Children's books are great. They expose kids to new places and ideas, increase their vocabulary and inspire creativity. They can also inspire great activities to do with your kids on a cold, November afternoon. Recently my kids and I went to the library for story time and to to pick out some new books. One of the several books we picked out was:
In it, the moose (as one of his many activities in the story) wants to make sock puppets and then paint scenery so he can put on a puppet show.
"Sure," I said, "great idea!"
Luckily I had a large cardboard box in my recycling and plenty of acrylic paints. After donning each child in their art smocks, and placing a drop cloth on the floor, they went at it. They used regular brushes and used packaging styrofoam to apply the paint. My son described it as "a beautiful sunset." My daughter loved painting, it was actually her first time doing it.
Next came the sock puppets. I found mismatched socks in my own drawer. My son said he wanted a dog, cat, and mouse. He drew the faces in permanent marker and I sewed appropriate ears on each one using pieces I cut from the bottom of each sock. I think they look pretty awesome....though the mouse looks a bit more like a monkey or an alien due to the weird shape and placement.
The kids love the puppets. My son's favorite is the dog, my daughter's favorite is the cat, leaving mommy to play the mouse/monkey/alien.
It was fun watching my son try to learn the art of puppetry in our makeshift theater (a wicker ottoman), and I did my best to keep little sister from climbing on the stage during each performance. Here is the show they put on with their dad when he got home:
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