Paper Bag Puppet Kit

I am so excited to share this idea! I'm excited because this paper bag puppet kit was so simple to put together and R loved it. I'm also happy to say that it was a fun new activity for family time. But I'm crazy thrilled with this activity because it bought me a good two hours of (mostly) uninterrupted time to myself. And as a mother to an only child (or as a mother in general), this is huge!

The Kit

This kit was easy to put together and would make a great gift or rainy day activity. And it was cheap. I basically just gathered bits and pieces from my stash of craft materials and some paper lunch bags. I put it all in a see through container, made a cute little label, and gave it to my son to craft with and explore.

{By the way, if you'd like the above image as a label as well, feel free to print one for your own personal use. Just right click the picture, open in new tab, and print. I printed mine on sticker paper.}

Content Ideas

• crayons, markers, colored pencils
• googly eyes
• sequins
• glue, glue stick, tape
• pipe cleaners
• feathers
• bits of yarn and ribbon
• buttons
• scrap paper, construction paper, card stock
• scissors
• cotton balls
• scraps of felt or fabric
• hole punch
• paper lunch bags (brown and/or white)

The Play

I gave R the little box full of treasures and let him set up at the kitchen table. I put down an old poster board to catch some of the stray color and glue and I walked away. I went and did some chores and I just let him create. And wow did he create! He was engrossed in this craft for a long time, only stopping occasionally to show me what he had made or to go play with his latest puppet. 

That's the beauty of this activity. After they have fun making their puppets, they'll want to play with their new friends. It's arts and crafts, imaginative play, and storytelling all in one!

I walked into R's playroom to find him playing with his alien puppet and his current obsession- the toys from his Safari Ltd. Space TOOB. (More on that later!) My favorite line from his elaborate plot was, "then, it was all left up to the monkey!"

The play and imagination were still going strong by the time R's daddy got home from work, so we made some puppets together as a family. We each kept our puppet a secret until it was finished. It was a nice time filled with guesses and giggles.

This paper bag puppet kit was a big hit. R has already mentioned making a few as presents, and I plan on restocking ours to put up for a rainy day. We'll be having more puppet fun in the future!

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Halloween Freeze Dance

We are getting a lot of use from our  Wee Sing For Halloween CD. It was an instant favorite and R asks to listen to it every day. He listens intently and tries to follow along with the song book it came with. We dance. He really can't get enough of this CD!

Well, I've been having some back problems lately, and as much as I'd love to, I haven't been able to really get down and play with R this past weekend. One bad day in particular, we stayed in and did arts and crafts and cuddled and read a ton of books. Those are all fantastic activities to do together when mom is feeling less than great, but those of you with kids know of the excess energy they often contain. I could tell that R was just itching to jump and run and get out some of that energy, so I suggested that we play freeze dance!

We played his new favorite CD and I would occasionally hit the "pause" button to make the music stop. When the music stopped he would freeze in the middle of dancing. It was rather hilarious. He had a lot of fun and really got into it. Plus, he really enjoyed being my entertainment. It got some of his energy out without me having to go very far or do very much.  It saved our sanity until daddy could get home and help with all of that energy!

This activity would be great for a Halloween party. It would also be fun on a rainy day, or just because with the whole family or some friends. I would also recommend recording this activity for future viewing!

What are some of your favorite Halloween songs?

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Playing In Puddles

It has been incredibly rainy here. The last two weeks have been thunderstorm after thunderstorm, and yesterday was no exception. I really wish that it would just rain without all the high winds and lightening so we could go out and enjoy the actual rain. But we did get to enjoy some major puddles after the rain had moved on.

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