such an entertaining mama. 🙂
Robots are BIG around here too. I’ll be looking for this book on our next library trip for sure – but today, we will make robot puppets!!
xo
cortnie
Okay, just the fact that your kids ask to play with puppets means that they’re obviously above average intelligence. They are so rad. And so are you.